Lecture3.pptx

    The Emergence of Sustainability Accounting

    January 20th, 2022

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    PG. 2

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    PG. 3

    Solution 

    Start Here

    Imagine the plot is divided into 4 quadrants and each number has the consecutive number mirrored in the opposite quadrant

    For example: start here: 1 , 2, 3, 4

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    Why is Sustainability a Business Issue?

    Costs of environmental and social impacts

    Waste, climate change, relocation of communities, etc.

    Stakeholder Pressure

    Opportunities of sustainable development

    Renewable energy technology, infrastructure, education, healthcare, new markets

    Globalization

    Sustainability as a competitive factor

    Why has the importance of sustainability accounting in business grown? External pressure, internal pressure

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    Accounting

    Accountable: Having the duty to explain how resources have been used

    Resources

    Financial

    Employees

    Inputs

    ….?

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    Accountability

    The obligation of an individual or an organization to account for its activities

    To accept responsibility for the results and to disclose them in a transparent way.

    Includes the responsibility for money and other entrusted resources

    Agree on the definition of accountability.

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    Fields of Accounting

    Financial Accounting.

    Cost Accounting.

    Managerial Accounting.

    Auditing

    PG. 8

    Sustainability accounting has a long history in academia and industry practices.

    Reporting started in the 1920 mainly through financial reporting to produce the financial statement of corporations such as the balance sheet and profit and loss

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    1920s

    1960s

    1970s

    Financial Reporting

    Social reporting

    2000s

    Environmental Reporting

    Integrated Reporting

    PG. 9

    Social Reporting

    Working conditions

    Access to health care

    Occupational Health and Environmental safety

    Social reporting started in the 1960s, namely in France when labour unions started employers to report on the working conditions of employees.

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    1920s

    1960s

    1970s

    Financial Reporting

    Social reporting

    2000s

    Environmental Reporting

    Integrated Reporting

    PG. 10

    Environmental Reporting

    Carbon emissions

    Pollution and waste

    Energy

    In the 1970s and 1980, corporations started to report on their environmental performance to gain competitive advantage and also to be good citizens

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    1920s

    1960s

    1970s

    Financial Reporting

    Social reporting

    2000s

    Environmental Reporting

    Integrated Reporting

    Sustainability Accounting Systems

    Transparency about an organization’s activities

    encouraged by external audits and verification

    Stakeholder engagement

    Voluntary and mandatory systems

    Driven by

    Regulators

    NGOs

    Market mechanisms

    Internalization of external costs and benefits

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    Who is accountable?

    Entities for which stakeholder interest exist

    Traditional stakeholders

    Shareholders

    Lenders

    Investors

    Regulators

    Financial accounting for a certain type of firms only

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    Who is Accountable and to whom?

    Shareholders

    Regulators,

    Financiers

    Society

    Intermediaries (rating agencies)

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    Accountable to Stakeholders

    Individuals or groups having an interest in a company because they

    can affect or

    can be affected

    by a company’s activities

    Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic Management: A stakeholder approach. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Why is the government interested in banks’ sustainability reporting?

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    Stakeholder theory explains…

    …why organizations have to consider multiple interests to be a good sustainability performer

    …the need of new forms of stakeholder engagement in order to achieve better sustainability performance and sustainability accountability

    …the development of sustainability accounting systems

    The stakeholder concept is relatively new. Therefore, we need new ways of corporate communication, such as sustainability reporting

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    Types of Stakeholders

    External

    Shareholders, NGOs, regulators, suppliers, clients, investors, …

    Internal

    Employees, managers, …

    What does this imply for accounting and reporting?

    Conflicts (Agency Dilemma): Many managers will avoid taking any risks!

    What are external stakeholders that could be interested in accounting? What are internal stakeholders? Discuss with neighbor.

    Response: Different stakeholders have different needs. Reporting and accounting have to address these needs.

    Primary and Secondary..

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    Implication: Stakeholder Accounting

    Accounting for impacts on stakeholders

    Different impacts on different stakeholders

    Civil Society members Vs. employees Vs. investors

    Less detailed communication

    Tension between PR and transparent accounting

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    Example for stakeholder oriented reporting: The Equator Principles for Project Finance

    Voluntary code of conduct for project financiers

    Social and environmental risk management framework

    Conventional view

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    A stakeholder view on project finance

    Project financier

    Project

    Environment

    Affected communities

    the principles

    Review and categorization

    Environmental and social assessment

    Applicable environmental and social standard.

