This volume’s focus on the environmental accounting of supply chain processes is of particular relevance because these processes supply data about the environmental impact of relationships between business organisations, an area where the boundary separating internal and external accounting is ill-defined. Here, contributors advocate what they term ‘accounting for cooperation’ as a more environmentally positive complement to the paradigmatic practice of ‘accounting for competition’.

Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) is increasingly recognised as a distinguished tool of environmental management. It helps to integrate a company's environmental and business interests, whereby enhancing corporate eco-efficiency in terms of reducing environmental costs or making one's product more competitive. This book gives a comprehensive coverage of the state of the art. It presents a number of EMA frameworks that companies can take as a basis for implementing their own specific EMA structures. Besides discussing environmental accounting issues within conventional management accounting, it gives a detailed picture of materials flow (cost) accounting as an alternative way of looking at the ecology-economy relationships at the corporate level. A fascinating case study shows how a large company (Siemens) applies materials flow accounting and what benefits it entails.

This book brings together examples of leading thinking and international practice in the rapidly developing area of environmental management accounting .(EMA) The authors include academics and practitioners from industry and the subjects covered range from individual company experiences with implementing EMA to national experiences regarding the adoption and diffusion of EMA practices.

This book is based on a research project sponsored by the European Commission (DG XII, Human Dimension of Environmental Change). It focuses on how companies calculate environmental costs in support of management decisions, exploring the possible contribution that management accounting may make to environmental management in a European context. A conceptual framework is developed within which the relationship between the two activities can be charted and analyzed. The work is based on a survey of 84 European companies and 15 company-based case studies in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. The project produced unique empirical materials. It affords important insights into how companies can apply the principles of environmental accounting. It shows where existing accounting structures are helpful and where new sources of information are needed to address the environmental issues with which companies are confronted. It shows the potential usefulness of different accounting concepts and techniques in the environmental area.

Sustainability requires companies to develop in an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable manner. Corporate sustainable development in turn requires movement towards cleaner production. In order to recognize the potential from cleaner production – reduced costs and fewer environmental impacts through the reduced use of materials – environmental management accounting (EMA) is a necessary information management tool. Environmental Management Accounting for Cleaner Production reveals a set of tools for companies to collect, evaluate and interpret the information they need to estimate their potential to use cleaner production to realize cost savings and to make the best decisions about the available cleaner production options. EMA is therefore the key for driving environmental progress, cost savings, increased competitiveness and corporate sustainability through the means of cleaner production.

The ECOMAC project (Eco-management Accounting as a Tool of Environmental Man agement) has provided a framework for linking environmental management with man agement accounting. It was funded in Theme 4, 'Human Dimensions of Environmental Change' in the EU Environment and Climate Research Programme. The project is of high policy relevance by contributing to the on-going debate on eco management accounting, reporting and indicators. It is also an area needing further re search. I would like to thank the research team, companies that participated as associated con tractors, and the advisory panel. Jonathan Parker DG XII/D-5, European Commission Theme on Human Dimensions of Environmental Change 7 Preface The ECOMAC project This document is the final report on the project 'Eco-management accounting as a tool of environmental managemenf (ECOMAC). This research project was conducted under the Environment and Climate Programme (Human Dimension of Environmental Change) of the European Commission (DG XII). The ECOMAC project investigated how companies are using or intend to use environ mental costs and benefits figures in support of their decisions, and what they have been doing to remedy the limitations of conventional management accounting in this area. The research was largely explorative in nature, but the project also produced a structured overview of the subject and made suggestions and recommendations as to how compa nies could improve their own environmental accounting.

Sustainable development will not happen without substantial contributions from and leading roles of companies and business organizations. This requires the provision of adequate information on corporate social and ecological impacts and performance. For the last decade, progress has been made in developing and adapting accounting mechanisms to these needs but significant work is still needed to tackle the problems associated with conventional accounting. Until recently, research on environmental management accounting (EMA) has concentrated on developed countries and on cost–benefit analysis of implementing individual EMA tools. Using a comparative case study design, this book seeks to redress the balance and improve the understanding of EMA in management decision-making in emerging countries, focussing specifically on South-East Asian companies. Drawing on 12 case studies, taken from a variety of industries, Environmental Management Accounting: Case Studies of South-East Asian Companies explores the relationship between decision situations and the motivation for, and barriers to, the application of clusters of EMA tools as well as the implementation process itself. This book will be useful to scholars interested in the environmental and sustainability management accounting research field and those considering specific approaches to EMA within emerging economies.