IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v82y2022ics1045235421000460.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability at stake during COVID-19: Exploring the role of accounting in addressing environmental crises

Author

Listed:
  • Cho, Charles H.
  • Senn, Juliette
  • Sobkowiak, Madlen

Abstract

In this paper, we reflect and provide insights on the environmental implications of post-COVID-19 economic recoveries. More specifically, we highlight the connection(s) between the environment and the COVID-19 crisis, in particular the intertwined links between Mother Nature and the virus. We then raise some concerns about the ‘illusionary’ positive and negative effects of the crisis on the environment before evoking some past lessons about crisis management and recovery. We contend that the current accounting and accountability mechanisms employed in economic stimulus programs, as well as traditional environmental accounting approaches, are inadequate and limiting to achieve long-term sustainability change. The paper concludes by offering accounting practitioners and researchers some possibilities to take a step forward and develop new understandings of social and environmental value consistent with ecological principles and sustainable development—and hope that these reflections will contribute to a broader debate on the role of accounting for sustainable development in the Anthropocene.

Suggested Citation

  • Cho, Charles H. & Senn, Juliette & Sobkowiak, Madlen, 2022. "Sustainability at stake during COVID-19: Exploring the role of accounting in addressing environmental crises," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:82:y:2022:i:c:s1045235421000460
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2021.102327
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235421000460
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2021.102327?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jean-Noël Chauvey & Sophie Giordano-Spring & Charles H. Cho & Dennis M. Patten, 2015. "The Normativity and Legitimacy of CSR Disclosure: Evidence from France," Post-Print hal-02009500, HAL.
    2. Jean-Noël Chauvey & Sophie Giordano-Spring & Charles Cho & Dennis Patten, 2015. "The Normativity and Legitimacy of CSR Disclosure: Evidence from France," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(4), pages 789-803, September.
    3. Judy Brown & Jesse Dillard & Trevor Hopper, 2015. "Accounting, accountants and accountability regimes in pluralistic societies," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(5), pages 626-650, June.
    4. Charles H. Cho & Matias Laine & Robin W. Roberts & Michelle Rodrigue, 2018. "The Frontstage and Backstage of Corporate Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Bill," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 865-886, October.
    5. Cho, Charles H. & Laine, Matias & Roberts, Robin W. & Rodrigue, Michelle, 2015. "Organized hypocrisy, organizational façades, and sustainability reporting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 78-94.
    6. Juliette Senn & Sophie Giordano-Spring, 2020. "The limits of environmental accounting disclosure: enforcement of regulations, standards and interpretative strategies," Post-Print hal-03138508, HAL.
    7. Madlen Sobkowiak & Thomas Cuckston & Ian Thomson, 2020. "Framing sustainable development challenges: accounting for SDG-15 in the UK," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(7), pages 1671-1703, March.
    8. Jan Bebbington & Jeffrey Unerman, 2020. "Advancing research into accounting and the UN Sustainable Development Goals," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(7), pages 1657-1670, July.
    9. Juliette Senn & Sophie Giordano-Spring, 2020. "The limits of environmental accounting disclosure: enforcement of regulations, standards and interpretative strategies," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(6), pages 1367-1393, June.
    10. Carlos Larrinaga, 2020. "‘The World for Which we Account’: Systems Thinking in Rob Gray’s Works," Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 186-190, September.
    11. Corinne Le Quéré & Robert B. Jackson & Matthew W. Jones & Adam J. P. Smith & Sam Abernethy & Robbie M. Andrew & Anthony J. De-Gol & David R. Willis & Yuli Shan & Josep G. Canadell & Pierre Friedlingst, 2020. "Temporary reduction in daily global CO2 emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 10(7), pages 647-653, July.
    12. Christian Leuz, 2018. "Evidence-based policymaking: promise, challenges and opportunities for accounting and financial markets research," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(5), pages 582-608, July.
    13. Jill F. Solomon & Aris Solomon & Simon D. Norton & Nathan L. Joseph, 2011. "Private climate change reporting: an emerging discourse of risk and opportunity?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(8), pages 1119-1148, October.
    14. Thomas Cuckston, 2017. "Ecology-centred accounting for biodiversity in the production of a blanket bog," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(7), pages 1537-1567, September.
    15. Bebbington, Jan & Kirk, Elizabeth A. & Larrinaga, Carlos, 2012. "The production of normativity: A comparison of reporting regimes in Spain and the UK," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 78-94.
    16. Paul J. Crutzen, 2002. "Geology of mankind," Nature, Nature, vol. 415(6867), pages 23-23, January.
    17. Kate E. Jones & Nikkita G. Patel & Marc A. Levy & Adam Storeygard & Deborah Balk & John L. Gittleman & Peter Daszak, 2008. "Global trends in emerging infectious diseases," Nature, Nature, vol. 451(7181), pages 990-993, February.
    18. Campbell, David & Slack, Richard, 2011. "Environmental disclosure and environmental risk: Sceptical attitudes of UK sell-side bank analysts," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 54-64.
    19. Bebbington, Jan & Larrinaga, Carlos, 2014. "Accounting and sustainable development: An exploration," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 395-413.
    20. Glen P. Peters & Gregg Marland & Corinne Le Quéré & Thomas Boden & Josep G. Canadell & Michael R. Raupach, 2012. "Rapid growth in CO2 emissions after the 2008–2009 global financial crisis," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 2(1), pages 2-4, January.
    21. Clément Feger & Laurent Mermet, 2017. "A blueprint towards accounting for the management of ecosystems," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(7), pages 1511-1536, September.
