Application of environmental management accounting by small and medium enterprises in South Africa

Abstract

By focusing on environmental management accounting in SMEs, the study helps SME managers to effectively understand and find better ways of improving environmental management. The paper investigates environmental management accounting applications in manufacturing small and medium enterprises in Gauteng province. Small and medium enterprises were chosen based on their exclusion from the mainstream research on environmental management accounting (EMA). To achieve the main aim of the study, 24 in-depth interviews were undertaken among SMEs’ managers, accountants, chief executive officers, and owners. The study found that physical EMA is more common in SMEs than monetary EMA. 77% of SMEs’ respondents confirm using physical environmental information in their operations. Therefore, SMEs prefer EMA practices with little cost or no cost attached and practices that can effectively generate returns in the short term. In addition, the avoidance of monetary EMA is anchored on the premise of avoiding costly projects with no immediate material financial returns. Therefore, EMA is critical for SMEs to achieve sustainability.

Environmental Management Accounting Implementation Challenges and Supply Chain Management in Emerging Economies’ Manufacturing Sector

“…EMA has become an essential component in the decision-making process in management accounting, particularly within the complex SCMSs that result from many forces, including globalisation, recognition of dimensions of sustainability, and cost-effective transportation channels [33]. While the link between EMA and sustainable supply chain management continued to receive academic attention in the past decades [34], progress in implementing EMAPs in developing countries, particularly Africa, continues to gain momentum, with many scholars showing interest [17,20,22].…”

“…As the management of the supply chain issues continue to attract the attention of many stakeholders, such as government, society, and companies, as environmental sustainability issues require redress, a slow uptake in EMA adoption is being experienced. Various studies focussing on EMA practices (EMAPs) in developing countries have been done, with much focus on material flow cost accounting (MFCA) [18][19][20]. Studies that researched EMAPs have also contributed to the discourse [20][21][22].…”

“…Various studies focussing on EMA practices (EMAPs) in developing countries have been done, with much focus on material flow cost accounting (MFCA) [18][19][20]. Studies that researched EMAPs have also contributed to the discourse [20][21][22]. Other studies acknowledge that EMA adoption in developing countries is still an issue.…”

Diagnosis of the Sustainability of a Poultry Value Chain From the Perspective of Environmental Management Accounting

“…In this way, one can observe the emergence of a challenging problem in the field of structure, breadth and applicability. As the main limiting factors are the scarcity of models for information management in longitudinal studies (Ascani, Ciccola & Chiucchi, 2021), the absence of scales in measurement processes (Naranjo Tuesta et al, 2021), the lack of systemic diagnostics that assist the decision-making process (Sudha, 2020), limited access or absence of data (Dhar, Sarkar & Ayittey, 2022;Gunarathne et al, 2021;Schooks & popoy hl, 2021), little research on the EMA system and innovation Vejzagić, Brown & Schmidt, 2018;Hoang et al, 2020), the need for methodological validation (Qian, Hörisch & Schaltegger, 2018;Phan, Baird & Su, 2018;Ghosh & Wolf, 2021;Burritt et al, 2019;Carini et al, 2 2021;Fakoya & Imuezerua, 2021;Alsaifi, Elnahass & Salama, 2020;Gunarathne et al, 2021;Asiri, Khan & Kend, 2020;Nyahuna & Doorasamy, 2021;Nyakuwanika, Van Der Poll & Van Der Poll, 2021) and limited sample (Latan et al, 2018;Da Rosa, Lunkes & Mendes Naranjo Tuesta, Crespo Soler & Ripoll Feliu, 2021).…”

The Nexus Between Environmental Management Accounting Practices and Financial Sustainability of Cement and Mining Companies in South Africa

“…The impact of EMAP on corporate financial performance has been documented in developed countries, leaving emerging markets such as South Africa less and rarely documented. Conversely, several South African environmental management accounting (EMA) studies (Doorasamy, 2019;Nyahuna & Doorasamy, 2021;Nyide's, 2019) are mainly conceptual or descriptive instead of insightful. This is majorly explained by the fact that EMA is still in its initial stages in developing countries (Fuzi et al, 2019).…”