Nicholas Mangos
Lecturer, Flinders University, Australia.
Giao Reynolds
Ph.D. Student, Flinders University, Australia.Investigating the Relationship between
Environmental Strategies and Environmental
Management Accounting
The current paper explores the environmental component of
sustainability management strategies of the firm referred to as
Environmental strategies. Specifically the research investigates whether
there is a relationship between Environmental Management Accounting
(EMA) and firms’ Environmental Strategies (ES). EMA provides
management with information that assists in environmental strategy
formulation and direction. It may well be that ES directs the form and
nature of EMA. EMA has a monetary as well as a physical component
and the study differentiates between Monetary EMA (MEMA) and
Physical EMA (PEMA). The research study investigates the nature and
direction of the relationship between ES and EMA. Content Analysis
research methods and a case study approach are used to investigate the
relationship. The findings from this case study analysis, using a select
number of Australian firms, indicated a relationship between PEMA
and ES. Furthermore, consideration was also given to the relationship
between MEMA and ES but there was no clear disclosure from any
reports in the study of a significant amount (if any) of MEMA recorded.
Emphasis was then placed on ways of identifying the PEMA and its
relationship to ES of the select Australian firms investigated in the
current study.