Environmental Management Accounting Practices Research Articles

Does air pollution motivate organisations to adopt environmental management accounting practices? Evidence from South Africa

This paper identifies the extent of air pollution in motivating companies to implement environmental management accounting (EMA) practices in 67 mining and cement companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), South Africa, from 2012 to 2021. Pooled ordinary least squares regression is applied to analyse the data. EMA is proxied by environmental training, environmental audits and energy efficiency, while air pollution is measured based on the air quality index (AQI). The results show that air pollution is essential for companies to adopt EMA practices. This means that when air quality declines within a company’s locality, a company proactively adopts EMA practices. This suggests that air pollution is a key basis of companies' adoption of EMA, as predicted by the legitimacy theory. The study includes three control variables: size, return on assets (ROA) and number of years listed on JSE. Two control variables, namely Size and ROA, portray a positive and significant effect on adopting EMA from air pollution. This portrays that a financially stable company tends to submit to air pollution and use EMA to counter the pollution. In contrast, as the number of years increases for companies listed on JSE, EMA will likely be adopted less to reduce air pollution.

Measuring and reporting environmental impacts of dairy farming

Purpose This study aims to explore farmers’ perceptions of environmental impacts of dairying and their practices towards implementing environmental management accounting (EMA) techniques. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were held with five dairy farmers in the South Island of New Zealand (NZ). Findings Dairy farmers perceive environmental sustainability in dairying as being able to feed people while protecting the environment so that future generations can also enjoy the natural world. Recognising the need to alter their practices to reduce environmental damage they have produced, dairy farmers use some EMA techniques, but the primary motivation is compliance with government regulations. Other motivations for using EMA techniques are high economic returns, maintaining their reputation and self-satisfaction. Barriers to implementing EMA techniques are primarily due to lack of clarity and feasibility of regulations, coercion and inadequate communication by regulators and high compliance costs. Originality/value The findings contribute to the current EMA literature by providing a better understanding of EMA practices of dairy farmers in NZ, barriers to implementing EMA and how those barriers could be reduced. It may also help NZ central and local government in developing environmental strategies and policies. Furthermore, this research is expected to help people in the dairy industry to find ways to educate farmers about how the measures that are required can help them to reduce both the environmental impacts and the costs of dairying, thus contributing to sustainable development globally.

Critical environmental management accounting practices influencing service delivery of growing cities in a developing economy: a review and conceptual framework

AbstractThe scope for environmental management accounting (EMA) has perpetually received attention in recent years, and it has become a pillar of sustainability in addressing environmental and service delivery challenges. Most scholars focused on EMA in a corporate context, limited attention has been given to local governments in available scholarly articles except for various initiatives by the United Nations to guide local governments in adopting and implementing sustainable environmental management practices. This has continued to affect the uptake of EMA in local governments, particularly in developing economies, as the question concerning the role of EMA practices (EMAPs) in environmental and service delivery remains unexplored. A systematic literature review (SLR) through the use of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to identify EMAPs and their role in promoting environmental and service delivery performance (SDP) in local governments was employed. Articles from Google Scholar and Scopus published between 2000 and 2023 were considered. The researchers identified and evaluated energy accounting, material flow accounting, water management accounting, carbon management accounting and biodiversity management accounting as effective EMAPs to address local governments’ environmental and service delivery challenges. Furthermore, a conceptual framework to integrate EMAPs with environmental improvement and service delivery plans was developed and has implications for policymakers, communities, government and environmental specialists. The lessons learned from the research are pertinent to developing sustainable cities in emerging economies and further expose the need for further research to consider accounting approaches from higher-income countries as benchmarks for future development of ecosystem accounting to assist local governments in managing environmental challenges.

