Exploring Alternatives of Accounting for Environmental Liabilities in the Company's Balance Sheet

Abstract

Environmental concerns have recently reached the stock market, in which investors want analyze the company's related-risks in causing environmental damages. Usually, the Company's Balance Sheet (CBS) is summarized, disallowing a clear interpretation of environmental issues. Methods used to valuate environmental liabilities are often subjective, which create communication problems. The aims of this work are (i) to explore alternatives for CBS structural presentation to clearly represent environmental liabilities, which allow an efficient communication with society and investors, and (ii) to assess a methodological alternative of valuating environmental liabilities under economical terms. The "Petrobras" S.A. Brazilian Oil Company is taken as a case study by accounting its oil spill related-incidents occurred in 2000 yr. Results show that an improved CBS structure should represent the company's environmental related-issues. Additionally, emergy accounting appears as a powerful alternative to replace/substitute contingent valuation to quantify environmental liabilities under economic terms. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2014.