The purpose of this article is to analyze how accounting legislation has contributed to the improvement of public information on environmental aspects in the financial reports issued by companies. Also, the article aims to verify the relationship between this environmental accounting legislation and the processes of corporate social responsibility. These reports are used for decision making, so any improvement in the publication should mean a better business strategy. Companies should seek to improve their relationship with the environment, helping to minimize the environmental problems caused by their production systems. The methodology used in this study has been the deductive method, through the bibliographic review, and a descriptive research level was used. Among the main results of this work are a summary table with regulations related to environmental care, evidence of the lack of specific legislation, and the need for more demanding regulations with companies when providing environmental data.

El Medio Ambiente está de actualidad y se ha ido convirtiendo en un tema capital para cualquier ámbito de estudio o investigación. La Contabilidad como ciencia que recoge los cambios económicos y sociales no puede permanecer al margen del actual problema medioambiental que sufre nuestro mundo y es por ello por lo que no debemos ver a la Contabilidad como parte del problema sino como parte de la solución. El presente artículo, tiene como finalidad realizar un análisis descriptivo de como la Contabilidad tradicional recoge los aspectos medioambientales de una organización y como la Contabilidad Ambiental puede ser una herramienta útil para la Economía social, facilitando la aportación de información y el logro de aquellos Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) centrados en los aspectos medioambientales. Para ello se analizan las funciones económicas y empresariales que puede tener el medio ambiente y como las distintas regulaciones contables de la Economía Social han recogido estos aspectos. Entre los principales resultados se puede comprobar que las regulaciones contables no establecen diferencias entre empresas convencionales y empresas de Economía social y que la aportación de información contable por parte de las empresas queda muy lejos de ser totalmente transparente, homogénea y completa. La implementación de un marco conceptual de contabilidad ambiental dentro de las empresas de Economía Social puede ser una oportunidad para ellas y para el cumplimento de los ODS.

The aim is to prove that traditional accounting does not have the ability to report, in a clear and reliable way, through its financial statements, the environmental activities performed by the companies, hindering their commitment to corporate social responsibility. Design / methodology / approach: This is a qualitative and quantitative study, of a documentary design, of a descriptive type, using the biblio graphic review of primary sources and the financial analysis of the annual accounts and management reports of energy companies in a period of 10 years. Findings: Accounting, which gathers the records of economic and social issues, cannot neglect current environmental problems. Companies should seek solutions to improve collection and presentation of environ mental information in their financial statements, helping to minimize the environmental impacts caused by their production systems and become socially responsible companies. Current accounting systems are not able to reflect the environmental reality of companies, and therefore cannot be used for decision-making in the environmental field. Originality / value: The study shows that the analysed energy compa nies do not devote enough effort to the environment or their accounting systems do not sufficiently inform about taken actions. Nevertheless, Journal of Corporate responsibility and leadership the Case studies in Corporate soCial responsibility 50 Maripaz Muñoz Prieto a positive trend in their investments and expenditures on the environment manifesting their commitment to social responsibility is observed. Paper type: Article.