Integrating digital green management accounting with circular economy: A systematic literature review of the palm oil agroindustry

Environmental management accounting (EMA) enables a company to analyze its impacts on the natural environment as well as provide information to managers to help them become aware of, and address, environmentally driven monetary impacts on the company (p. 32). Given the internal, proprietary focus of management accounting and the specialized nature of environmental management accounting, there is not a great deal of published material available to describe what companies are actually doing in the EMA area. Thus, this book makes an important contribution by providing 12 concrete examples of how EMA activities are being conducted in small and medium-size enterprises in Southeast Asia. The companies range in size from eight to 1,600 employees and include four cases in the Philippines, four in Vietnam, two in Indonesia, and two in Thailand.The case development was motivated by two research questions (pp. 42–43): (1) “How do different organisational environments and institutional settings influence the implementation of EMA in South East Asia?” and (2) “How do EMA tools interact and complement each other to support managers in decision-making?” The data collection process to develop these cases is best described as action-based research. The authors, with the aid of local resource people, were involved in the EMA process to the extent that “some of the companies would not have succeeded in actually implementing EMA without researcher involvement” (p. 49).The book begins with some general discussion about the subject of EMA. This discussion is based around a very useful, multi-dimensional framework that categorizes decision settings and tools. The dimensions include the following dichotomies: (1) monetary and physical, (2) short-term and long-term, (3) future-oriented and past-oriented, and (4) ad hoc and routinely generated. These dimensions are combined to form a 16-cell framework. So, for example, the monetary, long-term, future-oriented, ad hoc cell refers to the EMA tool of monetary investment appraisal. Every one of these 16 cells is covered by at least one of the cases in the book, and seven of the cells are covered by four or more cases. Space does not permit a full description of each of the 12 cases, but in order to capture the flavor of the cases, each is described briefly, as follows.Chapter 4, EMA for eco-efficiency in a towel production firm, deals with the firm of Indah Jaya in Indonesia. Indah Jaya is ISO 14001 compliant, which is a requirement of many of the company's customers who are large department stores chains. Although Indah Jaya monitors issues such as energy consumption, hazardous substances, and legal requirements, this information has not been linked to production planning and control. A material flow cost accounting (MFCA) is conducted, and the chapter provides the details of the effect of energy and water consumption on product pricing. The results serve to focus attention on the management of product material losses as well as the inclusion of certain production processes in job order costing.Chapter 5, Managing HSE in a mechanical engineering firm, highlights efforts by Bisma Jaya, an engineering and construction firm in Indonesia, to improve health, safety, and environment (HSE) measures in response to HSE audits conducted on the company by customers. Without a satisfactory HSE ranking, the company was facing the risk of being disqualified from the job tender process. An extensive table is provided in the chapter that details the various HSE measures and what achievement of the measures would cost. The HSE measures are ordered according to cost-effectiveness to demonstrate how the company could optimize its HSE ranking as cheaply as possible.Chapter 6, Material flow cost accounting in a snack producer, focuses on the production of peanut snacks at JBC Food Corporation in the Philippines. The company had implemented a software-based environmental performance indicator system that monitored a large number of indicators, including electricity usage and waste and waste water treatment. As is a common issue across several of the cases, these indicators were not linked to monetary measures and financial performance. A physical flow chart was developed, and an MFCA was conducted. These tools demonstrated that about 10 percent of total production costs were caused by material losses, and as a result management understood that a focus on methods for boiling and peeling peanuts had the greatest potential for improving financial performance by reducing waste and energy demand.Chapters 7 and 8 represent a two-part case analysis of Oliver Enterprises, a company in the rice milling industry in the Philippines. Chapter 7, EMA for cleaner rice processing, describes how the company disposed of rice husks by dumping them in open fields and burning them. This led to a number of social and environmental issues: open-field burning is difficult to control; dumping and burning reduced productivity of the land; and the Philippine government had passed new environmental regulation prohibiting such activity. The company used a monetary environmental assessment appraisal to investigate a process to carbonize the rice husks and sell the output to fertilizer manufacturers. As a result of the analysis, the initiative went ahead. Unfortunately, after conducting an ex post assessment of the environmental investment, it became evident that the expectations for technical capacity of the carbonization process as well as the market for carbonized rice husks were too optimistic. Thus, in Chapter 8, EMA for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in rice processing, Oliver Enterprises takes another approach and looks at using rice husks as fuel for co-generation. The chapter describes the utilization of a monetary and a physical investment