Assessment of environmental management accounting at South African universities: Case of Tshwane University of Technology

Abstract

The overall objective of the paper is to assess the application of environmental management accounting (EMA) at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) as a service organization and examine how the institution manages, account and report environmental cost. Data was collected by means of exploratory and explanatory research techniques using two data sets; documentary and fourteen in-depth individual face-to-face interviews employing a semi-structured questionnaire with closed and open ended questions to collect primary data. The results indicate that; the implementation of EMA and general governance for environmental responsibility and accountability is extremely weak. The potential use of EMA is neglected and, as such, EMA implementation is not considered a priority. Three barriers to the adoption of EMA within TUT were identified as: institutional pressures, a low profile of accounting for the environment, and management’s attitudes. A general ledger model and action plan for the implementation of EMA at TUT utilizing the use of activity based costing has been suggested.