Journal of Corporate Citizenship · 2008 · 10 citations · 0 references
Corporate sustainability has evolved from a national goal to a business imperative, with growing pressure on firms to demonstrate contributions to national sustainability targets and to adopt broader sustainability concepts such as sustainable cities, sectors, and businesses. The paper investigates corporate sustainability and offers practical guidance for firms to enhance environmental accounting and reporting practices. The authors argue that full cost accounting—valuing pollution in corporate green accounts—is essential for understanding and improving corporate sustainability.
Although sustainable development has been interpreted primarily as a national (or global) goal, there is increasing discussion of the 'sustainable city', the 'sustainable sector' and the 'sustainable business'. In this paper, the notion of corporate sustainability is explored and developed. We argue that one of the keys to understanding corporate sustainability is full cost accounting, that is, valuing pollution in corporate green accounts. Defining and measuring corporate sustainability is more than just an academic concern. Corporate entities are increasingly under pressure to demonstrate how they contribute to the national sustainability goals outlined by government. Hence, this paper seeks to provide practical advice on how businesses might adapt and improve current environmental accounting and reporting practice.