TITLE:
Ecological Accounting: A Research Review and Conceptual Framework
AUTHORS:
Zhifang Zhou, Jing Ou, Shihui Li
KEYWORDS:
Sustainable Development, Logical Evolution, Ecological Accounting, Basic Framework
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.7 No.5,
April
11,
2016
ABSTRACT:
Where sustainable development is concerned, there is an urgent need to
establish new information systems that integrate economic, social and ecological
factors. The emergence of demand for this information makes the development of
ecological accounting possible. Yet, most current research on ecological
accounting focuses on two aspects: (1) the theoretical aspect, including
background, concepts and models and (2) specific research on ecological
accounting. Some scholars have proposed a conceptual framework, but this is not
systematic or thorough enough. Seizing the opportunity of sustainable
development in a key strategic location of the world, this paper begins by
analyzing the logical evolution of ecological accounting, summarizes the
existing ecological accounting theory, and combines the mature theoretical
study of resources accounting with environmental accounting. All of these
efforts result in this paper forwarding a framework of ecological accounting
that aims to provide a guideline for future development.