Environmental accounting

Apart from the actual purchase cost a business pays a supplier for a chemical, there are costs that are usually not considered. Happily there has been considerable development of approaches to Total Cost Assessments or environmental accounting, and the reader is strongly encouraged to seek out more information about how this is done. Application of Total Cost Assessment will provide a strategic view of trends that can directly affect the long-term viability of a process and is well worth the effort. 

Schaltegger, S. Burritt, R. (2000) Contemporary Environmental Accounting Issues, Concepts and Practice. Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield. 

The many technical factors involved in desizing and the need for economy and environmental accountability emphasise the importance of monitoring and analysis. However, only a brief outline can be given here. A review of analytical procedures and simple laboratory methods for size determination is available [193]. Methods are given for size determination directly on the fibre surface, for the extraction of components of low molecular mass and for their subsequent estimation in solution. 

Developed environmental accounting and evaluation methods based on relevant parameters indicating potential impacts on the environment make it possible to describe and monitor processes, states and tendencies of the agricultural production systems at various levels (Hiilsbergen 2003 Piorr 2003 Delbaere and Serradilla 2004 Zinck et al. 2004 Bergstrom et al. 2005 Meyer-Aurich 2005 Payraudeau and van der Werf 2005 Bockstaller et al. 2007). 

Institutional projects include environmental accounting, curriculum development, green chemistry, and insurance projects. 

Odum, H.T. 1996. Environmental Accounting. Emergy and Environmental Decision Making. 

V. Palm and K. Jonsson, Including Chemical Products in Environmental Accounts. Eurostat Working Papers Prepared for DG Environment and Eurostat by Statistics Sweden 2/2001 /B/7 22, Statistics Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden, 2001. 

The activities and trends discussed in this book represent a wave of change, but more importantly, opportunity. Companies that stand to benefit are those that carefully read the forces at work with an eye toward market creation, and cost as well as differentiation. In the face of growing challenges to business as usual - for example, demands for social and environmental accounting, transparency, and corporate responsibility - the chemical industry has the opportunity to benefit a broader set of stakeholders while better serving the financial interests of stockholders. 

On the other hand, it is important to note that only externalities expected to be internalized in the future by means of taxes or other regulatory measures must be included. The issue of externalities is one of the most controversial in environmental accounting. 

Table S.5 List of commonly used environmental accounting terms. Source adapted from Munoz Ortiz [86].

Owing to the lack of standardization, it is usual to find in the literature different terms related to life cycle approaches and/or environmental accounting. Sometimes different terms are used as synonymous, while other times the same term is used for different approaches, causing some confusion. Table 5.5 summarizes an attempt to define commonly used terms. 

C) Making the Decision => Environmental Accounting Making the Case... 

The Japanese Environment Agency has issued draft guidelines for evaluating environmental cost and publicly disclosing environmental accounting information. The guidelines have identified six categories of environmental cost ... 

Environmental Protection, Agency. An Introduction to Environmental Accounting as a Business Management Tool Key Concepts and Terms, EPA 742-R-95-001 (1995) http // www.epa.gov/opptintr/library/pubs / archive / acct-archive / pubs /busmgt pdf, Last accessed 20 Feb 2012. 

CBA, cost-benefit analysis DMC, direct material consumption DMI. direct material input EF. ecological footprint EIA, environmental impact assessment EMS, environmental management system En. energy analysis lOA, input-output analysis LCA, lifecycle assessment LCC. life cycle costing MFA, material flow accounting MIPS material intensity per unit service RA, risk assessment SEA. strategic environmental assessment SEEA system of economic and environmental accounts SFA, substance flow analysis TMR. total material requirement. 

Effectively managing and communicating company environmental performance to such a wide variety of receptors requires some form of systematisation. This can take the form of Environmental Management Systems (EMS), Environmental Accounting (EA), Environmental Performance Indicators (EPI) and environmental reporting. 

Full cost environmental accounting (FCEA) Embodies the same concept as FCA but highlights the environmental elements (US EPA 742-R-95-001 1995) Varying... 

US EPA 742-R-95-001 (1995) An introduction to environmental accounting as a business management tool key concepts and terms. US Environmental Protection Agency/Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Washington, DC... 

Pollution controls (IPC, info, audit) Environmental accounting Technological development Product policy... 

Muller NZ, Mendelsohn R, Nordhaus W. Environmental accounting for pollution in the United States economy. Am Econ Rev 2011 101 (5) 1649-1675. 

Odum HT. Environmental accounting emergy and environmental decision making. New York ... 

It is not an easy task to answer the above questions because of the many uncertainties involved. There are some environmental accounting tools that could be employed in the evaluation process, such as life-cycle analysis, cost/benefit analysis, and contingent valuation method. ... 

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