Unveiling the link between environmental management accounting, energy efficiency, and accountability in state-owned enterprises: An integrated analysis using PLS-SEM and fsQCA

The rising importance of sustainability and accountability in organizations has prompted the exploration of innovative approaches to enhance environmental performance and energy efficiency (ENE). The purpose of this research is to examine the extent to which environmental management accounting (EMA) and ENE practices contribute to accountability within state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Bangladesh. This study employs both symmetrical (PLS-SEM) and asymmetrical (fsQCA) approaches. The study verifies internal consistency, reliability, validity, common method bias, and collinearity issues through measurement model analysis and conducts path analysis after testing model fitness in structural model analysis. Finally, the study uses fsQCA to conduct in-depth analyses of causal contributions from different conditions to a specific outcome of interest. The PLS-SEM analysis revealed significant positive relationships between EMA and ENE with transparency, responsibility, and answerability. These results indicate that organizations adopting EMA and ENE practices are more likely to exhibit higher levels of transparency, demonstrate greater responsibility towards environmental matters, and be more answerable to stakeholders for their accountability. Further, the study identified ENE as a mediator of EMA and accountability. Finally, the fsQCA analysis supported the importance of both EMA and ENE as necessary conditions for achieving accountability indicating the integration of EMA and ENE to foster transparency, responsibility, and answerability effectively. This study implies that by implementing EMA systems and focusing on energy-efficient operations, organizations can enhance transparency, responsibility, and answerability to stakeholders, fostering a positive image and reputation. Therefore, SOEs may consider integrating these practices into their overall sustainability strategies to maximize their impact on accountability and environmental performance.

Environmental Management Accounting Practices on Environmental Performance among Students and Lecturers

Environmental Management Accounting Practices on Environmental Performance among Students and Lecturers

How Luxury Hotels Put Environmental Management Accounting in Practice: Evidence from Indonesia

Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) has gained popularity as public awareness of environmental degradation rises due to human activities. The fight over this issue is no longer an option for any business, including tourism. The aim of this study is to deep dive into how EMA is applied in luxury hotels. These hotels offer the best services, which can become a source of conflict in the spirit of sustainable tourism. We interviewed accounting five-star hotel managers in developing countries throughout 2023 to capture the phenomenon at its finest. This study found that EMA has been installed, trained, and applied to all their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The need to give the best service didn’t hinder them from putting EMA into practice but supported them instead. This study also showed that awareness of the sustainability issue of people in developing countries is still low, hence the EMA application will help to shape the attention better. This study is among a few studies exploring the practice of EMA in luxury hotels in developed countries.

Analyzing enviromental management accounting to increase university awareness towards sustainability

Currently, universities are concerned about environmental issues and their impacts. As a university with a conservation perspective, Universitas Negeri Semarang plays a significant role in solving environmental problems. This study explores environmental management accounting (EMA) practices and the motivations for their use in universities. The focus was on waste management, energy, and climate change. Qualitative content analysis was used in this research with the main source of the UI Green Metrics document and in-depth interviews with the head of the Conservation Technical Implementation Unit and its divisions. The results show that the two categories support environmental management accounting. Both energy and climate change contributed 21% to the EMA, and waste management accounted for 18%. Energy and climate change include energy-efficient appliance usage, smart building implementation, number of renewable energy sources on campus, number of renewable energy sources on campus, and total carbon footprint divided by the total campus population (metric tons per person). Furthermore, the waste in the college will be recycled through several programs, such as paper and plastic reduction, organic and inorganic waste management, sewage disposal, and toxic waste treatment.

Influence of Barriers to Environmental Sustainability on Environmental Management Accounting in the Food and Beverage Manufacturing Firms

Most companies make extensive use of environmental sustainability as they receive pressure to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner. Companies are struggling to implement environmental management accounting practices in their operations. Accordingly, research on environmental sustainability difficulties in the context of environmental management accounting in food and beverage manufacturing enterprises is limited. The paper investigates how the barriers to environmental sustainability influence the implementation of environmental management accounting (EMA) in the food and beverage manufacturing firms in Durban, South Africa. A quantitative research approach was applied, using convenience sampling because the data was collected during the strict regulations of the Covid-19 period. The Likert questionnaire (five-point scale) collected quantitative data and it was analyzed using SPSS, performing Pearson's correlation research and regression analysis. The Pearson's correlation coefficient findings show a statistically significant association between environmental sustainability bottlenecks and environmental management accounting in food and beverage manufacturing enterprises at (r = .250, p < 0.0005). As barriers to sustainability decrease, the implementation of environmental management accounting practices will be easier for these firms. The results of regression analysis, show the independent variable, barriers to sustainability, as a major predictor of environmental management accounting, B= 0.442, p< 0.05. It can be suggested that the SA government make the use of EMA practices mandatory for companies that have a negative impact on the environment.

