Twenty‐five years of social and environmental accounting research

TLDR

The field requires qualified professionals to influence environmental policy, yet suitable educational programmes are lacking. This review evaluates 25 years of social and environmental accounting, classifies the literature chronologically, and argues for embedding the discipline into undergraduate and graduate curricula. The authors organize the literature into three decades (1971‑1980, 1981‑1990, 1991‑1995) and further classify it into empirical studies, normative statements, philosophical discussion, non‑accounting literature, teaching programmes, regulatory frameworks, and other reviews. The review celebrates progress over the past quarter‑century but warns that the field’s sustainability depends on a limited group of researchers, writers, and journals, without which interest could wane.

Abstract

Reviews 25 years of social and environmental accounting literature in an attempt to evaluate the position and answer the question posed in the title, as well as to provide a structure or classification for others to use. In order to structure the task, uses three time periods: 1971‐1980; 1981‐1990; and 1991‐1995, and classifies the literature into several sub‐groups including empirical studies, normative statements, philosophical discussion, non‐accounting literature, teaching programmes and textbooks, regulatory frameworks, and other reviews. Attempts, after the classification, to synthesize an overall chronological position. Concludes that there is something to celebrate after 25 years. However, the continued success of this field is dependent on a relatively small number of researchers, writers, and specialized journals without which there would be the danger of a collapse of interest and a loss of what has been gained so far. Consequently, the provision of a place in the advanced undergraduate and graduate curriculum is a major task for the next decade. Argues that appropriately qualified and motivated professionals are needed to contribute to environmental policy and management in both the public and private sectors. However, appropriate educational programmes have not been evident to date.