Early critical theory work on environmental accounting: environmental accounting as instrumental or emancipatory discourse

Renée Palmer, Gordon Boyce and Glen Lehman

Chapter 5 in Handbook of Critical Environmental Accountability and Sustainability, 2026, pp 65-87 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter contributes to the discussion by arguing for the political economy of environmental accounting and accountability. It highlights the need for critique in mainstream approaches, which often overlook the necessity for change through altered state and civil society arrangements. The debate between dialectics and the bourgeois political economy, as detailed in this chapter, reveals a vital issue with modern environmental accounting: it leaves Nature's meaning undetermined. The research found that this theoretical problem has intensified with recent developments, including global reporting initiatives, carbon accounting, and more broadly conceived environmental accounting. This research is supported by studies that lack environmental theorising.

Keywords: Dialectical; Environmental Accountability; Capitalism; Means of Production; Marx (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781802201765
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