Responsible Consumption and Production to Address Climate Change Through Environmental Management Accounting: The Case of South Africa

The production and extractive industries are labeled as dirty due to the assumption that these industries contribute to air pollution by releasing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. They furthermore consume substantial volumes of scarce natural resources such as water and energy, often leading to waste. This chapter aims to establish how implementing environmental management accounting (EMA) can facilitate responsible consumption and production to address climate change, which other disciplines can be combined with EMA, and the extent of research on EMA in South Africa. Articles based on research on EMA in South Africa were identified through a systematized literature survey. The literature survey confirmed limited research on EMA in South Africa. It is recommended that when a company’s leadership is serious about protecting the environment, EMA and its embedded practices (EMAPs) should be incorporated successfully into the company strategy. The need for interdisciplinary research was established where the circular economy, industrial ecology, EMAPs, and information technology were integrated into a systems view to protect the environment. Another way to increase the effect of EMAPs is to embrace the Internet of Things of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to facilitate greener production processes, generate less waste, and reduce air pollution. Through the IoT, machines-machines and machines-humans communication plays a key role in following the flow of materials, energy, and water. as well as breakdowns and wastage. Further, managing big data and cloud computing should be incorporated by production and extracting companies in their communication to facilitate better decision-making on environmental impacts.