INCSR COURSE II ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING

ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING and REPORTING GUIDELINES

Environmental Accounting and Reporting Guidelines

The consumption of natural resources and incessant emissions of greenhouse gases globally are on the increase, and stakeholders are agitating increased information on organizations’ interactions with the environment. Awareness about environmental pollution has increased as well during recent years that there is now widespread appreciation of the serious business risks and the need for preventive measures. Such measures, implemented voluntarily or through legislation, have many technical and economic ramifications, as well as social and public health implications.

Investors increasingly require that companies pursue environmental accounting strategies that reduce the damage caused to the environment while increasing or at least not decreasing shareholder value. The aim of environmentally sound management is to increase environmental report by reducing the environmental impact while increasing the value of an enterprise, (Schaltegger and Sturm 1989). According to Yakhou and Dorweiler (2003), Companies are expected to engage in environmental accounting to:

◗ reassure consumers that they take their responsibilities seriously

◗ comply with national guidelines

◗ comply with financial reporting requirements

◗ express the company’s environmental concerns and communicate them to a range of stakeholders.

Environmental guidelines are policies, rules, regulations and suggestions designed to protect the environment. They can be from the federal government, and/or the state and local governments and even environmental organizations. There are various ‘guidelines’ for each environmental situation: air, land, water (all kinds from the oceans to seas, to creeks), forests, etc.

For some years there has been a considerable development of environmental policies at the national, regional, and international levels. The scope of these policies includes both the reduction of pollution and the preservation of natural resources, as well as the promotion of an improved quality of life.

Benefits of Environmental Reporting Guidelines Course:

Your organization will benefit from lower energy and resource costs
Gain a better understanding of exposure to the risks of climate change and demonstrate leadership, which will help strengthen your green credentials in the marketplace
Master how to document, account and report environmental performance as organizations of all sizes are increasingly expected to measure and report on their environmental performance or risk losing out to competitors who do record their environmental performance

Course Synopsis

Introduction and definitions
Procedures to document environmental impacts
Steps in accounting and reporting your environmental impacts
Guidance on streamlined energy and carbon reporting
Voluntary greenhouse reporting
Water
Waste
Resource efficiency and materials
Emissions to air, land and water
Biodiversity and ecosystem services
Reviewing ISO 14064-1:2018 – Greenhouse gases — Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals