Environmental Management Accounting in European Countries and Japan: A Literature Survey

Abstract

A lot of research has been carried out in Japan as in Western countries on Environmental Management and on the question of corporate environmental data collection and reporting through effective Information Systems. However, most research by Japanese scholars has been published only in Japanese, and thus is not available to most Western researchers. The aim of this research paper is to carry out a survey of the Japanese literature on this topic, including references in Japanese, so as to make them more widely available.

The process of developing environmental and social reporting on the one hand, and environmental management accounting on the other hand, under the aegis of international organizations, including the United Nations, and replicated by the European Union and by the authorities in Japan, will be underlined. The differentiation will then be made clearer between the close and related concepts of environmental accounting, environmental management accounting, environmental and social reporting, and integrated reporting etc. Specific indicators that have been developed to assess the impact of firms’ activity on the environment, such as the eco-efficiency approach, will be presented and discussed. Finally, different cases in Europe and in Japan of innovative firms in the field of environmental management accounting and integrated reporting will also be presented.