Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) for Sustainable Development

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2020) | Viewed by 11751

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Chris Kelsall

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Business, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
Interests: accounting; accounting and sustainability; the accounting profession; audit quality; teaching and learning; management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue has the following focus, scope and purpose:

Focus: The connection between environmental issues and management accounting in terms of the internal and external influence and measurement is an area under development. In addition, the development of a more ecological economic view in line with business and society’s agenda for sustainable development.
Scope: Of particular interest are papers touching on the following areas: any empirical papers in organizational contexts looking at economic, environmental and ecological developments; conceptual papers providing analysis of economic concepts from a more ecological perspective; any papers tackling pedagogical issues in the area of environmental management accounting and sustainable development.

Topic areas could include, but should not be constrained to, the following:

Measurement processes in environmental management accounting (EMA) and how this can be linked to sustainable development;
Developed examples using management accounting techniques on environmental issues e.g. activity-based costing; life cycle costing; full cost accounting; input–output methods;
A review of the theoretical underpinnings of EMA, this can include the issues around the nexus of environmental and ecological views in business and worldview contexts;
Teaching and learning ‘best practices’ in EMA and sustainable development;
Analyzing the effectiveness of EMA in achieving sustainable development.

Purpose: To further develop EMA in terms of discourse on issues that are still very open and opaque, including: organizational control (EMA) and environmental output control; the measurement of EMA factors; and economic and environmental accounting tensions.

This special edition develops views on environmental and sustainable development from the perspective of research in the management accounting field. The core challenge is to bring together the environmental business view (EMA) and the ecological planetary view (sustainable development) in a connected discourse.

Existing literature: The problem of harnessing a short-term, business-focused approach i.e. management accounting, for the long-term ‘sustainable development view’ that goes further than a firm’s focus on the environment is one that Schaltegger (2018) is still grappling with. Are the notions of organizational environmental management and the wider global sustainable development diametrically opposed concepts or on a continuum? This is not a new challenge; Birkin (2000) studied this particular issue, as to whether accounting will be involved in a move towards more sustainable development. For this to happen, the ontology of accounting needed to move from an understanding of discrete things to one of interconnected values. This is a two-step process (Birkin, 2000, pp. 295-300): step one involves a change from the economic view to an environmental economic view; and step two then moves to an economic ecology (Birkin, 2000, p. 297-300). Much of the discussion on EMA reviews stage one of the process (environmental economics), and whilst it is important to explore changes in this area, any research directed towards stage two of this process (economic ecology) would also be warmly encouraged.

References:

Birkin, F. The Art of Accounting for Science: A Prerequisite for Sustainable Development? Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 2000, 11, pp. 289–309.

Schaltegger, S. Linking Environmental Management Accounting: A Reflection on (Missing) Links to Sustainability and Planetary Boundaries, Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, 2018, 38 (1), pp. 19–29.

Dr. Chris Kelsall
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sustainable development
management accounting
environmental management accounting

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

27 pages, 697 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identifying ‘True’ Water Loss Information through the MFCA Model for Improved Cost-Saving Decisions in a Water Utility: A Case Study of the Doorndraai Water Treatment Scheme in South Africa

by Michael Bamidele Fakoya and Emmanuel O. Imuezerua

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7824; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12187824 - 22 Sep 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2186

Abstract

We identified the deficiency in the conventional accounting system in capturing water-loss-related information and its effect on cost-saving decisions in a water utility in South Africa. We employed the material flow cost accounting (MFCA) model in the case of the Doorndraai Water Treatment Scheme to highlight inefficient phases of the water purification processes for the manager to identify opportunities for corrective action. Findings reveal that the inability of the conventional accounting system in accurately capturing water loss information limits the scheme manager’s ability to recognize cost-saving opportunities. Consequently, we found that the implementation of the material flow cost accounting (MFCA) model identified the pumping process as a major contributor to the water scheme’s daily operating loss because of the pumping machine’s low capacitor. Besides, this pumping machine has been in operation for about five years, an indication that the water scheme had been operating at a loss daily for a number of years. Thus, we suggested that the water scheme should invest in procuring a more suitable pumping device to reduce the huge electricity cost incurred daily by the Doorndraai Water Treatment Scheme. Besides this, the paper extended the implementation of the MFCA by providing an example of how the managerial accounting system can support environmental and economic sustainability in water purification processes. Thus, we reiterate that one way of effectively managing water resources is to appropriately capture the volume of water loss and water-purification-related costs to improve its efficiency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) for Sustainable Development)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

20 pages, 603 KiB

Open AccessReview

Ecological Management Accounting—Taking into Account Sustainability, Does Accounting Have Far to Travel?

by Chris A. Kelsall

Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8854; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12218854 - 25 Oct 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2901

Abstract

Concerns regarding the development of environmental accounting have been around for decades. This work is an update to some of the previous questions around the development of ecological accounting to see how this has changed over the last two decades. The work is based on a systematic review of two journal articles from separate accounting journals. The two articles are by widely published academics and are formative ecological management accounting papers highlighting issues since 2000. The analysis includes a comparative review of the two articles, a review of successive articles in the journals, and a citation analysis. The first general finding is around the complex and confusing terminology that is still used, exemplified in the amorphous term sustainability. Specific findings from the paper analysis include ecological management accounting requires a fundamental change to organization management, different values exploring relationships such as material flows, inclusive of the living and physical world, with a longer time horizon, and a centrality of external factors. Due to these challenges, ecological management accounting is presently not used as a research category and therefore is an un-developed research domain. Environmental accounting is a more commonly used synonym for ecological accounting, though this term is distinct and does not cover many of the ecological challenges. Under this research area, there have more recently been attempts to bridge the difficult macro (planetary) and micro (organization) environmental challenge. Concepts such as Accounting for the Management of Ecosystems and Material Flow Cost Accounting are areas of research seen as offering future opportunities to develop into a more ecological management accounting framework, though this will ultimately require research in ecological management accounting based on a multi-disciplinary approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) for Sustainable Development)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 836 KiB

Open AccessReview

Material Flow Cost Accounting in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review

by Thuy Thanh Tran and Christian Herzig

Sustainability 2020, 12(13), 5413; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12135413 - 04 Jul 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5232

Abstract

This study aims to provide a better understanding of material flow cost accounting (MFCA) application in developing countries, which are characterized by rapid structure transformation leading to serious environmental problems. By systematically reviewing the existing literature, our analysis of 28 studies from nine developing countries (China, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam) shows that MFCA research has primarily focused on Asian developing countries. Moreover, while the use of MFCA is often associated with improving eco-efficiency, the reviewed studies also indicate a high relevance for strategic decision-making processes within organizations. Finally, one of the key challenges in MFCA application reported in developing country studies lies in existing accounting systems with limited data availability and insufficient cost allocation. Based on our findings and gaps identified in the MFCA literature, we suggest paths for further research, including the necessity of quantitative research and comparative analysis of MFCA application across countries, the further investigation of MFCA application in small and medium-sized enterprises as well as in various manufacturing and service sectors in developing countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) for Sustainable Development)

► Show Figures