Management Accounting Practices for Sustainability

Abstract

With growing sensitivity towards social and environmental issues, modern businesses are increasingly under pressure to perform their business activities in an environmentally friendly manner. A widely accepted view among many different professionals and the general public is that companies — the key players in the modern global economy — are the entities which cause greatest damage to our ecological sustainability (Ball et al., 2009). Global warming, ozone depletion, deforestation, acid rain and toxic wastes are examples of ecological damage caused by corporations (Shrivastava, 1995). Governments and regulatory bodies across the world are tightening the relevant rules and regulations in an attempt to coerce companies towards becoming socially responsible and to pay greater attention to the environmental and social impact of their corporate actions. In this context, companies are compelled to look for the means that enable them to run their businesses in a socially and environmentally sustainable manner. However, they face the challenge of achieving this objective without sacrificing their economic well-being and performance.