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This paper aims to define and measure the environmental capabilities that are applied when the circular economy (CE) is introduced in businesses. Founded on the dynamic capabilities theoretical approach, the study analyzes different environmental competences that firms apply during this process. Environmental management systems, corporate social responsibility, reporting and accountability and other environmental accounting practices are studied in the same analytical framework used to study the environmental capabilities that influence the circular scope (CS) of firms. This study contributes to bridging the gap between academic research focused on environmental accounting and that investigating the introduction of the CE in businesses.

The results were obtained by using partial least squares structural equation modeling to analyze the relationship between environmental capabilities for the CE and the CS achieved by a sample of Spanish firms with more than 50 employees that expressed interest in the CE, eco-design, eco-innovation and other environmental issues.

Based on an analysis using the dynamic capabilities theoretical approach, the results suggest a positive relationship between the CS of firms, their environmental accounting practices and their level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and accountability. Stakeholders’ pressure – which has a mediating effect on the CS of firms – is also analyzed, adding new insights to recent studies of this topic at the micro-level. The authors also explore whether the CS of businesses, which is related to the degree of their development of capabilities, influences environmental and financial performance.

The new insights obtained in this study can help overcome the limitations of conventional accounting approaches and incorporates a much broader scale of environmental information that can be applied to CE practices. These results also offer insights to practitioners regarding the internal measurement processes related to the CE and regarding CSR in particular for small and medium enterprises, because these metrics can be partially applied depending on the practices introduced in each firm. For policymakers, a better understanding of the CE’s introduction into businesses will contribute to the design of policies that can enhance its deployment, for example, by providing tools that set up regional priorities depending on the CE-related practices adopted by the firms located in the territory.

A CE involves the transformation of a linear economic model into a circular one to reduce dependence on raw materials and energy and to reduce the environmental impact of production and consumption. Understanding how to manage the specific competences that integrate capabilities applied to the CE will allow firms to improve their social and environmental reporting. In addition, other social implications of this study relate to improving relationships with consumers and stakeholders and to the practice of social corporate sustainability.

This study goes beyond previous research on the CE to extend the authors’ knowledge about its adoption at the micro-level by taking a transversal approach, as its subject spans the fields of environmental accounting and the CE while addressing both in a framework of analysis. The analysis of the accounting concerns of the CE in businesses and the study of concerns related to endogenous environmental competences are quite original under the theoretical framework of dynamic capabilities, and this study is a first step in an incipient line of inquiry.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the influence of human capital (HC) on the organizations in terms of eco-innovative entrepreneurship, and the existing relations of these resources with economic and financial resources as well as other capabilities of the firms. A secondary challenge in the research is to define and measure the availability of HC in firms for those eco-innovative processes.

The targeted population for the study was eight eco-innovative companies in Spain. Within each company, a detailed CEO questionnaire was collected to measure HR information, certification or the existence of internal initiatives to promote eco/innovation, and secondary source records to measure economic and financial performance. This data collection strategy eliminated the possibility of percept-percept bias, since the data for each stage of the model were collected from different sources. The database has been analyzed through a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA).

The main conclusion from the QCA analysis indicates that the role of the specialized HC involved in the R&D and innovation activities, the environmental management of firms and the resources (energy) management are relevant factors in the eco-innovative process and they have to be specifically managed for the development of eco-innovations. The qualitative analysis shows that firms that devoted specialized HC to the eco-innovation activities are companies at least ten years old, which have R&D and innovation departments as well as a specific department for the environmental management. They have been certified through some environmental certification standards, have human resources devoted to the product design, promote entrepreneurship for innovation among their own employees and also have higher than the sector average rates of leverage.

The main limitation of this paper is linked to the number of analyzed study cases, although all of them are sufficiently representative. Nevertheless, given that the empirical research addressing the interrelated factors of eco-innovation and HC is still not abundant, this study provides an interesting starting point for discussion and the improvement of the qualitative method applied in this paper. Moreover, further research is still needed to fully elucidate how the corporate entrepreneurship is promoted to respond to the eco-innovation strategy of firms, as well as to deeply explore the characteristics of the intellectual capital concerned to the eco-innovation processes.

As a novel application, the influence of HC in organizations in terms of eco-innovative entrepreneurship has been analyzed through the measurement of the level of HC specifically devoted to eco-innovation in eight eco-innovative companies. One of the contributions of this study is to define the variables to measure the HC that is available for eco-innovation in an eco-innovative firm. The main conclusions are of interest to practitioners concerning the eco-innovation development in firms.

The purpose of this study is to map the intellectual structure of sustainable finance and accounting (SFA) literature by identifying the influential aspects, main research streams and future research directions in SFA.

The results are obtained using bibliometric citation analysis and content analysis to conduct a bibliometric review of the intersection of sustainable finance and sustainable accounting using a sample of 795 articles published between 1991 and November 2023.

The most influential factors in the SFA literature are identified, highlighting three primary areas of research: corporate social responsibility and environmental disclosure; financial and economic performance; and regulations and standards.

SFA has experienced rapid development in recent years. The results identify the current research domain, guide potential future research directions, serve as a reference for SFA and provide inspiration to policymakers.

SFA typically encompasses sustainable corporate business practices and investments. This study contributes to broader social impacts by promoting improved corporate practices and sustainability.

This study expands on previous research on SFA. The authors identify significant aspects of the SFA literature, such as the most studied nations, leading journals, authors and trending publications. In addition, the authors provide an overview of the three major streams of the SFA literature and propose various potential future research directions, inspiring both academic research and policymaking.

In this paper, of exploratory character, the purpose of this paper is to propose the analysis of the life cycle for assessing the environmental, economic, and social impact in the activity of recovery, restoration, and valorization of Cultural Heritage.

The analysis protocol is applied to the case of recovery and restoration processes and then outlining the salient features of what may become a model of Cultural Heritage Life Cycle Management (CH-LCM).

The authors propose the approach of the life cycle, normally used to assess the impact of materials, processes or products, to the management of cultural heritage as an innovative methodology with great potential.

The methodology for this sector is highly innovative, especially in its interdisciplinary approach, through the use of different technical, historical, and economic skills which can provide the tools for the preparation of a management plan according to the logic of the life cycle.