    22. Brendan O'Dwyer & Jeffrey Unerman, 2020. "Shifting the focus of sustainability accounting from impacts to risks and dependencies: researching the transformative potential of TCFD reporting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(5), pages 1113-1141, June.
    23. Claus Holm & Pall Rikhardsson, 2008. "Experienced and Novice Investors: Does Environmental Information Influence Investment Allocation Decisions?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 537-557.
    24. Gray, Rob, 2010. "Is accounting for sustainability actually accounting for sustainability...and how would we know? An exploration of narratives of organisations and the planet," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 47-62, January.
    25. Matias Laine & Eija Vinnari, 2017. "The transformative potential of counter accounts: a case study of animal rights activism," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(7), pages 1481-1510, September.
    26. Shona Russell & Markus J. Milne & Colin Dey, 2017. "Accounts of nature and the nature of accounts," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(7), pages 1426-1458, September.
    27. Igor Álvarez Etxeberria & Eduardo Ortas & Stefan Schaltegger & Carla Antonini & Carlos Larrinaga, 2017. "Planetary Boundaries and Sustainability Indicators. A Survey of Corporate Reporting Boundaries," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(2), pages 123-137, March.
    28. Clément Feger & Laurent Mermet, 2017. "A blueprint towards accounting for the management of ecosystems," Post-Print hal-01930913, HAL.
    29. Stuart Cooper & Graham Pearce, 2011. "Climate change performance measurement, control and accountability in English local authority areas," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(8), pages 1097-1118, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maurizio Comoli & Patrizia Tettamanzi & Michael Murgolo, 2023. "Accounting for ‘ESG’ under Disruptions: A Systematic Literature Network Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-32, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jan Bebbington & Tom Cuckston & C. Feger, 2021. "Biodiversity," Post-Print hal-03746729, HAL.
    2. Lee Roberts & Monomita Nandy & Abeer Hassan & Suman Lodh & Ahmed A. Elamer, 2022. "Corporate Accountability Towards Species Extinction Protection: Insights from Ecologically Forward-Thinking Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 571-595, July.
    3. Klarissa Lueg & Rainer Lueg, 2021. "Deconstructing corporate sustainability narratives: A taxonomy for critical assessment of integrated reporting types," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1785-1800, November.
    4. Lee Roberts & Abeer Hassan & Ahmed Elamer & Monomita Nandy, 2021. "Biodiversity and extinction accounting for sustainable development: A systematic literature review and future research directions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 705-720, January.
    5. C. Feger & Laurent Mermet, 2021. "Advances in accounting for biodiversity and ecosystems: a typology focusing upon the environmental results imperative [Innovations comptables pour la biodiversité et les écosystèmes : une typologie," Post-Print hal-02549016, HAL.
    6. Nicolas Garcia‐Torea & Belen Fernandez‐Feijoo & Marta De La Cuesta, 2020. "CSR reporting communication: Defective reporting models or misapplication?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 952-968, March.
    7. Rodrigue, Michelle & Romi, Andrea M., 2022. "Environmental escalations to social inequities: Some reflections on the tumultuous state of Gaia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    8. Le Bot, Corentin & Perrigot, Rozenn & Déjean, Frédérique & Oxibar, Bruno, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility in franchise chains: Specificities, insights from French franchise chains’ CSD, and avenues for future research," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    9. Muhammad Azizul Islam & Chris J. Van Staden, 2022. "Modern Slavery Disclosure Regulation and Global Supply Chains: Insights from Stakeholder Narratives on the UK Modern Slavery Act," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 455-479, October.
    10. Venturelli, Andrea & Ligorio, Lorenzo & de Nuccio, Elbano, 2023. "Biodiversity accountability in water utilities: A case study," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    11. Charles H. Cho & Jonathan Maurice & Emmanuelle Nègre & Marie-Anne Verdier, 2016. "Is environmental disclosure good for the environment? A meta-analysis and research agenda," Post-Print halshs-01369422, HAL.
    12. Tregidga, Helen & Laine, Matias, 2022. "On crisis and emergency: Is it time to rethink long-term environmental accounting?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    13. Selena Aureli & Mara Del Baldo & Rosa Lombardi & Fabio Nappo, 2020. "Nonfinancial reporting regulation and challenges in sustainability disclosure and corporate governance practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2392-2403, September.
    14. Cuckston, Thomas, 2022. "Accounts of NGO performance as calculative spaces: Wild Animals, wildlife restoration and strategic agency," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    15. Ho-Tan-Phat Phan & Francesco De Luca & Lea Iaia, 2020. "The “Walk” towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Does Mandated “Talk” through NonFinancial Disclosure Affect Companies’ Financial Performance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-20, March.
    16. Mark Christensen & Geoffrey Lamberton, 2022. "Accounting for Animal Welfare: Addressing Epistemic Vices During Live Sheep Export Voyages," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 35-56, September.
    17. Alexandre RAMBAUD, 2023. "How can accounting reformulate the debate on natural capital and help implement its ecological approach?," Working Paper 8567406c-bed0-4401-9792-a, Agence française de développement.
    18. Vinnari, Eija & Laine, Matias, 2017. "The moral mechanism of counter accounts: The case of industrial animal production," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-17.
    19. Torelli, Riccardo & Balluchi, Federica, 2020. "Business Legitimacy, Agricultural Biodiversity and Environmental Ethics: Insights from Sustainable Bakeries," OSF Preprints sxzjf, Center for Open Science.
    20. Rong He & Le Luo & Abul Shamsuddin & Qingliang Tang, 2022. "Corporate carbon accounting: a literature review of carbon accounting research from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 261-298, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:82:y:2022:i:c:s1045235421000460. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/critical-perspectives-on-accounting/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.