appraisal to determine which configuration of co-generation would be the most efficient.Chapter 9, Environmental impact assessment, compliance monitoring and reporting in electroplating, describes Well-Ever, a company that was motivated to use EMA because of supply chain pressures and regulatory requirements. The business was relocating and needed the necessary environmental compliance certificate from the government to commence operations in a new location. In addition, local government authorities required ongoing environmental monitoring and reporting. As a result of the EMA analysis, the company understood how to change its production processes to become more cost-efficient and be compliant with regulation at the same time.With Chapter 10, Relevant environmental costing and decision-making in a saa paper manufacturer, the book covers the first of two cases set in Thailand, where it is noted there is an environmental regulatory framework in place but with limited inspection.11 Saa paper is made from the bark of the mulberry tree. The owner of Classic Crafts was concerned about profitability and saw EMA as a way to inform efforts at cost reduction. A description is provided in the chapter of how material and energy flows were charted. This resulted in changes to the job costing system and a reversal of the decision about whether to sell low-quality paper or use it as an input in future production.Chapter 11, Environmental risk assessment at a pulp and paper company, focuses on an ISO 14001 certified paper mill, Thai Cane Paper, which realized that water was no longer a “free” good. The mill was faced with an increased risk of water shortage due to the installation of a power plant and declining rainfall. Analysis consisted of an examination of change in water flows and use, as well as predicting long-term changes in water supply and usage. EMA confirmed that changes were needed in water storage and recycling practices or the company would risk the possibility of being unable to continue operations in the dry season.Chapter 12, Decoupling economic growth from pollution, investigates the application of EMA at Tan Loc Food, a food-processing company in Vietnam. The company, operating in three houses, was in the process of consolidating operations into a single location in an industrial area. The company was going to be faced with a waste water fee for discharge in the new location. Production flow charts were developed to better understand material and energy flows, including the use of water. As a result, employees began separating and collecting solid organic waste as well as organic matter from waste water. By selling these by-products to farmers, the company increased revenue by €2,250 per year and reduced solid food waste by almost 100 percent and organic matter in wastewater by 40 percent.Chapter 13, Supply chain information and EMA in coffee exporting, describes the process of environmental supply chain costing and management in a coffee refining and exporting enterprise called Neumann Vietnam. The company was looking for ways to increase profitability, and the reader is told that the largest environmental cost savings are to be had upstream during the farming process, and downstream during the coffee consumption process. Farmers supplying the coffee beans were using more than twice the fertilizer needed. A positive supply chain effect could be realized if Neumann Vietnam assisted the farmers in using fertilizer more efficiently and more effectively. Such cost-savings would enable the farmers to sell the coffee beans more cheaply.The subject of Chapter 14, Environmental and quality improvements as justification for higher capital expenditure and land use in shrimp farming, is Chau Thanh Tam Shrimp Farm in Vietnam. Here, the owner has adapted the conventional approach to farming by installing an additional fish pond and a recycling pond. This has required higher-than-usual capital investment, and the owner is convinced the method is superior from a financial and environmental point of view. EMA analysis confirms that the owner's gut instincts are correct.The final case in the book, Chapter 15, Material and energy flow accounting in beer production, takes place in an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified beer producer, Sai Gon Beer, in Vietnam. The production manager wanted to reduce water and energy usage because he knew it would improve financial performance. The chapter outlines how he worked with the environmental manager to analyze material and energy flows and associated costs and identify a number of capital investments to reduce costs and improve environmental performance.After the 12 cases, the book has a few closing chapters that are meant to summarize the cases and provide some general comments.The biggest strength of the book lies in its abundance of detailed tables and figures. Such supporting material makes the text come alive and enables the reader to grasp the production process and the EMA technique being used. Indeed, the book is very dense, and the technical details are not for the faint at heart. The book also does a good job of demonstrating that environmental considerations need to be incorporated into management decision-making, and to do so necessitates an understanding of material flows and an ability to integrate the physical and the financial.The emphasis on production processes, the material flow cost accounting, and the detailed supporting material means that the book is extremely practical. The cases are not dramatic or earth-shattering cases, but that is their appeal. The cases are very basic and, despite being located in Southeast Asia, the lessons derived from the cases can be applied to small and medium-size organizations anywhere. The book demonstrates that savings are to be had by pursuing EMA in a local setting and that an organization need not be a large, publicly traded multinational to pursue and benefit from