Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sustainable development, the Clean Development Mechanism, and business accounting

  • Chapter
Economics and Management of Climate Change

Abstract

With the institution of international responses to the imperatives of sustainable development and climate change mitigation, such as the UN-based Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as part of the Kyoto Protocol, practical concerns such as how to value, measure, quantify and account for such issues have come to the fore. This paper argues that if such institutional mechanisms are to adequately respond to these imperatives, they will have to address their political as well as technical dimensions. There is an ongoing political struggle over the meaning of Sustainable development between business and other stakeholders and this has influenced how institutional mechanisms such as the CDM have come to be structured. This paper examines some of the structural limitations of the CDM and the extent to which accounting techniques and processes are able to address and overcome them.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Baker M (2002) The GRI – the will to succeed is not enough. Corporate Social Responsibility News and Resources. http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/CSRfiles/GRI.html

    Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee SB (2003) Who sustains whose development? Sustainable development and the reinvention of nature. Organization Studies 24 (1): 143–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banuri T, Gupta S (2000) The Clean Development Mechanism and sustainable development: an economic analysis. In Ghosh P (ed) Asian Development Bank: Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol: Opportunities and Pitfalls for Developing Countries 73–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxter T, Bebbington J, Cutteridge D (2004) Sustainability assessment model: modelling economic, resource, environmental and social flows of a project. In: Henriques A, Richardson J (eds) ‘The Triple Bottom Line–Does It All Add Up?’ Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Bebbington J (2001) Sustainable development: a review of the international development, business and accounting literature. Accounting Forum 25 (2): 128–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bebbington J, Gray RH (2001) An account of sustainability: failure, success and a Reconceptualization. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 12: 557–587

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bebbington J, Brown J, Frame B (2007a) Accounting technological and sustainability assessment models. Ecological Economics 61: 224–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bebbington J, Brown J, Frame B, Thomson I (2007b) Theorising engagement: the potential of a critical dialogic approach. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 20 (3): 356–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bebbington J, Tan J (1996) Accounting for sustainability. Chartered Accountants Journal July: 75–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Bebbington J, Tan J (1997) Accounting for sustainability. Chartered Accountants Journal February: 37–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Birkin F (1996) The ecological accountant: from cogito to thinking like a mountain. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 7: 231–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CDM Watch (2005) The World Bank and the carbon market: rhetoric and reality. http://cdmwatch.org/files/World{%}20Bank{%}20paper{%}20final.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper C (1992) The non and nom of accounting for (m)other nature. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 5 (3): 16–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly HE (1992) Allocation, distribution and scale: towards and economics that is efficient, just and sustainable. Ecological Economics 6: 185–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daly H, Cobb JB (1989) For the common good. Boston: Beacon

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobson A (1998) ‘Justice and the Environment: Conceptions of Environmental Sustainability and Theories of Distributive Justice’. Oxford University Press: Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkington J (1999) Triple Bottom Line Reporting: looking for balance. Australian CPA March: 19–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis J, Winkler H, Corfee Morlot J (2004) ‘Taking Stock of Progress under the CDM’, OECD and IEA Information Paper, COM/ENV/EPOC/IEA/SLT (2004): 4 Factor-10 Club (1999) Factor 10: Making sustainability accountable – putting resource productivity into praxis. Factor 10 Club: http://www.factor10-institute.org/Pdf-Files. htm

    Google Scholar 

  • Fenhann J (2008) CDM Pipeline Overview, January 2008. UNEP Risoe Centre. http://www.CDMPipeline.org/Publications/CDMPipeline.xls (accessed January 2008) Global Report Initiative (GRI) (2006) Sustainability reporting guidelines. http://www. global reporting.org

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray RH (1992) Accounting and environmentalism: an exploration of the challenge of gently accounting for accountability, transparency and sustainability. Accounting, Organizations and Society 17 (5): 399–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray RH (1993) ‘Accounting for the Environment’. London: Paul Chapman

