International Journal of Technology Management and Sustainable Development
Volume 3 Number 1 © 2004 Intellect Ltd
Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/ijtm.3.1.47/0
Theory and practice of environmental
management accounting
Experience of implementation in China
Li Xiaomei
Abstract
The theory and practice of environmental management accounting (EMA) have
emerged in recent decades as a response to the growth of environmental problems.
EMA can be defined as the identification, collection, estimation, analysis, internal
reporting, and use of materials and information relating to energy flow and envi-
ronmental and other costs for both conventional and environmental decision-
making within an organization. It is now a widely used tool in balancing the
interaction between the economic, social and technological factors in the develop-
ment process to achieve the conditions for sustainable environment. The rapid
growth in the number of companies that are awarded ISO 14001 certificates has
enhanced the development of EMA all over the world. Many governments are
involved in promoting EMA. In China, the government and companies are doing
their best to keep pace with the global trend of environmental protection. The
main problems of EMA relate to the specification of environmental accounting
information, the allocation of environmental costs, legislation issues and the lack
of environmental accounting standards. Among all the available policy instru-
ments governments could use, the paper argues that regulatory or market-sensi-
tive instruments would be more suitable for China. It is also possible for the
Chinese government to direct companies in establishing environmental reporting
and environmental auditing systems.
Contributor details
Li Xiaomei is academic staff at the Accounting School, Central University of
Finance and Economics, Beijing, China. He is currently Visiting Scholar at the
East London Business School, University of East London, UK.
E-mail: kate_lee0111@hotmail.com
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TMSD 3 (1) 47–57 © Intellect Ltd 2004