Environmental Accounting in the European Accounting Review: A Reflection

Abstract

We reflect upon how European Accounting Review has conceived of environmental accounting (and to some extent social/sustainability accounting work) over its 30-year history, with the aim of discussing ways in which environmental accounting research can further develop, both within and beyond this journal. After outlining the broader social and ecological context from which environmental accounting has emerged (and noting that this context is evolving in substantive ways), we provide an overview of the types of research published in EAR. We combine these elements to identify three themes that we argue are critical for the direction of future research: the financial materiality of ecological issues and the impact this has on risk; how environmental accounting practices are constructed; and how a new relationship between nature and society may affect accounting practices. We finally conclude by envisioning a future of environmental accounting research that dovetails with the sustainability ambitions that can be draw from an examination of the detailed targets that underpin the Sustainable Development Goals.