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The purpose of this paper is to investigate, for some countries, the nature of relationships among three variables: the character of governance, the potential for sustainable growth and the quality of energy management.

This study was based on a sample of data drawn from a database available from the World Bank. This database provides CO2 emissions and other environmental measures for 54 countries for the period 2000 to 2008. The character of governance was measured by using an indicator of character of governance constructed by Transparency International. Data were analyzed by applying the method of linear regression with panel data after the method of structural equations had been applied in a test of robustness.

The results of the analysis showed the existence of statistically significant relationships among character of governance, potential for sustainable growth and quality of energy management.

The results of this investigation allow for the inclusion of character of governance as a new and relevant variable in the search to understand the ways that efficient energy management may contribute to increasing opportunities for sustainable growth and development in countries.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.