Environmental Management Accounting Procedures and Principles

Environmental Management Accounting
Procedures and Principles
Emissions
29kg/$180
Material Purchase
100kg/$1000
Product
12kg/$390
Waste
43kg/$410
Waste Water
16kg/$20
Figure 18.
Material and money flows in a paint shop
Source: Dimitroff/Jasch/Schnitzer, 1997.
During their first environmental review, companies mostly draw up a screening material flow
balance and do not go into much detail. On this basis, knowledge is gained on where to focus
to achieve improvements in performance and information gathering. By improving the quality
of the information available and the consistency of information systems, a regular monitoring
system can be established. This monitoring system shows resource input and production and
waste output on a monthly basis. As a next step, the material flows can be subdivided further
according to processes and cost centres, and they can then also be subjected to monetary
evaluation.
Figure 18 shows the generally applicable structure of the input-output balance at the corporate
level, which should also be used for environmental reporting. Specific subcategories will be
needed for different sectors, but, it should always be possible to aggregate in a standardized
manner, in order to be able to compare them.
Reclassifying accounting data after initial entry is often impossible and always time-consuming
and costly. Hence, the secret of success in all areas of accounting, including EMA, is to
capture any information necessary for later analysis at the time when the data is entered.
Modifying existing systems can also be costly, but environmental considerations can often be
built in when the system is adjusted for other reasons.
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