Examining the impact of Environmental Management Accounting practices and Green Transformational Leadership on Corporate Environmental Performance: The mediating role of Green Process Innovation

Based on the Natural Resource-Based View (NRBV), we examined the impact of Environmental Management Accounting and Green Transformational Leadership (GTL) on Corporate Environmental Performance (CEP) and we also examined the mediating role of Green Process Innovation (GPI). For this purpose, a survey technique was used to collect data from certified manufacturing setups. SPSS and PLS-SEM 3.0 were used to examine the hypotheses and the results of the study indicate that GTL has a direct significant impact and indirect impact through GPI on CEP. Results also depict that EMA also has a significant impact on CEP. Our study contributed theoretically to NRBV by contributing to the role of GPI in attaining environmental performance. The results of the study also have practical implications by indicating that managers and policymakers should employ practices of EMA along with GTL style to satisfy the environmental sustainability concerns of the stakeholders and sustain their competitive edge in the market.

The Nexus Between Environmental Management Accounting Practices and Financial Sustainability of Cement and Mining Companies in South Africa

The main purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between environmental management accounting practices (EMAP) and financial performance of South African cement and mining companies. To attain the major objective of the research, three hypotheses were tested based on data from 45 JSE-listed cement and mining companies from 2010 to 2021. Multiple regression analysis with the assistance of IBM SPSS Statistics 24was also used to test the hypotheses. The study found that two accounting measures namely return on assets and net profit margin had no significant relationship with EMAP. However, the study also revealed that one accounting based measure namely return on equity had a positive and significant relationship with EMAP. This signifies that EMA is still at its primary stages in South Africa. In addition, the results also suggest that EMA is important to accomplish sustainability. The results provide managers with empirical evidence of EMAP that increases financial sustainability in the context of an emerging economy such as South Africa.

Motivations for Adopting Proactive Environmental Management Accounting Practices: Evidence from South African Firms

By examining environmental management accounting practices (EMAP) in South African companies, the study assists the company management to better understand their EMAP more broadly and establish effective EMAP to improve environmental management. This paper explores EMAP adopted by South African companies in Gauteng province and understands the motivation for applying the EMAP. Companies from different industrial sectors were used as the study sample. To accomplish the major aim of the study, 202 questionnaires were received as valid from the environmental managers, accountants and production managers. The study establishes that the companies are mostly using environmental management system, environmental reporting, waste management and water conservation activities as the key EMAP. This indicates that South African companies opt for EMAP with little cost involved and EMAP that does not require advanced systems in place. Also, financial gains were identified as the major motivation of EMAP adoption. This is followed by stakeholder pressure, marketing pressure and regulatory pressure. This paper will amplify literature on the EMAP adopted within industrial sectors and the motivation of adopting EMAP from an emerging market standpoint.

Environmental management accounting framework for small businesses. A case of blacked-owned businesses in developing economy.

Despite global calls for environmental management accounting practices (EMAPs) application across the business spectrum, the implementation of EMA has gained traction mostly in large and international corporations, leaving out black-owned small businesses on the periphery, particularly in South Africa. The study aims to identify challenges inhibiting the successful implementation of EMAPs and raise environmental awareness for an improved understanding of environmental protection within black business communities. The qualitative method employed a systematic literature review approach involving the analysis of published articles accessible from Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Scopus. After a comprehensive analysis of the extant literature, the study identified inadequate enforcement, environmental knowledge gap, insufficient resources, poor governance, and a limited number of experts as determinant challenges contributing to poor environmental performance. Additionally, the study suggests that environmental education, visible environment policing, and the employment of experts can go a long way in promoting environmental sustainability. The study recommends all stakeholders participate optimally in implementing EMAPs for improved environmental performance. Also, educating business operators on the importance and benefits of EMAPs is imperative to achieving a risk-free environment. An EMA narrative remains vital for the sustainability of the environment, and therefore further research should focus on various approaches to promoting environmental protection in marginalized areas. Keywords: Environmental management accounting, small businesses, environment, sustainability, environmental education

