25 September 2002
Rt Honourable Michael Meacher (MP), Minister for the Environment, gave an address to business leaders on 26 September at the launch of a report from CIMA on environmental cost accounting, written in association with Forum for the Future. The Minister has written the Foreword to the report.
This exciting new report, 'Environmental Accounting: An Introduction and Practical Guide', explains how several leading UK companies are managing and reporting their environmental risks. It warns that companies that fail to address and report environmental risks will lose the confidence of stakeholders.
Rupert Howes, Director of Forum for the Future's Sustainable Economy Programme, and author of the report, attended the launch to provide practical case studies of how leading companies including AWG (formally Anglian Water), Bulmers and Marks & Spencer are responding to this challenge. They are moving beyond simple reporting of environmental emissions through the use of an innovative external cost accounting methodology developed by Forum for the Future.
Stathis Gould, CIMA Head of Techncial Issues, said:
"Leading companies now recognise that their long-term future and financial sustainability is inescapably linked to their ability to reduce their environmental impacts and to improve continuously their overall environmental performance. The pressure for greater disclosure, continuous improvement in performance and greater accountability is only going to increase. To survive, companies will need to respond. Those that don't will simply not be the companies of the future."
He added:
"Management accountants have a key role to play in helping companies identify, measure and manage their environmental costs in a meaningful and transparent way, to ensure that sustainable profits are being made. CIMA is committed to playing a key role in developing this emerging area of accounting and promoting the positive business case for doing so."
Baxter Healthcare Corporation, a US based company that spent several years developing the environmental financial statement methodology, now sees savings and avoided costs from environmental investments actually exceed its environmental related expenditure
Gould concluded:
"The need for environmental accounting and reporting is not driven just by a need for responsible, considered business decisions - it is vital for the future of the capital markets."
Environmental Cost Accounting: An Introduction and Practical Guide costs £21.95 and is available from publishing.sales@cimaglobal.com or visit www.cimapublishing.com.
If you would like more information please contact Lottie Muir
Phone: +44 (0)20 8849 2407
Email: lottie.muir@cimaglobal.com