environmental management accounting.This book could have been made even more valuable by using the concluding chapters to re-focus on the research questions and provide a more in-depth synthesis and comparison of the cases studies. Instead, an over-reliance is placed on the 16-cell framework and the ways in which the various cases “fit” the various cells in the framework. A less functionalist summary would have been helpful.Issues that would have benefited from elaboration in the concluding chapters are as follows: (1) measurement difficulties, (2) EMA initiation, (3) interdisciplinary nature of EMA, and (4) regulatory and ISO 14001 context.First are the problems associated with measurement. Although several of the chapters do refer to the difficulties in estimating physical flows and financial costs, this is underplayed in the book. For example, the commitment to regular HSE meetings for all employees responsible for HSE was assigned an annual cost of €150. This was calculated at two hours per month for 20 persons, plus snacks (p. 83). Interestingly, opportunity costs were not considered. The salaries of staff involved were not included in the cost because they were already covered and were not seen to create additional costs (p. 88). A detailed discussion of this and other measuring and costing activities would necessitate turning the case into a book, which is not feasible, but more commentary on the measurement difficulties would have been welcome.A second issue that could have been emphasized is the way in which EMA is initiated in a company. In many of the cases, customers provided the motivation for the company to be more environmentally sensitive. Also, there tended to be a champion (or champions) within the company who sought to improve environmental performance (see, for example, page 98). In some cases, the champion was met with resistance. For example, the saa paper manufacturing case noted that the environmental improvements suggested by the production manager were not initially considered relevant by the owner (p. 175). Only when profitability became an issue did the owner get interested in EMA.Third, it would have been helpful if the summary chapters reflected more substantially on the interdisciplinary nature of EMA and the need for interdisciplinary co-operation. For example, pages 168–169 and 218 comment on the information-gathering process and how it was not necessarily being done by management accountants. Indeed, production people, environmental management people, and management accountants all have a role to play.Fourth, more attention could have been paid to the regulatory and ISO 14001 context in which EMA is used. Several of the cases referred to an unenforced legal framework (see, for example, page 176, where Thailand is discussed). In the Philippines, beginning in February 2004, open rice husk burning was no longer permitted. Yet, two years later, over 700 open dump sites were still operating (p. 120). Also, many of the companies in the cases were ISO 14001 certified or were working to become certified. Some summary comments on this aspect and the role of voluntary environmental certification would have been useful.Finally, some mention is needed on the dominant paradigm of the book—eco-efficiency: saving money by managing environmental resources more prudently. The authors note that economic rationality was the driving factor in most of the cases, with technical and legal issues playing an ancillary role. Thus, action is taken on the basis of EMA because it pays or because the company wants to find a cost-efficient way to meet legal and regulatory obligations. Eco-efficiency should not be confused with environmental sustainability (Gray 2010). While the authors never claim to be accounting for sustainability, the tone of the book becomes overreaching every once in a while when it describes a company as being motivated to improve environmental performance. EMA will provide information on how organizations can be less unsustainable, but eco-efficiency and the adoption of EMA techniques is a long way from managing in an environmentally sustainable manner (Buhr and Gray 2012).Despite these comments suggesting how the book could have been enhanced, the book is without doubt a valuable reference and a welcome addition to the field. I would heartily recommend this book to students at all levels, as well as researchers and practitioners. There is much in the book for all of these audiences.The author presents an easy-to-read book based on her Ph.D. at the University of Sydney, addressing subject matter (solvency), which is topical. It follows the prior work of Frank Clarke and Graeme Dean, who have written extensively on the deficiencies of financial reporting and corporate collapses. Solvency is defined, consistent with the Australian Corporations Act (2001), s95A(1), as the ability of an entity “to pay all ... [its] debts, as and when they become due and payable” (p. 4). In terms of public perceptions, solvency is linked to financial distress and corporate collapse. Business pages of newspapers the world over give prominence to any large company that fails. Frequently, the sub-text of such articles includes perceptions of management greed, governance deficiencies, bungled decision making, accounting manipulation, insider trading, fraud, the plight of employees, and those left out-of-pocket. Jensen (1979) argues that journalists have economic incentives to engage in hype and sensationalism, and corporate collapses appear to be good examples of this type of reporting. However, it is worth remembering that evidence suggests corporate failure among listed companies is rare (Francis 2004).This backdrop is useful in considering the objective of the book. As stated on page 6, “The principal aim is to reconsider the solvency notion and to demonstrate through analysis and case data that conventional financial statements are deficient in terms of establishing