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray RH (1994) Corporate reporting for sustainable development: Accounting for sustainability in 2000AD Environmental Values: 17–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray RH, Bebbington J (2000) Environmental accounting, managerialism and sustainability: is the planet safe in the hands of business and accounting? Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management 1: 1–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray RH, Milne MJ (2002) Sustainability Reporting: who’s kidding whom? Chartered Accountants Journal of New Zealand 83 (7): 16–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Hildyard N (1995) Foxes in charge of the chickens: In: Sachs, W. (1995) ‘Global ecology: a new arena of political conflict’. London: Zed Books, pp 22–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Hines R (1991) On valuing nature. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 4 (3):27–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Howes R (1999. Accounting for environmentally sustainable profits. Management Accounting 77 (11): 32–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Jasch C (1993) Environmental information systems in Austria. Social and Environmental Accounting 13 (2): 7–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones MJ (1996) Accounting for biodiversity: a pilot study. British Accounting Review 28:281–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamberton G (2005) Sustainability accounting – a brief history and conceptual framework. Accounting Forum 29: 7–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehman G (1996) Environmental accounting: pollution permits or selling the environment. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 7: 667–676

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehman G (1999) Disclosing New World: Social and Environmental Accounting. Accounting, Organizations and Society 24 (3): 217–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maunders K, Burritt R (1991) Accounting and ecological crisis. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 4 (3): 9–26

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonough W, Braungart M (1998) The next industrial revolution. The Atlantic Monthly Digital Edition: http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/98oct/industry.htm

    Google Scholar 

  • Milne MJ, Ball A (2005) ‘Business and sustainability: agenda for change or soothing palliatives?’ Inaugural Professorial Lecture. Victoria University of Wellington

    Google Scholar 

  • Norton BG (1991) ‘Toward unity among environmentalists’. New York, Oxford University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson B (2007) Market failure: why the Clean Development Mechanism won’t promote clean development. Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2): 247–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Power M (1991) Auditing and environmental expertise: between protest and professionalism. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal: 30–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Rees W (2000) Eco-footprint analysis: merits and brickbats. Ecological Economics 32 (3):371–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson I, Bebbington J (2005) Social and environmental reporting in the UK: a pedagogic evaluation. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 16 (5): 507–533

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tinker AM (1980) Towards a Political Economy of Accounting: An Empirical Illustration of the Cambridge Controversies. Accounting Organizations and Society 5 (1): 147–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) ‘Our Common Future’ Oxford, Oxford University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations, Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1998) http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Vallette J, Wysham D, Martinez N (2004) ‘A wrong turn from Rio: The World Bank’s Road to Climate Catastrophe’, Sustainable Energy and Economy Network, Institute for Policy Studies, Transnational Institute, Research and Policy Brief. 10th Session of the Conference of the Parties, Buenos Aires

    Google Scholar 

  • Van den Bergh J (1996) ‘Ecological economics and sustainable development’. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar

    Google Scholar 

  • Wackernagel M, Rees W (1996) ‘Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth’. New Society Publishers, Canada

    Google Scholar 

  • Wara M (2006) ‘Measuring the Clean Development Mechanism’s Performance and Potential’ Working Paper {#}56, Program on Energy and Sustainable Development. Stanford University

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittneben B (2007) The Clean Development Mechanism: Institutionalising New Power Relations. Erasmus Research Institute of Management. Report Series Research in Management ERS-2007-004-ORG

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Accounting and Commercial Law Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand

    Pala Molisa

  2. Rotterdam School of Management Erasmus University Rotterdam Burg, Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, Netherlands

    Bettina Wittneben

Authors
  1. Pala Molisa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bettina Wittneben
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany

    Bernd Hansjürgens

  2. Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany

    Ralf Antes

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Molisa, P., Wittneben, B. (2008). Sustainable development, the Clean Development Mechanism, and business accounting. In: Hansjürgens, B., Antes, R. (eds) Economics and Management of Climate Change. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77353-7_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation