The concept of corporate resource efficiency accounting: A case study in the electronic industry

Abstract

Macro-economic statistics illustrate that economic growth and the use of natural resources have not yet been sufficiently decoupled. Therefore the issue has to be considered: what are the reasons for this failure at the micro level? In order to improve the support for a company's decision-making process, three main requirements can be identified: successful tools have to be (1) userfriendly, and provide effective outcomes in terms of (2) accountability and (3) transparency. This paper discusses how the complexity of environmental impact data can be reduced in an appropriate manner through the use of materials intensities, and explains the basic motivation and the general assumptions of the "Resource Efficiency Accounting" instrument. The methodological assessment approach is then described in the light of environmental management accounting. Finally a case study in the electronic industry illustrates the advantage of this concept in a practical application.