Table Of Contenti
ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF
ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING
This handbook showcases the broad spectrum of diverse approaches to environmental
accounting which have developed during the last 30 years across the globe.
The volume covers a range of physical issues such as water, carbon and biodiversity, as well
as specific accounting matters such as management control, finance and audit. Moreover,
seven chapters present environmental accounting issues that arise in the regions of Africa, Asia,
Europe, MENA, North America, the Pacific and South America. The handbook also highlights
future challenges in all the topic areas addressed as well as introducing new topics, such as links
between environmental accounting and the circular economy, and the issues associated with
animal rights. Edited by leading scholars in the area and with key contributions from across the
discipline, and covering a diverse range of perspectives and locations, the volume is divided into
five key parts:
• Part 1: Framing the issues
• Part 2: Financial accounting and reporting
• Part 3: Management accounting
• Part 4: Global and local perspectives
• Part 5: Thematic topics in environmental accounting
This handbook will act as a significant publication in drawing together the history of the field
and important reference points in its future development, and will serve as a vital resource for
students and scholars of environmental accounting and environmental economics.
Jan Bebbington is the Rubin professor of sustainability in business and Director of the
Pentland Centre at the University of Lancaster, UK.
Carlos Larrinaga is a professor of accounting at the University of Burgos, Spain.
Brendan O’Dwyer is a professor of accounting at the Alliance Manchester Business School,
UK, and the University of Amsterdam Business School, the Netherlands.
Ian Thomson is a professor of accounting and sustainability at Birmingham Business School,
UK, and the director of the Lloyds Banking Group Centre for Responsible Business.
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“This long- awaited handbook provides a comprehensive insight and overview of environmental
accounting, written by some of the most distinguished researchers in the field. It is a helpful
resource for students, lecturers and practitioners who wish to understand accounting theories,
methods and approaches to analyse and antagonise global environmental crisis.”
– Tobias Viere, Professor at the Institute for Industrial Ecology,
Pforzheim University Business School, Germany
“Humanity affects the natural environment in ways that threaten its own existence and well-
being. The incentives embedded in our systems of organization and governance, supported
by accountants, perpetuate and exaggerate these effects. This important book, authored and
edited by the who’s who of environmental accounting, examines these issues and is a must-r ead
for scholars, students, practitioners, and policymakers who are interested in forming a better
understanding and making a difference.”
– Charl de Villiers, Professor of Accounting, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
“Finally, a comprehensive account of environmental accounting at an organizational level! This
handbook covers its history, lessons learned, current practices on all continents, and future
challenges.”
– Ståle Navrud, Professor of Environmental Economics, School of Economics and
Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway
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ROU T L E D G E HA N DB O OK
OF E N V I RON M E N TA L
AC C OU N T I NG
Edited by Jan Bebbington, Carlos Larrinaga,
Brendan O’Dwyer and Ian Thomson
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First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 selection and editorial matter, Jan Bebbington, Carlos Larrinaga, Brendan O’Dwyer,
and Ian Thomson; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Jan Bebbington, Carlos Larrinaga, Brendan O’Dwyer, and Ian Thomson
to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual
chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Bebbington, Jan (Professor of accountancy and sustainable
development), editor. | Larrinaga, Carlos, 1967– editor. |
O’Dwyer, Brendan, 1968– editor. | Thomson, Ian, 1962– editor.
Title: Routledge handbook of environmental accounting / edited by
Jan Bebbington, Carlos Larrinaga, Brendan O’Dwyer and Ian Thomson.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2021. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020044183 (print) | LCCN 2020044184 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sustainable development reporting. |
Social accounting. | Environmental auditing.
Classification: LCC HD60.3 .R68 2021 (print) |
LCC HD60.3 (ebook) | DDC 658.4/083–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020044183
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020044184
ISBN: 978-0 - 367- 15233- 8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-72490-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0 - 367- 15236- 9 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Newgen Publishing UK
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This handbook is dedicated to the memory of Rob Gray (1952–2 020) and Jeffrey Unerman (1960–
2020), in recognition of their inspiring intellectual contributions to environmental accounting scholarship
and to the creation of institutions that sustain the field as well as being dear friends and collaborators who
enriched our lives in so many ways.
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CONTENTS
List of figures x
List of tables xi
List of contributors xiii
Preface xxi
Rob Gray and David Owen
PART 1
Framing the issues 1
1 Curating environmental accounting knowledge 3
Jan Bebbington, Carlos Larrinaga and Ian Thomson
2 The foundations of environmental accounting 17
Jan Bebbington
3 Theorising environmental accounting and reporting 29
Brendan O’Dwyer
4 Before research methods comes “methodising”: Implications for
environmental accounting research 46
Ian Thomson
5 The accounting profession’s environmental accounting and reporting
thought leadership 65
Jeffrey Unerman
6 Environmental accounting and 21st-century sustainability governance 78
Carlos Larrinaga
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Contents
PART 2
Financial accounting and reporting 93
7 Financial accounting and the natural environment 95
Thereza Raquel Sales de Aguiar and Jan Bebbington
8 Stand- alone and integrated reporting 108
Helen Tregidga and Matias Laine
9 Assurance services for sustainability reporting and beyond 125
Charika Channuntapipat
10 Norm development in environmental reporting 137
Carlos Larrinaga and Juliette Senn
11 Shareholder activism and the environment 151
Michelle Rodrigue and Giovanna Michelon
12 Financial markets and environmental information 165
Giovanna Michelon
PART 3
Management accounting 179
13 Strategic environmental management accounting 181
Delphine Gibassier
14 Designing eco- controls for multi- objective organizations 194
Lies Bouten and Sophie Hoozée
15 Materials and energy accounting 207
Roger Burritt, Katherine Christ and Stefan Schaltegger
16 Externalities and decision-m aking 224
Nicolas Antheaume and Jan Bebbington
17 Designing environmental impact-v aluation assemblages for sustainable
decision- making 236
Ian Thomson
18 Accounting for circularity 251
Lucy Wishart and Nicolas Antheaume
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Contents
PART 4
Global and local perspectives 263
19 Africa, from the past to the present: Moving the critical environmental
accounting research on Africa forward 265
Mercy Denedo and Osamuyimen Egbon
20 Environmental accounting and reporting practices in Asian countries 276
Tiffany Cheng-H an Leung
21 Europe 288
Thomas Riise Johansen
22 Environmental accounting and reporting: Evidence from the MENA
region 300
Radhi Al- Hamadeen
23 The North American environmental accounting research landscape 315
Stacy L. Chavez and Andrea M. Romi
24 The Pacific region 328
Matthew Scobie, Matthew Sorola and Glenn Finau
25 Towards an accounting of socio- environmental conflicts in South America 339
Mauricio Gómez- Villegas
PART 5
Thematic topics in environmental accounting 351
26 Carbon 353
Robert Charnock, Matthew Brander and Thomas Schneider
27 Water 365
Shona Russell
28 Biodiversity 377
Jan Bebbington, Thomas Cuckston and Clément Feger
29 Accounting for animal rights 388
Eija Vinnari and Markus Vinnari
Index 399
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