The application of environmental management accounting amongst KwaZulu-Natal's top businesses.
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Date
2011
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Abstract
Sustainable development is often described in three dimensions, namely social,
environmental and economic. Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) is a
management accounting approach which brings the environmental impact of the process to
the attention of the stakeholders whilst also looking at the economic aspect so as to control
costs. While EMA’s application has been adopted widely in developed countries, does the
same apply in South Africa? Seeking to understand the level of current EMA being
conducted at the corporate level will assist government and corporations in South Africa to
understand the factors encouraging better accounting sustainability. The focus of this
study was confined to leaders of organisations operating in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)
province of South Africa. Quantitative research was conducted on 40 organisations that
operated in KZN. The organisations sampled ranged from small to large enterprises, and
operated in a number of different industries. The study centred on analysing the
organisation’s attitude towards environmental sustainability, the types of EMA reports
generated and reasons for or against using EMA. The research revealed that the attitude by
each organisation towards environmental sustainability was vital in encouraging
organisations to implement EMA as a method of controlling pollution. The majority of
organisations had applied some form of EMA in their KZN organisation. A major finding
was that for those who chose to apply EMA, their most important reason was to control
costs better. The second reason for applying EMA was legislation. Planned
implementation of EMA was analysed and a number of specific industries and sizes of
industries were highlighted for their implementation of EMA or lack thereof. This research
is useful to the reader as it has analysed the current application of EMA to encourage
sustainable development, identify the general obstacles encountered to application of
EMA and recommend strategies that can be employed to overcome them. These
recommendations include government involvement through education programmes to
improve the understanding and attitude towards EMA. Secondly, government should pass
legislation making environmental reporting a compulsory disclosure for all organisations.
Organisations themselves should use advanced computerised recording systems to develop
their application of EMA. Larger businesses should encourage and assist smaller
organisations in their supply chains to become more active in their own environmental
protection.
Description
Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.
Keywords
Environmental auditing., Industrial management--Environmental aspects--Accounting., Corporations--Environmental aspects., Theses--Business administration.