the dated financial position of an entity and equally lacking with regard to quantifying an entity's state of solvency.”11 All uses of emphasis in the direct quotes are in the original source document. This objective is stated repeatedly: “Throughout this book, it is demonstrated that accounting as financial instrumentation—proved to be faulty—is in need of repair” (p. 15); “… conventional financial statements are shown throughout this work to provide a distorted view of a firm's financial position” (p. 59); “These investigations, as previously explained, indicate that certain accounting deficiencies have existed from the 1960s throughout the 1990s and continue into the new millennium” (p. 90); “For in spite of the attention apparent, accounting processes, its output and its outcomes have been shown to be lacking” (p. 180); “What society has to is on the role of the output of accounting quality of the of financial with regard to the effect on the or of business and its provide an In that and society have the notion that problems in reporting on the financial state of business (p. using case through 7 the conventional financial statements are deficient in quantifying an entity's solvency and equally lacking in establishing its dated financial (p. the cases, this confirmed financial data using a of accounting are in providing with quality financial information on an entity's dated financial (p. the of corporate and business throughout the and into the new the in terms of money and of conventional financial statements (p. and and should change to conventional accounting This is long (p. Thus, the aim of the book is to the case that financial accounting is is the book The author from the many corporate collapses and financial throughout the and this work is important from a public as with a environment by corporate (p. and “These and other cases and the financial they in and this and important from a public and a public (p. it is the is aspect of financial includes a of solvency and describes the research which from of method of (p. I that I no in this but it that case are the form of In Chapter the author the flow of ability of an entity to pay all of its as and when they and the of entity is if the book of its is less than its The author provides an legal case and a detailed of examples of the flow and from this is discussion of the extensive on by and which have better discussion of the Chapter the in of the Australian Corporations which that a as to in the there are to that the company, or entity will be to pay its as and when they become due and payable” (p. are This referred to as the of is suggested to be the author that need to by of (p. it is would in their financial statements are deficient to the extent that are as to the financial position of they any evidence of to this the author have considered a of to whether in this way about their financial begins with a discussion of deficiencies in accounting using as an example, in 9, the be at the of cost and In that “The cost of be assigned by using the or cost The author “The is It a but and too and a It is a method that will by result in an assessment of the financial It can on in in money an entity's (p. 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These data could be as an of accounting information the Chapter 5, the case is and includes an of the in (pp. the reader the the author is almost in her with an on page where is and is to are of a of that with other for by For the extent of its was a and factor in its financial The total of it had was but it was to be relevant to its financial the of the on page are from of for years in and These indicate from operations in the two years prior to collapse. of the flow statements of in the prior to its would that accounting were being 6, in issues in quantifying more case including those of and In the the firm an of a financial and The was based on a provided by the accounting firm for an based on a and went with the accounting firm providing the being In the case of it is what a reader should from this case there were no the case of at issue was the of made to by for as many would that are difficult to it is worth that did not was for a (p. that accounting, once did a good job of the of the with the from in to in This is by (p. which the working capital from in to in The of after to total during the from to as would be if the financial statements were firm performance. 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The theme of article is the draft of ISO 14051-Environmental Management - Material flow cost accounting - General framework, whose final form should be finished at the end of 2011 or later. This standard does not take in consideration the national particularity. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to review how the concept of MFCA meets the Czech conditions. The MFCA (as one of cost accounting methods) is in Czech Republic a part of management accounting (MA), which coincides with the Anglo- Saxon concept. MA is a skeleton for other components of information system, closely connected with the physical process. The environmental management accounting (EMA) is based on the same concept: it could be defined as a "green MA". When defining EMA, we encounter many misleading inaccuracies and misunderstandings. Firstly, some believe that traditional management accounts generally detect only actual costs. From this, MFCA is defined as a (solely) accounting method. Secondly, EMA is segmented to physical part (PEMA) and monetary part (MEMA). This leads to obscure the substance of EMA. Implementation of costing methods has a long tradition in Czech Republic. Basic types of traditional costing methods (unlike MFCA) have been derived from the conditions, under which specific production process continues. MFCA adoption in our conditions should be comprehended as an upgrading and enhancement of the traditional methods, not as their suppression.

