Towards environmental management accounting for trade-offs

Abstract

Purpose

Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) information has become synonymous with win-win decision settings, but this paper aims to consider how EMA support can be extended to company managers who face the dynamics of win-wins and trade-offs.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on extant literature, the paper suggests an important extension of the use of EMA in support of management decision-making. The need for extended consideration and use of EMA to help overcome trade-offs is illustrated using the case of a wine bottling plant location decision by an Australian company in a global supply chain transporting wine from Australia to North America and Europe.

Findings

Results confirm the need to add to the broader use of EMA to assist managers attempting to solve real world trade-off problems between economic performance, carbon equivalent emissions reduction and water risk reduction.

Research limitations/implications

Generalisation of the single wine company case illustration to other companies and similar industry settings remains to be investigated.

Practical implications

Trade-offs are considered between economic benefit and two environmental performance matters of concern to the company, carbon equivalent emissions reduction and water risk reduction.

Originality/value

The paper introduces the notion of extending the use of EMA as a pragmatic way for managers to assess trade-off situations with environmental alternatives where no optimal solution is available. Value is added through the real case study of an Australian wine company.

Citation

Christ, K.L., Burritt, R. and Varsei, M. (2016), "Towards environmental management accounting for trade-offs", Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 428-448. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAMPJ-12-2015-0112