Value Drivers of Corporate Eco-Efficiency: Management Accounting Information for the Efficient Use of Environmental Resources

46 Pages Posted: 13 Jun 2013 Last revised: 7 Jan 2014

See all articles by Frank Figge

Frank Figge

ESCP Business School

Tobias Hahn

KEDGE Business School

Date Written: June 11, 2013

Abstract

Eco-efficiency is oftentimes considered the gold standard for managerial decision making in an environmental context because it seemingly reconciles the efficient use of capital and the efficient use of environmental resources. We challenge this view by disaggregating eco-efficiency to provide an in-depth analysis of corporate eco-efficiency and to identify the drivers of an efficient use of environmental resources. By building on the value-based approach in financial management, we extend the rationale of economic value drivers to develop drivers for the efficient use of environmental resources. We apply this logic to analyze the carbon-efficiency of major car manufacturers worldwide. The analysis clarifies the conceptual relationship between the use of economic and environmental resources by firms. The analysis shows that the drivers of capital efficiency and eco-efficiency are not fully congruent. These findings underpin critical voices that question the supposedly unproblematic link between corporate eco-efficiency and economic value creation. We illustrate that the efficient use of environmental resources is complementary rather than instrumental to capital efficiency. Consequently, the challenge of managing eco-efficiency is to unshackle it from the current capital-oriented domination. The findings provide managerial guidance on the value-creating use of environmental and economic resources. Conceptually, our argument contributes to the debate between critical and managerial perspectives on environmental accounting and helps to address the current standoff between these two camps.

Keywords: Eco-efficiency, environmental management accounting, sustainable value drivers, carbon performance, car manufacturing

JEL Classification: M4

Suggested Citation

Figge, Frank and Hahn, Tobias, Value Drivers of Corporate Eco-Efficiency: Management Accounting Information for the Efficient Use of Environmental Resources (June 11, 2013). Management Accounting Research, 24(4), 387-400, DOI: 10.1016/j.mar.2013.06.009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2277819

Frank Figge

ESCP Business School ( email )

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Tobias Hahn (Contact Author)

KEDGE Business School ( email )

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BP 921
Marseille, PACA 13288
France
+33491827313 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.kedgebs.com

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