Traditional management accounting methods are difficult to provide the necessary information for environmental economic management decisions. In response to the increasingly urgent need for decision-related information, a new branch of accounting, environmental management accounting, has emerged and is receiving increasing attention. Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) is a useful tool for managing complex resource and waste streams. However, MFCA is mainly used for ex-post accounting and reporting and no efforts are made to use it for forecasting. In this study, we introduce MFCA method into the budgeting process of manufacturing firms, and thus construct an MFCA-ABB (Activity-Based Budget) model. This model is applied to JLC Company which is a fragrant liquor manufacturer in China, in order to forecast and plan for its resource consumption, positive product output, and negative product generation. Based on the forecasts of involved material flows, inefficiencies in the company’s liquor production process are identified; scenario analysis is then conducted to determine the optimal process and the technology adopted. The proposed MFCA-ABB model turns a pure operating budget into an environmental-economic budget, thus achieving both environmental and economic benefits for the company. Besides, this study makes an attempt to apply ABB in environmental management accounting, which suggests the possibility of applying the conventional management accounting tools, after modified, to the environmental-economic management of manufacturing firms in the future.

Spent Bleaching Earth (SBE), a significant solid waste from the palm oil refining industry, poses environmental risks due to its high residual oil content, moisture, and contaminants. Traditional disposal through landfilling creates environmental hazards, undermining resource recovery opportunities. This study integrates Material Flow Analysis (MFA) with Kaizen-based root cause diagnostics to evaluate and enhance circular economy valorization pathways for SBE, specifically focusing on solvent-based oil recovery using hexane extraction in an Indonesian palm oil refinery. The MFA revealed an achievable oil recovery yield of 72–78%, with approximately 75% of input mass converted into de-oiled bleaching earth (DOBE), and around 7% representing operational losses. Kaizen diagnostic tools, including Ishikawa diagrams and 5-Whys analysis, identified critical operational inefficiencies such as excessive feed moisture, solvent recovery challenges, and mechanical disruptions that constrained the plant’s rated throughput of 200 tons per day (TPD). The study proposes targeted operational improvements, including installation of solvent–water separation sensors, redesigning duct slopes, revising standard operating procedures, and preventive equipment maintenance. These integrative measures significantly enhance resource efficiency, reduce waste disposal, and align with circular economy principles. The findings contribute to the advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action), by promoting sustainable waste valorization, solvent recovery, and industrial process improvement in the palm oil sector.

Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) is a crucial method used in environmental management systems by many Japanese companies for targeting cleaner production and sustainable development. Among various EMA tools, Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) is determined to be the most useful approach. Existing studies have shown numerous successful cases of MFCA applications in Japan; however, there are only a few reported cases about EMA applications in Vietnam. This paper aims to ascertain the viability of using MFCA as an EMA method for Japan in order to determine this tool’s applicability to Vietnamese companies in their pursuit of sustainable development. Using the case study method, this paper discusses the usefulness and applicability of the Japanese MFCA approach in a Vietnamese context. In this work, a case study is used to answer the research question. The company under study is a small company from the seafood processing industry, which currently causes serious environmental problems in Vietnam. Using MFCA analysis, the results of the study show that the actual and hidden losses and waste in the production process of a company can be identified.

Environmental degeneration, market pressures and stricter regulation and waste legislation has placed organizations under tremendous pressure to change their current processes and adopt cleaner production (CP) techniques and technologies. However, in countries like South Africa, CP implementation still remains low. In light of this problem, the government has made efforts to promote CP among industries by forming a support structure called the RECP (resource efficient cleaner production), as a strategy to encourage organizations to embrace this change and move away from the tradition end-of-pipe technologies towards CP technologies. This study is based on a case study of a paper manufacturing company in Kwadakuza, KwaZulu-Natal. The aim of this study was to use Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) to identify benefits of CP. Paper manufacturing consumes large amounts of natural resources and generates excessive wastes. Hence, the operational activities of paper mills have a negative environmental impact. However, the scope of this study was limited to the steam generation process and focused mainly on the efficiency of the current coal-fired boilers used in the boiler plant. The research methodology used in the study was both quantitative and qualitative involving triangulation. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and documentary review. The company uses old, obsolete boilers to generate steam. It had been discovered during a cleaner production assessment (CPA) of the process that the process uses large amounts of coal and generates excessive boiler ash (waste). This boiler ash also contains approximately 20 percent unburned coal present resulting in major losses to the company. Furthermore, the company has also experienced regular breakdowns during the year resulting in loss in production and high maintenance costs. Hence, it was concluded that the steam generation process was inefficient and that the boilers were not operating as per technological specification. However, management was unaware of the huge losses incurred due to raw material losses, more especially the coal used in the process. Environmental costs were also inaccurately calculated and thus underestimated. Hence, the ‘true environmental’ costs were not considered during strategic decision making. Over the last two decades, EMA has emerged as an important approach by organizations wanting to improve their environmental and economic performances. However, despite the many pilot projects conducted that demonstrated the positive impact that EMA has on an organization, EMA implementation remains slow and lagging in South Africa. EMA is an environmental management tool that traces environmental costs directly to the processes and products that are responsible for those costs, thereby highlighting problem areas that need to be prioritized when considering the adoption of CP. The literature review on the role and impact of implementing EMA and the benefits of adopting CP was presented to determine and outline views and findings of past researchers. Previous researchers identified that traditional costing systems did not adequately account for the actual environmental costs incurred by companies as much of these costs were hidden under overhead accounts. Hence, production costs were high, resulting in incorrect profit margins being set and ultimately impacting on company profitability. The main cause of this was that non-product output costs were added to production cost instead of being separately recorded as ‘non-product’ output. These costs are actually environmental costs as they represent waste. Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA), a tool of EMA, was considered as an appropriate method to implement to accurately calculate non-product output costs. MFCA made managers aware of the true magnitude of their losses and inefficiencies of current technology by increasing the transparency of non-product output costs (environmental costs). MFCA was further used to benchmark non-product output costs against technological standards and best available technological standards to highlight the economic and environmental benefits of adopting CP techniques and technologies. Based on the findings, one recommendation is that the company should consider restructuring their conventional costing system and adopt an EMA system instead. The use of an MFCA model had been suggested. This model was used by the Economy, Trade and Tourism industry in Japan to identify non-product output and improve efficiency of production processes. In addition, findings revealed that the company should implement CP techniques in the short-term to ensure that boilers are functioning according to technological specification. This will result in economic and environmental benefits for the company. However, greater savings potential is available in the long-term, by changing current technology and adopting state-of-the-art technologies. This would, however, require greater investment needs of the company to taken into consideration during strategic decision making.

Material flow cost accounting (MFCA) for the circular economy: An empirical study of the triadic relationship between MFCA, environmental performance, and the economic performance of Japanese companies

MFCA extension from a circular economy perspective: Model modifications and case study

Material Flow Cost Accounting – looking back and ahead

Expanding material flow cost accounting. Framework, review and potentials

Purpose This paper aims to provide a practical method for businesses seeking to identify and measure the characteristics of material and energy costs in their production activities using the Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) framework. Specifically, this study applies Material and Energy Flow Accounting (MEFA) and Environmental Cost Accounting (ECA), which are closely aligned with the principles of Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA), standardized by ISO 14051. The object of this single case study is a non-traditional and non-profit-oriented company, the largest MDF-based coffin company in Surabaya, Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach This research applies two environmental management system analysis instruments within the EMA framework: MEFA and ECA. These applications are grounded in the principles of the MFCA, focusing on the physical and monetary flows of materials and energy. For triangulation, a combination of techniques, including interviews, observations, measurements and computations, was used to collect relevant physical and monetary data in the context of routine and short-term activities. Findings This study successfully presents a simple and systematic framework for applying MEFA and ECA methods, consistent with MFCA principles, in the production activities of an MDF-based coffin company in Indonesia. The tabulation technique used in this study can be an effective environmental cost information system for evaluating and planning a company’s environmental performance. EMA finds that the coffin production process is dominated by the cost of primary raw materials (49.5%), a low proportion of energy costs (0.31%) and at least a cost improvement potential due to 16.1% of cost absorption arising from solid waste. This finding highlights actionable insights for reducing waste and improving profitability. Research limitations/implications Methodologically, the EMA tool used is for routine and short-term problems. Therefore, the results of this analysis only describe the environmental management conditions within a coffin company under routine and short-term conditions. Furthermore, the study’s findings are context-specific, in terms of industry type, geography and year. These findings are likely not generalizable. Practical implications Coffin and funeral-related companies should detail the environmental impact of their business activities. In addition to serving as a reference for improving environmental performance throughout the coffin life cycle, the identified environmental costs reveal potential cost savings that are crucial for business sustainability in various ways, such as material supplier selection, coffin redesign and handling coffins at the end of life. This study provides a clear example of how EMA/MFCA can inform internal management decisions to improve eco-efficiency. Social implications This study demonstrates how a business can actively reduce its environmental impact, regardless of whether it is a small or medium-sized enterprise or operates in a specialized or non-traditional industry. This study promotes the use of environmentally friendly production techniques because of the financial advantages associated with efficient environmental management. Originality/value As the first case study on applying EMA to coffin companies in Indonesia, this study offers a practical procedure for implementing MEFA and ECA simultaneously for simple manufacturing companies. The originality of this study lies in the application of these established frameworks to a non-traditional and under-researched industry, demonstrating their utility in identifying tangible environmental and economic improvements.

Environmental sustainability is considered as responsible engagement with the environment in order to prevent the depletion or degradation of natural resources and ensure long-term environmental quality. Environmental management accounting (EMA) is a tool that aids in enhancing environmental performance and environmental information management. EMA is a growing topic, but there hasn't been a complete analysis to pull everything together and make sense of it all. By adopting bibliometric review, through performance analysis, and science mapping, our research fills in this research gap. Biblioshiny in R and VOS viewer is used for conducting data analysis. Through an extensive study of 1,075 documents, this study discloses the publication and citation trend, top influential authors, journals, publications, and top productive institutions and countries. The study also identifies topic trends through temporal analysis. Different thematic clusters are identified through bibliographic coupling and Co-occurrence of the author’s keywords (i.e. Social and environmental accounting, Environmental management accounting, Environmental performance, Carbon accounting, Sustainability, and sustainable development, Eco-system services, Environmental disclosure, and corporate social responsibility). Centrality measures are presented to show the impact of the author and keywords. The study concludes with suggestions for future study, and ways forward focusing on Circular economy, green accounting, material flow cost accounting, carbon accounting, sustainability, etc. The study is wholly dependent on the Scopus database, further studies can explore other databases like Web of science, google scholar, and others.

Exploring the practicality of circular economy through its associates: A case analysis-based approach

Material flow cost accounting and existing management perspectives

So far, organizations had no authoritative guidance on circular economy (CE) principles, strategies, implementation, and monitoring. Consequentially, the British Standards Institution recently launched a new standard “BS 8001:2017 – Framework for implementing the principles of the circular economy in organizations”.BS 8001:2017 tries to reconcile the far-reaching ambitions of the CE with established business routines. The standard contains a comprehensive list of CE terms and definitions, a set of general CE principles, a flexible management framework for implementing CE strategies in organizations, and a detailed description of economic, environmental, design, marketing, and legal issues related to the CE.The guidance on monitoring CE strategy implementation, however, remains vague. The standard stipulates that organizations are solely responsible for choosing appropriate CE indicators. Its authors do not elaborate on the links between CE strategy monitoring and the relevant and already standardized quantitative tools life cycle assessment (LCA) and material flow cost accounting (MFCA).Here a general system definition for deriving CE indicators is proposed. Based on the system definition and the indicator literature a dashboard of new and established quantitative indicators for CE strategy assessment in organizations is then compiled. The dashboard indicators are mostly based on material flow analysis (MFA), MFCA, and LCA. Steel cycle data are used to illustrate potential core CE indicators, notably, the residence time of a material in the techno-sphere (currently 250–300 years for steel). Moreover, organizations need to monitor their contribution to in-use-stock growth, a central driver of resource depletion and hindrance to closing material cycles.