Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management – serie

Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management aims to advance knowledge of the governance and management of corporate environmental impacts and the accounting for these, including issues related to measurement, valuation, and disclosure. It also aims to increase the awareness of management, accounting practitioners, investors and other stakeholders of the financial and social consequences of corporate environmental impacts, encouraging greater environmental accountability and responsibility. Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to submit papers on any social and environmental issue, based on theoretical and empirical research, conceptual arguments and descriptive models. Coverage includes, but is not limited to the following issues:Environmental accounting including, for instance, issues related to the measurement and valuation of environmental costs and liabilities. Accountability for environmental issues such as climate change, water scarcity and biodiversity. Social/Environmental/Sustainability disclosures, reporting and assurance. Environmental management and control systems. Social and ethical investing.

The accounting profession, especially in the US, has lost credibility and this has serious implications for environmental reporting. As a number of papers in this volume attest, the amount of environmental reporting has increased in the period from the 1980s-mid 1990s. However, the value of those disclosures is open to serious question. The research for most of the papers in this volume was completed prior to the Enron scandal, but the findings indicate a need to re-evaluate what is reported about the firm's relationship to the physical environment.

In the two years since the publication of the last volume of this series, the planet has witnessed some devastating environmental events some of which can be attributed to human causes. However, we have also seen the world uniting (except mainly for the United States and Australia) to reduce greenhouse gases and hopefully slowdown global warming. Recognizing that sustainable development is a way that can lead to well being of the society in the long run, most of the world has therefore agreed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. There is hope that the USA and other industrialized countries will ratify the Protocol and all countries including China and India, which are exempt from emission cuts, will make efforts to reduce pollution emissions beyond the limit set by the Protocol. Economic growth in China and India is resulting in a rapid increase in the greenhouse gas emissions in those countries. It is especially important that plants in India and China use newer pollution technologies in generating electricity to meet their energy needs. Their continued participation in the dialogue is important to control pollution emissions beyond the Kyoto Protocol. Environmental issues are multi-faceted and they are being debated in several disciplines. These issues may be technical, legal, economical, measurement, managerial, or ethical in nature, and different disciplines focus on the issues of interest to them. Accounting is primarily concerned with measurement of pollution-related performance and cost, and reporting of this information to stakeholders. Consistent with the goals of Sarbanes-Oxley Act, it is important that accounting regains its lost credibility and provides reliable pollution-related information to the stakeholders so that they evaluate their risk properly. This volume contains papers which deal with some of the important issues related to pollution information and should be of interest to investors, management, regulators and other individuals interested in environmental accounting. Several papers contained in this volume deal with disclosure of environmental information. Some papers examine what motivates environmental disclosures, whereas other examine whether environmental reporting reflects any real commitment or it is merely a propaganda ploy. While some firms may be genuinely interested in reporting their environmental performance correctly, others may use it as a tool to look good. Another paper in this issue shows that an alignment of management commitment, strategic planning and proactive managerial actions result in better environmental performance and this leads to better return on investment. Though there is no uniform format for reporting environmental information, the last paper in this issue provides discussion on integrating the living systems theory with the accounting disclosure model. In brief, this issue contains several interesting articles dealing with different aspects of environmental disclosures. It addresses the Kyoto Protocol on an international level, discusses how an accountant measures pollution-related performance and cost, and investigates the motive behind disclosure of environmental information.

Advances in Environmental Accounting and Management has three main objectives. First, it enhances understanding of global environmental issues, especially valuation and disclosure of environmental impacts of firms' activities. Second, it makes management, investors and other stakeholders aware of the financial and economic consequences of our failure to address the environmental issues. Third, it encourages management to improve the firm's environmental performance and disclosures.

Vol 6 of Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management aims to advance knowledge of the governance and management of corporate environmental impacts and the accounting for these, including issues related to measurement, valuation, and disclosure. It is particularly relevant for accounting practitioners, investors and other stakeholders of the financial and social consequences of corporate environmental impacts.

Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management aims to advance knowledge of the governance and management of corporate environmental impacts and the accounting for these, including issues related to measurement, valuation, and disclosure. It also aims to increase the awareness of management, accounting practitioners, investors and other stakeholders of the financial and social consequences of corporate environmental impacts, encouraging greater environmental accountability and responsibility. The first chapter in this volume (Dr Yousuf Kamal) is set in the context of the Bangladeshi garment industry, while the second chapter (Delphine Gibassier) explores the practice of water accounting. The remainder of this volume presents three chapters from the 3rd French Conference on Social and Environmental Accounting Research, guest edited by Sophie Giordano-Spring, Jonathan Maurice and Charles H. Cho. These chapters consider sustainability in Canadian CPA teaching programmes (Emilio Boulianne and S. Leanne Keddie); mandatory environmental reporting in France (Juliette Senn); and CSR reporting practices in Brazil and South Korea (Hyemi Shin and Adrián Zicari).

