Environmental Accounting and Corporate Sustainability Performance

Abstract

Environmental accounting has become increasingly important as organizations face growing pressure to identify, measure, manage, and disclose the environmental consequences of their activities. Traditional accounting systems may not adequately capture environmental costs such as energy consumption, waste management, emissions, resource depletion, and environmental remediation. This paper examines the relationship between environmental accounting and corporate sustainability performance, focusing on environmental cost measurement, resource efficiency, environmental disclosure, managerial decision-making, and corporate sustainability outcomes. Environmental accounting can help organizations identify environmental costs, evaluate resource use, improve operational efficiency, and integrate environmental considerations into business decisions. Transparent environmental reporting can also strengthen stakeholder confidence and demonstrate corporate accountability. However, effective environmental accounting requires reliable data, appropriate measurement methods, management commitment, employee competence, and integration with organizational control systems. The paper concludes that environmental accounting can contribute positively to corporate sustainability performance when environmental information is systematically measured, incorporated into decision-making, and communicated transparently.