    Environmental and social management system and action plan

    Stakeholder engagement

    Grievance mechanism

    Independent review

    Covenants

    Independent monitoring

    Reporting and transparency

    Check the website for EP Reporting

    What do they report about?

    Does the reporting address stakeholders?

    Who are the stakeholders?

    Project risks, regions, implementation of principles

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    Sustainability Accounting

    Activities, methods and systems

    Recording, analysis and reporting

    Outside-in relation: Sustainability induced financial impacts

    Inside-Out relation: Sustainability impacts of a defined economic system, such as a firm

    Schaltegger, S., & Burritt, R. L. (2000). Contemporary environmental accounting: issues, concepts and practice. Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing.

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    SASB Definition of Sustainability Accounting

    to evaluate the environmental, social and governance performance of companies

    through an account of their management of various forms of non-financial capital associated with sustainability

    environmental, human, social, governance

    which they rely upon for sustained, long-term value creation.

    Materiality

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    Accounting Systems and Stakeholders

    Based on: Schaltegger, S., & Burritt, R. L. (2000). Contemporary environmental accounting: issues, concepts and practice. Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing, p. 33

    Management

    Management

    accounting

    Internal sustainability

    accounting

    Employees

    COMPANY

    Financial accounting

    Other

    accounting systems

    External sustainability accounting

    Other sustainability accounting

    General Public

    Media

    Creditors

    Insurance companies

    Suppliers

    Shareholders

    Tax agency

    Communities

    NGOs

    Regulators

    First internal accounting, both management accounting and sustainability accounting

    Then external accounting: Financial accounting, other accounting, i.e. governance, material sourcing

    Then external sustainability accounting. Other sustainability accounting for regulators.

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    Effects of Sustainability Accounting in Addition to Higher Transparency

    Better employee morale, attraction and retention

    Improved corporate reputation

    Anticipation of future regulations

    Anticipation of markets connected with sustainability

    Supporting sustainable management practices

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    Different Interests in Accounting

    Why are managers interested in sustainability accounting and what are they interested in?

    Why are stakeholders interested in sustainability accounting and what are they interested in?

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    Management and Internal Sustainability Accounting

    Wider field than Financial accounting

    Long-term

    Detailed

    Facilitates

    managerial decision-making

    Internal accountability

    Basis for external accounting

    Why is internal reporting not used for stakeholder communication?

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    Other Drivers for Sustainability Accounting: Costs and Benefits

    Until the 1980s environmental and societal impact not a cost or benefit driver

    From 1980s: Polluter pays principle

    Fines (Exxon, BP)

    Higher costs of impacts and lower costs for information systems: marginal cost curves

    Reputation

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    Marginal Costs

    Costs of Sustainability Accounting

    Costs of low sustainability performance

    time

    costs

    the cost added by producing one additional unit of a product or service.

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    Problems of Sustainability Accounting Systems

    Wide range of addressees

    No priority in management

    No central unit

    Sustainability data not connected with strategic objectives

    High fixed costs (e.g. ISO 14000, ISO 26000)

    Goodstein, E. (1995). The Economic Roots of Environmental Decline: Property Rights or Path Dependence? Journal of Economic Issues, 29(4), 1029-1043. doi: 10.2307/4227020

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    Co-ordinated Collection of Sustainability Data

    Environmental and societal impacts on firms are increasing

    But

    Opportunities and threats

    Costs and revenues

    Assets and liabilities

    related to sustainability are not explicitly considered in conventional corporate accounting

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    Challenges of Corporate Sustainability Accounting

    What does corporate sustainability really mean?

    Complexity of corporate sustainability leads to problems for management in operationalisation, measurement and communication

    Impacts on sustainability often not reported

    Information asymmetry between companies and its stakeholders

    Lack of target group orientation creates a risk of information overload

    No generally accepted standards

    High costs for SMEs

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    Asset: Renewable energy from wind turbinesSuppliers of wind turbines and other materialsLenders: BanksEquity investors:Pension fundsPurchasers: Energy utilitiesSponsors: Renewable energy firmsMaterialsSupply contractsEquity fundsReturns to investorsEquity, championingOutputPurchase contracts

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