Foundations and Trends® in Accounting > Vol 19 > Issue 3–4

Accounting Design: Carbon Accounting with Financial Accounting Principles

By Stephen Penman, Columbia University, USA and Bocconi University, Italy, shp38@gsb.columbia.edu

 
Suggested Citation
Stephen Penman (2025), "Accounting Design: Carbon Accounting with Financial Accounting Principles", Foundations and Trends® in Accounting: Vol. 19: No. 3–4, pp 158-178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/1400000080-7

Publication Date: 28 May 2025
© 2025 S. Penman
 
Subjects
Carbon regulation,  Environmental economics
 

Free Preview:

Download extract

Share

Download article
In this article:
1. Introduction
2. Financial Accounting Principles and Carbon Accounting Principles
3. Informational Properties of Carbon Accounting Under Accounting Principles
Acknowledgements
References

Abstract

Carbon accounting can be designed in the image of financial accounting, reporting balance sheets and income statements under the same accounting principles. The parallel carbon accounting conveys similar information to financial reporting, but with the unit of account in tons of CO2 rather than money. With similar properties, carbon accounting statements and financial accounting statements are mutually referential; “carbon statement analysis” mirrors financial statement analysis, providing the “double materiality” feature for sustainability reporting more generally.

DOI:10.1561/1400000080-7
ISBN: 978-1-63828-550-2
212 pp. $99.00
Buy book (pb)
 
ISBN: 978-1-63828-551-9
212 pp. $320.00
Buy E-book (.pdf)
Table of contents:
1. An Introduction to the Special Issue on Perspectives on Carbon Accounting and Reporting
2. Innovations in Corporate Carbon Accounting
3. How Carbon Accounting Supports Corporate Decarbonization
4. Automotive Supply Chain Decarbonization as a Driver for Carbon Accounting and Vice Versa
5. Corporate Carbon Accounting: Current Practices and Opportunities for Research
6. Automated Product Carbon Footprint Calculation in the Chemical Industry to Steer Decarbonization Along the Value Chain
7. Accounting Design: Carbon Accounting with Financial Accounting Principles

Perspectives on Carbon Accounting and Reporting

Double-entry bookkeeping revolutionized financial accountability centuries ago, and today, its principles are shaping a new frontier—carbon accounting. The articles in this issue on Perspectives on Carbon Accounting and Reporting were contributed by leading academic and practitioner experts on carbon accounting. The authors highlight key challenges, including responsibility for Scope 3 emissions, reliance on third-party estimates, the allocation of emissions to products, the importance of integrating carbon accounting with traditional financial and managerial accounting systems, and the need for commonly accepted carbon accounting standards.

 
ACC-080-7

Companion

Foundations and Trends® in Accounting, Volume 19, Issue 3-4 Special Issue: Perspectives on Carbon Accounting and Reporting
See the other articles that are also part of this special issue.