Influence of environmental management accounting practices on the environmental sustainability of South African cement and mining companies

Most companies in emerging economies need to be more conscious of environmental initiatives such as environmental management accounting practices (EMAP) that can effectively improve environmental sustainability. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of EMAP on the environmental sustainability of listed South African cement and mining companies. To achieve the aim of the study, 45 Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed cement and mining companies were sampled based on data extracted from the annual integrated reports, financial statements, environmental and sustainability reports from 2012 to 2021. IBM SPSS Statistics 24 was used to analyze the relationship between EMAP and environmental sustainability. The results show that two environmental sustainability proxies, water consumption and recycled water, are significantly and positively related to EMAP. However, carbon emissions (p < .061) insignificantly influence environmental sustainability. This suggests that some EMAP used by the sampled companies are inadequate to amplify environmental sustainability. The paper is essential to provide empirical evidence that managers of the cement and mining companies in South Africa need to devise better and new EMAP to reduce carbon emissions.

The Choice of Environmental Management Accounting Practices Adopted by Managers: Evidence from the Hotel Sector in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

To understand the ways that 5-star hotels in Kwazulu Natal use to select environmental management accounting (EMA) practices to implement, the study assists hotel managers in better understanding and effectively formulating other mechanisms for improving EMA. The paper ascertains the manner applied by managers in 5-star hotels in KwaZulu Natal province when selecting EMA practices to adopt for their business activities. To attain the key aim objective of the research, 21 interviews and observations were conducted on three 5-star hotels among hotel managers, accountants, and administration managers. The study identifies that meeting international customers’ expectations plays a dominant role in pushing hotels to select EMA practices that can be easily identified by the customers such as water and energy efficiency. 78% of the interviewees endorse that international clients choose hotels that promote environmental initiatives hence the choice of current EMA practices. In addition, this is critical because it also affects the financial performance of the hotels. The paper provides further empirical evidence in extant literature that financial performance remains the key factor influencing a decision on EMA practices to be applied by hotels in emerging markets.

The role and perception of accountants on environmental management accounting in an emerging market: Study on South Africa’s companies.

This research explores the role and views of accountants in environmental management accounting (EMA) and environmental performance. The study relied on a survey of 86 chief finance officers, accountants and finance managers from the top 40 listed South African companies. The chief finance officers, accountants and finance managers confess that they lack understanding on in what way environmental issues can be incorporated into EMA. In addition, the professionals disclose that EMA has not had an ample consideration by their companies. This suggests that a limited involvement by the accountants in EMA in South Africa exists. Hence, the sampled chief finance officers, accountants and finance managers indicated that they are not sure of their potential responsibility. This shows that South African accountants are noticeably absent from participating in EMA. This has been ascribed to EMA being a new branch of accounting, their little aptitude in environmental issues and also the voluntary nature bestowed on EMA practices. Therefore, this paper will increase literature on the views of accountants on EMA from a developing country’s perspective.

Developing an Environmental Management Accounting Framework for The Waste Management Sustainability of Municipalities in South Africa

The aim of the study is to identify environmental management accounting (EMA) practices currently used by the municipalities in South Africa in enhancing municipal solid waste management. To accomplish the aim of the study, 32 in-depth interviews were conducted with accountants, environmental managers and municipals managers on 10 municipalities in South Africa. Thematic analysis’s was used to analyse the data and unearthed that environmental management system, waste management system, environmental reporting, environmental training and research and development are currently used as EMA practices to boost municipal solid waste management. To align these practices with the accounting system in municipalities, an EMA model was proposed that can make available monetary and non-monetary waste-related environmental information.

Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) practices and plastic pollution control in selected food and beverage firms

This study investigated the relationship between EMA and plastic pollution control. The study concentrated on Food and Beverage manufacturing companies since they use plastic goods to package their products. Plastic products are discarded once they have served their purpose, which pollutes the environment. A quantitative approach was adopted, with 124 self-completed questionnaires being administered to financial managers, management accountants, factory accountants and chief accountants of 38 selected food and beverage manufacturing firms in Durban. The findings revealed a significant relationship between environmental information and environmentally-related activities. Environmental information also had a positive relationship with corporate environmental strategy. Moreover, a strong positive relationship was discovered between environmental information and plastic pollution control. An analysis of the link between environmentally-related activities and plastic pollution control revealed an insignificant relationship. An insignificant relationship was also discovered between corporate environmental strategy and plastic pollution control. This study suggests that companies within the Food and Beverage industry must put in place sustainable environmental strategies, whereby eco-friendly disposal initiatives must be implemented for plastic waste management.