Environment management and protection are top global priorities. Between cyclones affecting more than 2.6 million people across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and tornadoes ripping through the Mid-West in the United States, climate change is front and centre in the public mind. The six papers in this volume of Advances in Environmental Management and Accounting provide much needed information for academics, practitioners and policy makers about environmental accounting and management in Africa. Despite one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) being Climate Action, very little is known about environmental accounting and management practices in Africa. Including research based on South Africa and Nigeria, two of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, the research here is a significant contribution to understanding these practices.This volume asks: how useful is environmental and social information to regulators, investors, financial institutions and practitioners? To what extend do food producers report on their water use given that water shortage is among the top 10 global risks? What influences the adoption of environmental management techniques? How do different environmental management practices affect the financial performance of Small and Medium-Sized enterprises? Are environmental management and reporting regulations complied with and if not why?

Actions to accomplish Agenda 2030 have gained propulsion across time yet remain undetermined in several respects. This volume draws attention to environmental-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the progress of implementation at country and company levels, underscoring the urgent actions needed.Environmental Sustainability and Agenda 2030: Efforts, Progress & Prospects documents the status of environmental SDG implementation in the two developing blocs of BRICS and MINTS, highlighting the reporting practices across these countries. Contributors illustrate that multi-stakeholder participation using group model-building exercises can be practically helpful to generate a shared mental model of multiple stakeholders in conflict. Further insights with practical implications for managers and policy makers include mechanisms for managing modern slavery through corporate social reporting practices, minimising slavery in domestic and global supply chains; use of sustainability accounting in accomplishing Agenda 2030; corporate motivation for disclosing clean water and sanitation (SDG-6) related actions; and the state of corporate environmental reporting research in sub-Saharan Africa.

Human-induced climate change is one of the imminent threats to humankind in recent times. Climate change, exacerbated by the greenhouse gas (GHG) in the atmosphere has consequential effects on the social and environmental outcome of human health, clean air, sufficient food, safe drinking water and secure shelter. In extreme circumstances it has resulted in the loss of human life, damage to property and displacement. As record numbers of hurricanes, wildfires and floods have occurred and millions of people have been forcibly displaced by weather-related events and extreme temperatures since 2008, this volume addresses vital issues pertinent to environmental accounting and management.Green House Gas Emissions Reporting and Management in Global Top Emitting Countries and Companies increases our understanding of GHG emissions and documents evidence for policy formulation aimed at reducing the accumulation of such emissions. The contributors consider a range of issues from across the globe: the nature and quantum of GHG emissions research published in top journals; the extent of GHG disclosures in China; impact of corporate governance mechanisms on GHG disclosures in US; board interlocks effect on GHG performance in India; the Paris Climate Agreement affect on climate disclosures in South Africa; and social factors influence in determining GHG emissions in the top 100 emitting countries.The Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management series aims to advance knowledge of the governance and management of corporate environmental impacts and the accounting involved.

Supply chains globally continue to be affected by unprecedented disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental impacts linked to climate change, and numerous geopolitical issues. Increasingly, resilient and sustainable supply chain management is a necessary area of research in the field of supply chain management.Contributing to both theoretical and empirical literature on resilient and sustainable supply chain management, Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chain illustrates how theoretical approaches from other fields – like the conservation resource theory and systems theory – can be utilised. Practical research is presented in a variety of contexts, including food supply chain, environmental accounting models, energy sector, human resources, modern slavery, horticultural worker exploitation, and sustainable transport in geographies like Australia, European Union, Fiji and India. This volume encourages further empirical research to build  theory related to resilient and sustainable supply chain management.The Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management series aims to advance knowledge of the governance and management of corporate environmental impacts and the accounting involved.

This volume contains an Open Access ChapterIn recent years, the global business landscape has witnessed an increasing emphasis on sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations. This trend has led governments around the world to adopt policies aimed at addressing emerging ESG-related issues, including but not limited to climate-related risks.Climate Risks Reporting Practices and Assurance captures novel insights into the existing landscape of climate risk reporting practices and assurance practices related to Sustainability and ESG. Chapter authors discuss disclosure practices, climate risk assurance in New Zealand, responsible governance in sub-Saharan Africa, research opportunities within Science Based Targets, and valuation, accounting and climate risk.The Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management series aims to advance knowledge of the governance and management of corporate environmental impacts and the accounting involved.

It is increasingly being recognised across society that the preservation of our natural environment should shape political, economic and social policies. This book delves into the partnership of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Environmental NGOs (ENGOs), their communities, and their governmental counterparts in responding to this need. Providing extended research on environmentalism and the NGOs’ roles in promoting environmental accountability, the chapters present a comprehensive overview of the interaction between the two themes both regionally and internationally. Topics include the accountability of Environmental NGOs (ENGOs), impact of NGOs on environmental sustainability, NGOs and sustainable development goals, NGOs and social reporting quality, and the role of NGOs in urban and rural environmental governance. The authors present these insights within the context of developing economies, continental and global perspectives, as well as the transformational angle. This book provides readers with a truly comprehensive snapshot of the environmental accountability of NGOs.