International Journal of Accounting and
Financial Management Research (IJAFMR)
ISSN (P): 2249–6882; ISSN (E): 2249–7994
Vol. 11, Issue 2, Dec 2021, 13-20
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ANALYSIS OF GREEN ACCOUNTING
MARIA MONICA M
Assistant Professor, Nest Academy of Management Education, Dubai, UAE
ABSTRACT
Green accounting is a form of accounting that sets out to comprise the factor called environmental costs into the financial
outcome of operations. It has been debated that the gross domestic product (GDP) disregard the environment and
consequently the policymakers require a revised model that assimilates green accounting. The predominant objective of
green accounting is to aid the business in comprehending and manage the prospective tradeoff between environmental
goals and traditional economic aims. Green accounting requires several synthesizing cognizance in sociology, behavioral
science, biology, engineering. It also deals with management and accounting problems confined to social and
environmental ramifications, rules, constraints, economically feasible production of energies, safety etc. The elemental
theory confined to green accounting is internalizing the environmental costs within the organizations; this is subject to the
attempt to find solutions to the decreasing negative consequences of process and ventures on the environment. The crux
of green accounting relies on handling the problems in line with the social environment and its possible impact in
tackling issues related to environment and social responsibilities.
KEYWORDS: Green Accounting, Environmental cost, Engineering, Gross domestic product & Behavioral science
Received: Jun 08, 2021; Accepted: Jun 28, 2021; Published: Jul 05, 2021; Paper Id.: IJAFMRDEC20213
INTRODUCTION
Original Article
achieving environmental and sustainable development in any nation and thus influencing an organization's behavior in
An attempt in factoring the environmental costs into financial outputs of operations is called green accounting. It
has been debated that the gross domestic product always doesn’t take into consideration the environmental factors
and thus the decision framers need to reconsider and incorporate green accounting as their revised model. Green
accounting is termed environmental accounting as well. This seeks in better measurement of sustainability by
expansion towards gross measures of welfare towards the nation such as investment, products and services etc. The
non-market values include environmental goods and services. Apart from the stated green accounting includes the
cost and benefit relationship between environmental protection and decrease in capital, these two are not part of
principles in national accounting like domestic product. Although the school of thought varies this methodology is
used across the nation.
Green accounting finds its traces from environmental accounting; it is knit with the operations of
accounting into the interests of management and investors of organizations. The concept includes a holistic entity
comprising of individuals, stakeholders and the community at large. Green accounting is pivotal in process of
resources which are moved to recognize in the sustainability of organization. It emphasizes campaigning among the
government, employees, corporations, community, dealing with causes and effects alongside its advantages in
dealing with activities to secure the environment together with care. This can state the people that it happened.
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Maria Monica M
OBJECTIVES OF GREEN ACCOUNTING
Identification, collection, calculation and analysis of costs related to material and energy.
Facilitating with cost related data in decision making process as a result of adapting efficient decisions in
contribution towards environmental protection.
Usage of information confined to costs related to environment and internal reporting.
Requirement of Green Accounting
With its buzzing terminology called “Green Accounting” in recent decade and gaining its awareness as many corporations,
in particular, the Small Medium Enterprises are very much into the accounting for the environment or being “green”. This
has led to placing a huge value towards a responsible environment by the investors.
Environment costs can be reduced remarkably or banished as an outcome of the following:
Green movement and Corporations are gliding towards harmony on the vital theory of sustainability and its
development. More desirable environmental resources and green accounting would portray beneficial insights towards the
blend of natural resources and economy.
The nation's accounting process is primitively a collection of economic structures and does not fit for an ample
representation of all the changes in the environment. Valuation of environmental stocks and resources involves complex
problems. This holds true with developed countries where the primary concern of the environment lies with the impacts of
pollution, green accounting is of limited evaluation. Nevertheless, unified resource accounting is important for budding
countries which hold a heavier dependence on environmental resources and to this which can cause an outcome of
destructive and twisted trade policies in macroeconomics.
Postulates of Green Accounting
GDP doesn’t hold well on “economic and accounting framework if the sales of natural assets are included in the
calculations of the gross domestic product”. Subtraction of depreciable value of assets is essential to arrive at the right
figure of net value added. This can be undertaken for the production of assets while calculating the net national product or
NDP. Although the net national product is estimated quite rare, the production of depreciated assets is predictable as it is
fairly minimal. Tail-off in the natural assets, on the flip side may be humungous and fluctuating and are not projected at all
in the figures of GDP commonly dealt with analysis of macroeconomics. It plainly incorporates a systematic accounting
Impact Factor (JCC): 7.8593
NAAS Rating: 4.08
Analysis of Green Accounting
15
postulate for the estimation of sustainable incomes.
CREATION OF GREEN NATIONAL ACCOUNTS
The creation of green national account cannot completely apprehend multiple dimensions of environmental downturn like
loss of biodiversity or facilitating with outcomes confined to a wide range of environmental complexities. For this
objectivity, physical when compared to the economic forecasts of environmental variation are more pertinent. The need of
the hour is creating a green national account rather than creating a better environment policy.
Chiefly for the nations whose environmental resources are swiftly crumbling, and the fall apart is taken into
account misleading into the value added to the GDP. Once the accounts are turned green the postulates in macroeconomics
has to be re-looked alongside the statements intricate in the current paper.
Activity-Based Costing (Abc) Method
Environmental accounting upholds the ABC method and this aid in cost savings as an outcome of reduction in cost of raw
material during the reuse or recycling period. As a result, Activity-based costing method dispenses a better understanding
and targets those areas for taking into account the chances of creating costs confined to primitive environmental actions.
