PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which Portuguese local entities have implemented a set of environmental accounting practices, and to analyse some potential determining factors of their use.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected by sending a postal questionnaire to a sample of medium‐sized and large city councils and the municipal companies belonging to those municipalities. Three variables were considered as possible factors that drive the development of environmental accounting practices in the local public sector.FindingsThe degree of development of environmental accounting practices in Portuguese local entities is low. Organisational size and the degree of development of environmental management practices are positively and statistically related to the level of development of environmental accounting practices. However, the findings suggest that the existence of compulsory environmental accounting standards is not positively associated with the development of environmental accounting practices by Portuguese local entities.Research limitations/implicationsThe study limits itself to Portugal and, therefore, its results could not be applicable in other settings.Practical implicationsPortugal is experiencing a phase of development of regulatory environmental disclosure requirements. Understanding the environmental accounting and reporting practices currently developed by Portuguese local entities, as well as their drivers, may help regulators to develop more suitable standards for the sector.Originality/valueThe majority of empirical studies on environmental accounting practices in public organisations are focused largely on an Anglo‐Saxon context. This paper attempts to address this gap in the literature by providing a snapshot of the environmental accounting practices developed by Portuguese local entities.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. Design/methodology/approach -Data were obtained through a postal survey. In order to measure the degree of development of environmental accounting and reporting practices index was developed, which reflects the extent to which a set of eight EARPs have been implemented by the 69 Portuguese local entities included in the sample. Three variables are considered in this study as possible factors that drive the development of environmental management practices (EMPs) by local entities, namely, size of entity, accounting framework, degree of development of EMPs. Findings -Results indicate the degree of development of EARPs in Portuguese local entities is low. Additionally, accounting regulation and the degree of development of EMPs are explaining factors of the degree of development of environmental accounting practices in Portuguese local entities. Originality/value -This study adds to the international research on environmental accounting in public sector by providing empirical data from a country, Portugal, where empirical evidence is still relatively limited.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyse the development of environmental management practices by Portuguese local entities and their determining factors. Design/methodology/approach -The data were collected by sending a postal questionnaire. In order to measure the degree of development of environmental management practices, an index of environmental management practices (EMPI) was developed, which reflects the extent to which a set of 16 environmental management practices have been implemented by the entities included in the sample. In total, four variables are considered in this study as possible factors that drive the development of environmental management practices by local entities: type of entity; size; proactive environmental strategy; and Local Agenda 21. Findings -Results indicate the degree of development of environmental management practices in Portuguese local entities is low. Additionally, entity size, the adoption of proactive environmental strategies and the implementation of Local Agenda 21 are explaining factors of the degree of development of such practices. Originality/value -The paper adds to the international research on environmental management in the public sector by providing empirical data from a country, Portugal, where empirical evidence is still relatively limited.

The approval of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) within the 2030 United Nations Agenda represents a historic mark for sustainable development, allowing to companies to seek solutions that add value and solve the greatest global challenges, by linking organizational strategies and global priorities. Thus, listed companies will need to be able to assess their impact on the SDGs and review their strategies accordingly. Therefore, reporting can play a key role by informing the progress of listed companies in alignment with the SDGs. This article aims to analyse how Portuguese listed company reporting includes their contributions toward the SDGs. The study methodology is based on content analysis of the sustainability reports (SR) and non-financial statements (NFS) published in 2017, seeking to characterize the Portuguese listed companies that are concerned with SDG-related disclosure. The results indicate that from a sample of 46 listed companies, only 12 published SR or NFS, but 9 companies made the alignment with the UN goals.