Reconciling theory and practice in environmental accounting

Green accounting and environmental accounting share an ambition to develop better indicators to measure (material) wealth and sustainability. For green accounting, the theoretical literature explores the relationship between concepts such as well-being, income and wealth, using theoretical models. For environmental accounting, the statistical community often takes a more pragmatic approach, focusing on how best to integrate the use of natural capital into national accounts. Environmental accounts are blamed for not making sufficiently clear what exactly they are trying to measure, in the absence of a theoretical foundation. In contrast, the theoretical literature often uses unrealistic assumptions such as optimal functioning of the economy.

Therefore, the main motivation for writing this dissertation is the desire to reduce this gap if possible. The research question with which this dissertation is concerned is as follows: What possibilities exist to bridge the gap between theory and practice in the field of green/environmental accounting?

Because of the existence of different use contexts and objectives, as well as difficulties in basing environmental accounting on a theoretical foundation, there appear to be few immediate opportunities to bridge the gap between theory and practice. In particular, possible bridging will have to be sought in improved and closer cooperation between the statistical and research communities.

Edens, B. (2013). Reconciling theory and practice in environmental accounting. Dissertation, VU Amsterdam, handle:1871/48641.