The applicability of ABC principles is highly suggested for the better improvement towards environment results.
Measures of Green Accounting
It includes the questioning of department and functional areas formed in accordance to the activities and within its process
with regards to particular natural resource activities. A particular technique of selection can be applied, which is reflected
to decrease the excess number of a particular environment based activities and even reforming of these set of activities into
process can be framed.
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Maria Monica M
Aping Green Accounting
Establishing the objective of green accounting.
Establishing the Green Accounting project and team.
Green Accounting Team will aim on analysis of the following pointers:
Impact Factor (JCC): 7.8593
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Analysis of Green Accounting
Elements of
Environmental Analysis
Products activities &
services
Technological element
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Impact on Environment through the
Steps undertaken post Environmental
following
analysis
Letting industrial discharge in the river
bodies.
Using sewage waters let out in
Prevent the impact of environment by
underground which leads to contamination of adapting to legal requirements, in
ground water.
accordance to the prerequisites of
legislation.
Emission of toxic gases into the
atmosphere.
Noise Pollution caused by vehicles.
Study confined to the product based
Environmental sensitivity and creation of ecological framework depending on the
products and services through incidents/
client’s interest.
accidents.
Control over environmental impact
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Maria Monica M
The above flow chart process is according to the transversal organization specific to Activity Based Costing
method (ABC)
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF GREEN ACCOUNTING AND CONVENTIONAL ACCOUNTING
Particulars
Outlook
Charge
Legal
Requirements
Types of
Accounting
Conventional Accounting
Economic or Financial perspective
Management of Cost and depicts situation
of economy.
Mandatory
Legal (financial accounting)
Voluntary (management accounting)
Management & Financial Accounting
Internal & External Reports, Financial
Statements.
Procedure of Assessment & Cost
accounting.
Excluding Inventory
(Financial Analysis)
Reports
Method
Units
Green Accounting
Connection between the environment and economy.
Portrays environment performance
and cost of environment.
Few aspects are essential
Environmental Management, Financial and internal
ecological accounting.
Environmental Reports.
Evaluation of environmental performance, analysis of lifecycle and cost saving.
Natural Units and Financial Units
Strategy Put into Action at Industrial Level Post Introduction of Green Accounting – Abc Method
Taking into account the adaptability with Activity Based Costing methodology, green accounting paves the way for the
specification of its costing method provided the identification of cost of environment and usage of specific costs are
involved pertaining to the calculation of process/ production cost. Thus it will enable in depicting the exact data which will
necessitate the corporation or industry in the inclusion of green costs.
ADVANTAGE
Getting accustomed to the financial aspects of the corporations’ green accounting aids in giving resourceful information in
projection of minimization of costs upon targets based on environment for estimation of the financial outcome of initiatives
such as the following:
Estimation of life cycle in the environmental costs.
Prevention of pollution.
Design of environment.
Improvement of Green Accounting.
Administration of product and process cycle from the point of view of environment.
Liability of producer’s and process of supply from environmental framework.
Management System – environment centric.
Assessment, test and reporting of activities related to environment.
Sourcing information to management based activities namely – product and process designing, distribution of
cost, controlling cost, pricing policy, capital budget, process of supply and evaluation of performance.
Impact Factor (JCC): 7.8593
NAAS Rating: 4.08
Analysis of Green Accounting
19
LIMITATION
The effect of putting into action green accounting practices does not result in a guarantee of securing a better establishment
of financial or environment oriented performances. The socio elements for environment based goods or services are
dynamic and not certain and they take a new shape very often. Non- Economic items are vital in the political progression
of the country. The aggregate of individual priorities sometimes may not reap a positive net societal preference as legit
industrial data may not be available handy.
Existing Issues Pertaining to Research of Green Accounting
Walden (2014) found out that 4 industries namely producing goods and services from materials of forest, chemical, oil and
consumer goods was in line with environment disclosure. An analysis found the relationship positive between the
voluntary environment disclosures and external report of events through company’s annual report. An Empirical Research
undertaken by Lawrence (2012) at Government entity and Superfund Liability, probed into the impact of financials and
cleanup of landfill by municipal government and amount of environment liability disclosed in financial reports by
municipal government. The findings revealed that lesser municipality increased the estimated costs of cleanup and these
costs collectively led to financial damages. Boer’s paper in Journal of public policy accounting revealed (2018) a greater
aspect of environment based accounting issues as well.
SCOPE FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
The evidence through literature reviews shows that green accounting is probed less in comparison to other forms of
accounting (financial accounting, management accounting, and cost accounting). It is also observed that people haven’t
reduced the carbon footprints and not recognized the aftermath of various pollutions caused due to non-concentric
environment. Furthermore, the green accounting papers suggest that it is more complex to direct the economic
measurement, technological aspects as well do not lead in producing goods & services which is subjected to greater
demand of resources i.e. water, natural gas, air, oil etc., into production and responding to the needs of the society at large.
Further researches should aim to explore the socio and structure based causes in line with the environmental problems and
expanding into global framework. The major issue so far through disclosure of reports shows the accounting factors
leading to environment liability, rules & regulations, nature of accounting practices, international regulations and
quantification of environmental accounting.
CONCLUSIONS
Though Green Accounting is emerging in the field of accounting it will create a wide exposure in the future influencing the
industries and stakeholders. The major ice breaker will be the adoption of Green Accounting into basic accounting
elements of business decision making this will enable in depicting the major role of environmental factors in the
development of nation’s economy and facilitating the macroeconomics jinx with the aid of green accounting assessment,
consequently leading to the better economic viability.
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Impact Factor (JCC): 7.8593
NAAS Rating: 4.08