Environmental and Sustainability Management Accounting (EMA) for Advancing Sustainability Management (PDF)

Sustainability and sustainable development, defined by their economic, social and environmental dimensions, are clearly one of the major challenges for society. The ongoing debate on the link between sustainability and business is whether sustainability management creates value. In a turbulent business environment characterized by rapid change and uncertainty there is a growing business need for support in understanding the complexity of sustainability issues and their economic implications, and for decisions which address problems such as carbon emission reduction, increasing energy costs and material consumption, and resource scarcity.Accounting for the environmental, economic and social (or sustainability) impacts of organizational strategies and actions has been a growing area of practice and research in recent years. Sustainability requires a balanced approach to environmental, economic, andsocial performance. Business practices in this area encompass provision of information within organizations to help managers at different levels appreciate the potential corporate sustainability impacts on and of their decisions. Environmental and SustainabilityManagement Accounting (EMA) provides decision-makers with tools and approaches towards improving the sustainability performance of companies and organisations, thereby contributing to more sustainable corporate bottom lines and sustainable value. This special issue contains five articles that investigate how sustainability information is used in different ways of advancing sustainability management in different countries. Also, the findings reported in these five articles have employed different research methods. The range of methods demonstrates the breadth of studies being conducted into this important issue.