F.B. de Walle - Böcker

This study investigates the extent of the pollution of the Mediterranean Sea with respect to the four bordering EC countries Spain, France, Italy and Greece. The environmental pressures and economic impacts are examined and the institutional/legal framework is described, together with all the necessary environmental expenditures. Separate chapters are devoted to each of the four countries, after an initial section summarizing the major commonalities. These chapters are organized in parallel formats so that it is possible to examine the same topic, country-by-country. Extensive references are provided for the reader who is not familiar with Mediterranean pollution. For specialists the book provides a useful overview of adjacent fields other than their own speciality; for policy-makers the chapters provide sufficient foundations for decision-making, for the investment planner and banks it provides budget and investment needs; and for the private sector it gives an insight into the possibilities for corporate applications of environmental technologies.

This text describes the excess supply of nutrients and manure to agricultural lands and the resulting problems of groundwater contamination and surface water eutrophication. It reviews these practices in the main EU countries and in North America and proposes a new sustainable approach for dealing with this environmental deterioration.

The ECOMAC project (Eco-management Accounting as a Tool of Environmental Man­ agement) has provided a framework for linking environmental management with man­ agement accounting. It was funded in Theme 4, 'Human Dimensions of Environmental Change' in the EU Environment and Climate Research Programme. The project is of high policy relevance by contributing to the on-going debate on eco­ management accounting, reporting and indicators. It is also an area needing further re­ search. I would like to thank the research team, companies that participated as associated con­ tractors, and the advisory panel. Jonathan Parker DG XII/D-5, European Commission Theme on Human Dimensions of Environmental Change 7 Preface The ECOMAC project This document is the final report on the project 'Eco-management accounting as a tool of environmental managemenf (ECOMAC). This research project was conducted under the Environment and Climate Programme (Human Dimension of Environmental Change) of the European Commission (DG XII). The ECOMAC project investigated how companies are using or intend to use environ­ mental costs and benefits figures in support of their decisions, and what they have been doing to remedy the limitations of conventional management accounting in this area. The research was largely explorative in nature, but the project also produced a structured overview of the subject and made suggestions and recommendations as to how compa­ nies could improve their own environmental accounting.

This study investigates the extent of the pollution of the Mediterranean Sea with respect to the four bordering EC countries - Spain, France, Italy and Greece. The environmental pressures and economic impacts are examined and the institutional/legal framework is described, together with all the necessary environmental expenditures. Separate chapters are devoted to each of the four countries, after an initial section summarizing the major commonalities. These chapters are organized in parallel formats so that it is possible to examine the same topic, country-by-country. Excellent references are provided for the reader who is not familiar with Mediterranean pollution. For specialists the book provides a useful overview of adjacent fields other than their own speciality; for policymakers the chapters provide sufficient foundations for decision-making, for the investment planner and banks it provides budget and investment needs; and for the private sector it gives an insight into the possibilities for corporate applications of environmental technologies.

This book is based on a research project sponsored by the European Commission (DG XII, Human Dimension of Environmental Change). It focuses on how companies calculate environmental costs in support of management decisions, exploring the possible contribution that management accounting may make to environmental management in a European context. A conceptual framework is developed within which the relationship between the two activities can be charted and analyzed. The work is based on a survey of 84 European companies and 15 company-based case studies in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. The project produced unique empirical materials. It affords important insights into how companies can apply the principles of environmental accounting. It shows where existing accounting structures are helpful and where new sources of information are needed to address the environmental issues with which companies are confronted. It shows the potential usefulness of different accounting concepts and techniques in the environmental area.