Quality of Physical Environmental Management Accounting Information. Lessons from Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers

Burritt, Roger; Saka, Chika

doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-4974-3_17

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Emissions estimates are significantly affected by the estimation method used, and the consistency of the temporal and spatial application of consistent methods, if any meaningful trend or comparison analysis is to be carried out [5,13,14]. This concern relates directly to the goals of the NPI.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One concern relates to the accuracy of the pollution estimates that are provided by industry, State, and Territory governments, since these pollution emissions are derived from estimates rather than direct measurement. Emissions estimates are significantly affected by the estimation method used, and the consistency of the temporal and spatial application of consistent methods, if any meaningful trend or comparison analysis is to be carried out [ 5 , 13 , 14 ]. This concern relates directly to the goals of the NPI.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Australian National Pollutant Inventory Fails to Fulfil Its Legislated Goals

Cooper

Green

Meißner

2017

IJERPH

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Publically accessible pollution databases, such as the Australian National Pollutant Inventory, contain information on chemical emissions released by industrial facility and diffuse sources. They are meant to enable public scrutiny of industrial activity, which in turn, is meant to lead to industries reducing their pollution. In Australia, however, concerns have been consistently raised that this process is not occurring. To assess whether Australia’s National Pollutant Inventory is fulfilling its legislated goals, we examined the accuracy and consistency of the largest facility and diffuse source of airborne lead, a major pollutant of concern for public health. Our analysis found that the emissions estimates provided by the Inventory were not accurate and were not consistent with other sources of emissions within the Inventory, potentially distorting any user interpretation of emissions estimates provided by the National Pollutant Inventory. We conclude that for at least these important public health pollution sources, the Inventory does not fulfil its legislated goals.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Australian National Pollutant Inventory Fails to Fulfil Its Legislated Goals

Cooper

Green

Meißner

2017

IJERPH

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“…Of particular relevance to this study are prior reviews of the quality of reporting under the NPI, which have taken a variety of approaches. International comparisons were undertaken by Burritt and Saka (2006) and Howes (2001). Burritt and Saka (2006) performed a desktop review of six pollutant databases (Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA), assessing the extent to which they accorded with the then International Accounting Standards Committee qualitative characteristics of accounting information.…”

Section: Environmental Databasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…International comparisons were undertaken by Burritt and Saka (2006) and Howes (2001). Burritt and Saka (2006) performed a desktop review of six pollutant databases (Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA), assessing the extent to which they accorded with the then International Accounting Standards Committee qualitative characteristics of accounting information. Howes (2001) had 33 students compare the usefulness of the NPI and the US TRI databases via a survey.…”

Section: Environmental Databasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Frameworks such as the Characteristics of Accounting Information issued by the FASB in 1980 and the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) Conceptual Framework issued in 2009 have long operationalised what "quality" financial reporting means and encompass principles of both honesty and decision-usefulness. These qualitative characteristics have been explicitly adopted in the realm of social and environmental reporting, including in relation to pollutant databases, in a number of studies, summarised in Table 1 Burritt and Saka (2006) used qualitative characteristics of accounting to evaluate the relative merits of six pollutant databases. Government agencies and standard-setters have also explicitly referenced the qualitative characteristics: the GRI (2011) and OECD (2008) recommended using these characteristics for examining the quality of the social and environmental information of both public and corporate entities and the Canadian National Pollutant and Release Inventory (NPRI) uses seven qualitative characteristics of accounting information for ensuring the quality of reports (NPRI, 2017).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can databases facilitate accountability? The case of Australian mercury accounting via the National Pollutant Inventory

Ullah

Hazelton²,

Nelson³

2020

AAAJ

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PurposeThis paper furthers research into the potential contribution of pollutant databases for corporate accountability. We evaluate the quality of corporate and government mercury reporting via the Australian National Pollutant Inventory (NPI), which underpins Australia's reporting under the Minamata Convention, a global agreement to reduce mercury pollution.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative characteristics of accounting information are used as a theoretical frame to analyse ten interviews with thirteen interviewees as well as 54 submissions to the 2018 governmental enquiry into the NPI.FindingsWhile Australian mercury accounting using the NPI is likely sufficient to meet the expected Minamata reporting requirements (especially in comparison to developing countries), we find significant limitations in relation to comparability, accuracy, timeliness and completeness. These limitations primarily relate to government (as opposed to industry) deficiencies, caused by insufficient funding. The findings suggest that multiple factors are required to realise the potential of pollutant databases for corporate accountability, including appropriate rules, ideological commitment and resourcingPractical implicationsThe provision of additional funding would enable the NPI to be considerably improved (for mercury as well as other pollutants), particularly in relation to the measurement and reporting of emissions from diffuse sources.Originality/valueWhilst there have been prior reviews of the NPI, none have focused on mercury, whilst conversely prior studies which have discussed mercury information have not focused on the NPI. In addition, no prior NPI studies have utilised interviews nor have engaged directly with NPI regulators. There has been little prior engagement with pollutant databases in social and environmental accounting (SEA) research.

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The pollution intensity of Australian power stations: a case study of the value of the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI)

Tang

Mudd

2015

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the pollutant emissions from electrical generation facilities reported to Australia's National Pollutant Inventory (NPI). The data, in terms of pollutant intensity with respect to generation capacity and fuel source, show significant variability. Based on reported data, the dominant pathway and environmental segment for emissions is point-source air emissions. Surprisingly, pollutant emissions from power stations are generally a very small fraction of Australia's facility and diffuse emissions, except for F, HCl, NO(x), PM2.5, SO2 and H2SO4 (where it constitutes between 30 and 90% of emissions). In general, natural gas and diesel facilities have higher organic pollutant intensities, while black and brown coal have higher metal/metalloid pollutant intensities and there is a wide variability for inorganic pollutant intensities. When examining pollutant intensities with respect to capacity, there is very little evidence to show that increased scale leads to more efficient operation or lower pollutant intensity. Another important finding is that the pollutant loads associated with transfers and reuse are substantial, and often represent most of the reported pollutants from a given generation facility. Finally, given the issues identified with the NPI data and its use, some possible improvements include the following: (i) linking site generation data to NPI data (especially generation data, i.e., MWh); (ii) better validation and documentation of emissions factors, especially the methods used to derive and report estimates to the NPI; (iii) using NPI data to undertake comparative life cycle impact assessment studies of different power stations and fuel/energy sources, or even intensive industrial regions (especially from a toxicity perspective) and (iv) linking NPI data in a given region to ongoing environmental monitoring, so that loads can be linked to concentrations for particular pollutants and the relevant guidelines (e.g., air, water, human health). Pollutant inventory systems are clearly valuable tools in understanding pollution burdens and ongoing analysis of the growing body of data should help to further improve environmental and public health outcomes. Overall, this study provides a valuable insight into the current status of pollutant intensities from Australia's electrical generation facilities and should be a valuable benchmark for future studies and international comparisons.

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Quality of Physical Environmental Management Accounting Information. Lessons from Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers

Cited by 7 publications

References 2 publications

The Australian National Pollutant Inventory Fails to Fulfil Its Legislated Goals

The Australian National Pollutant Inventory Fails to Fulfil Its Legislated Goals

Can databases facilitate accountability? The case of Australian mercury accounting via the National Pollutant Inventory

The pollution intensity of Australian power stations: a case study of the value of the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI)

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