The role of environmental management accounting and environmental knowledge management practices influence on environmental performance: mediated-moderated model

PurposeThis study aims to observe the influence of environmental management accounting (EMA) and environmental knowledge management (KM) practices on environmental performance with mediating role of top management support (TMS). Moreover, green work climate perception (GWCP) is used as a moderator between TMS and environmental performance.Design/methodology/approachPartial least square-structural equation modeling is used to test research hypotheses. Data was collected to distribute questionnaires in light of the purposive sampling technique; a total of 329 questionnaires were used for final analysis. This study is correlational and cross-sectional. Multiple regression analysis was used to see the influence of EMA, environmental KM practices, TMS and GWCP on environmental performance.FindingsThe results reveal that EMA, environmental KM practices and TMS are positively related to environmental performance. Moreover, TMS significantly mediates between EMA, environmental KM practices and environmental performance. GWCP is positively associated with environmental performance. Finally, GWCP significantly strengthens the positive relationship between TMS and environmental performance.Practical implicationsThis study highlighted a significant issue that of how top management uses EMA, environmental KM practices, TMS and GWCP in examining environmental performance. Moreover, this study covers the gap and supports top management to concentrate on exogenous variables to examine environmental performance.Originality/valueThis study adds value to literature to focus on factors that influence environmental performance. This initial research observes the influence of EMA and environmental KM practices on environmental performance with TMS as a mediator in light of the knowledge-based view. Besides, GWCP is used as a moderator between TMS and environmental performance. Finally, our research can provide benefits to researchers, students and managers.

A Systematic Review of Barriers in Adoption of Environmental Management Accounting in Chinese SMEs for Sustainable Performance.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in sustainable development not only for their significant contribution to China's economy but also for their large share of total discharged pollutants. Despite the widely acknowledged importance and benefits of environmental management accounting (EMA), the level of adoption and implementation of EMA practice is still weak within SMEs in many countries, especially in China. The current systematic review aims to identify the barriers affecting the Chinese SMEs for adopting EMA practices along with the critical success factors required for adopting EMA practices by SMEs and their top management for ensuring sustainable corporate environmental performance in China. The study is carried out following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. In total, 73 articles were found to be eligible to be included in the systematic review, which was published on EMA in small- and medium-sized enterprises in China. Our study aims to document barriers to the adoption of EMA among Chinese SMEs. The review concluded that strict legislation and the availability of flexible financing options for SMEs can promote the adoption of EMA by SMEs. The establishment of environmental reporting systems and auditing mechanisms can further increase the utilization of EMA by small and medium firms. Barriers to EMA adoption can be mitigated after careful consideration of the current situation in SMEs. Documentation of significant barriers may help to form supportive policies which ultimately add to the efforts toward climate change mitigation.

EMA Implementation and Corporate Environmental Firm Performance: A Comparison of Institutional Pressures and Environmental Uncertainty

Environmental management accounting (EMA) practices guide a firm’s response to perceived environmental uncertainty (EU) and various institutional pressures (IP). Drawing upon institutional theory, this study explores the relative effects of institutional pressures and environmental uncertainty on the implementation of EMA, an environmental strategy (ES), and the resulting environmental performance (EP) of firms under the influence of top-management support (TMS) and perceived benefits (PB). Based on data collected from 243 firms operating in Suzhou, one of the busiest business hubs in China, this research used the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. Findings reveal that environmental uncertainty exerts a stronger influence on the adoption of EMA practices than institutional pressures; however, the choice of a firm’s environmental strategy is more influenced by institutional pressures. Likewise, the serial-mediation effect of environmental strategy and EMA practices is observed to be the strongest in the case of coercive pressures, with some notable moderation effect for perceived benefits and top-management support. The study concludes with theoretical and managerial implications.