Center for Advancing Accounting

Experiential Learning in Sustainability Accounting: Using Personal Footprint Calculators to Teach Corporate Sustainability Performance Assessment

• In Event: Integration of ESG/Sustainability into Accounting Courses

Abstract

Society’s rising demand for businesses to better manage their impacts on the environment and human welfare is increasing pressure on business schools to integrate more sustainability-related pedagogy in academic programs. At the same time, the accounting profession has been called upon to help companies better measure these impacts and progress towards any needed improvements. Thus, accounting educators need to better prepare students for assisting businesses with measuring and managing their “sustainability performance”, i.e., environmental and social impacts of business practices. This proposal describes a pedagogical technique in sustainability accounting which can provide a meaningful learning experience to students and increase awareness among businesses on how to measure and manage their sustainability performance, and implement more sustainable business practices. A useful tool for increasing awareness about sustainability is the “ecological footprint calculator” which measures one’s environmental impacts related to their personal lifestyle activities, e.g., transportation, food, energy and water use, and consumer habits. It also provides guidance on activities to reduce the footprint, and how these can be measured and improved. Using this tool at the personal level helps students understand how to measure and improve the environmental impacts of an organization. At the same time, students can learn about how certain activities can have positive social impacts as well. After learning how to measure and improve their personal sustainability performance, students are better equipped to extend this process in a business setting by evaluating the performance of a company and making recommendations for improvement. With the project described in this paper, students also become familiar with tools used for assessing sustainability performance for businesses, including the B Impact Assessment (BIA) tool and life cycle impact assessment analysis. Results from student feedback surveys for this project have shown students view these experiential learning assignments as more useful and valuable, especially as compared to other more traditional teaching methods.

Author

• Tammy K. Kowalczyk, Appalachian State University