(Newsletter #11) Is sustainability accounting set to change the game?

Now we know: no single tool, no magic wand, has enough power to slow our march towards an overheating world. But we also know that the response can only be plural.

Over the last two decades, companies have been undergoing a silent revolution in accounting and reporting which could, at its own level, contribute to significant change: a philosophical revolution, around the issues of value creation and destruction; a cultural one, on the weight of the sacrosanct figures and the growing role of diverse stakeholders; an organizational one, with new frameworks, approaches and jobs; and a regulatory one, that drives all the other aspects, under pressure from Europe.

This month, our professors specifically address this issue on the basis of their most recent academic work. The progress made and the obstacles encountered in ‘greening’ practices are at the heart of their current reflections and proposals.

Don't forget that all these articles are available in French on edhec.edu.

Happy reading!

Sustainability narratives in accounting: How to move beyond window-dressing

By Bastiaan van der Linden - Associate Professor at EDHEC

New frameworks (ESRS, CSRD, etc.) are encouraging companies to report on both financial risks and socio-environmental impacts. However, a new perspective is needed on how to approach and account for value. This is just one of the many key points addressed by the author: realising that while most financial values need to be increased or maximised, other types of values may need to be respected, maintained, used or even minimised. All this leads to an entirely new approach to sustainability narratives... Read the article

Why corporate transparency won't be enough to ‘save’ nature

By Madlen Sobkowiak - Associate Professor at EDHEC, Manager of the MSc in Global & Sustainable Business

Sustainability reporting is one of the first steps towards corporate transparency. But to really have a positive impact, three essential conditions must be met: companies need to be linked to ecosystems, strategic intentions need to be translated into concrete actions and financial incentives need to be aligned with ecological objectives. In this article, originally published in The Conversation France , the author details her thoughts on this issue, while calling for governance approaches and reporting tools to be strengthened... Read this article

4 questions to Pascale Taddei on the challenges and adoption of socio-environmental accounting

An interview with Pascale Taddei - Associate Professor at EDHEC

Socio-environmental accounting models are beginning to receive increased attention and use from a wide range of companies and organisations. The interviewee chose to focus on the Comprehensive Accounting in Respect of Ecology (CARE) model in her recently defended thesis. Although this model enjoys growing academic support and government incentives, its adoption remains slow, with reluctance to change remaining the main obstacle. However, levers do exist and the future of the CARE model is promising... Read this interview

Accounting and management control: how can they help manage the contradictions of hybrid companies?

By Aziza Laguecir - Professor at EDHEC

At the crossroads of the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, hybrid organisations - such as social entrepreneurship, public-private partnerships, SCOPs and NGOs - have to combine different and sometimes contradictory objectives. What is striking - and this is the idea put forward by the author - is that accounting and management control are useful levers for reconciling divergent expectations and legitimising certain choices. Beyond the figures, a new accounting approach is possible, one that is more inclusive, broader in scope and horizon, and more responsible... Read this article

Marek Reuter: "Achieving the TCFD’s vision of risk transparency is far more complex than it might appear"

An interview with Marek Reuter - Assistant Professor at EDHEC

The allocation of capital plays a key role in shaping our collective future. As the world faces an unprecedented climate crisis, sustainable finance promises to align profit with purpose, ensuring that economic growth continues within the limits of the planet. The interviewee points out that this promise is based on translating ESG challenges into financial risks using frameworks such as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). But how effective is this approach? Is it possible, or even desirable, to channel sustainability through the prism of financial risk?... Read the interview

Meet Madlen Sobkowiak, an Associate Professor you can count on to make sustainability a business reality

A portrait of Madlen Sobkowiak - Associate Professor at EDHEC, Manager of the MSc in Global & Sustainable Business

“I needed a change of scenery, wanted to return to continental Europe, and EDHEC put me in the best position to do everything well”, she says, “strong sustainability research, impactful work with engagement, and teaching truly embedded with sustainability.” From the start, she created new courses to further integrate her favorite topics into accounting: Extra-Financial Reporting and Measuring Sustainability... Read this portrait

Illustration (header) 2024 - Anne Moreau