Report claims accountants should take responsibility for sustainability strategies

News Article - 21 December 2009
Category: Environment

A recent report from the Chartered Institute of Managed Accountants is urging finance professionals to take responsibility for climate change initiatives. The institute warns that unless accountants show a firm commitment to climate change it is unlikely sustainability strategies will become a priority.

The report questioned 900 accountants and corporate social responsibility professionals on their commitment to carbon reduction. 1 in 5 respondents felt environmental issues do not feature on their company agenda with over half claiming environmental issues are not a strategic priority. Yet CIMA's research found cost savings could be made in organisations where finance and CSR departments worked closely on climate change strategies.

As the government continues to make aggressive pledges to cut carbon emissions, finance professionals are also expected to come under pressure from boardrooms looking for meaningful figures on the organisation's carbon emissions. Without the relevant data, companies will find it increasingly difficult to make the kinds of behavioural changes needed to cut carbon output.

In addition, there is the possibility that a global standard for reporting carbon emissions may soon be implemented. Delegates at the Copenhagen Summit were recently sent an open letter from many of the World's top accounting institutes outlining the need for global reporting standards.

Finance professionals who take responsibility for climate change initiatives will benefit from a strategic advantage. Organisations that cannot show proactive carbon-reduction programmes may find themselves facing higher taxes or lower profitability. To be effective, sustainability strategies must both prove climate change is a company priority, and provide the relevant statistics to stakeholders showing that carbon-intensive activities are being tackled. Organisations that cannot track carbon output will find implementing such a strategy difficult.

Access carbon reporting software integrates seamlessly with current infrastructures and provides organisation-wide statistics on carbon output. Data can be broken down by department or individual staff member, allowing the behavioural changes needed to drive change to be made more easily. As pressure on finance professionals builds, a robust and reliable carbon tracking platform will allow companies to develop far more effective carbon-reduction strategies that target the most carbon-intensive areas of the business.

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