Strategic & Sustainable Accounting

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Sustainable Accounting. Answer: Introduction: Sustainable development in business operation means to carry out the business in such a way that the environment is not harmed. The central view of sustainable development is to fulfill the requirements of the present generation without harming the ability of future generations to meet their needs (Pearce, Barbier Markandya, 2013). This study shows the impacts of business operations of Chobani on the environment and the communities. After that, suggestions have been given on implementation of sustainable development in the activities of Chobani. Environmental Concern Relating to the Manufacturing Operations of Chobani Their Impacts on the Community: The key environmental concerns of Chobanis operations are discussed below: Emission of smoke due to the production process is a key concern. This type of smoke contains harmful components like carbon die oxide, carbon monoxide, etc., and it causes air pollution. The polluted air results in several diseases to the people of the local communities (Kumar et al., 2014). The high sound of the production plants of Chobani is another concern for the environment. This sound causes sound pollution, and it affects the local communities. This sound hampers the works in school, colleges, hospitals, etc. (Hawkins, 2014). Another matter for concern of Chobani is the garbage disposals from the factory. Due to the production process, the garbage disposals mix with the waters of ponds of rivers or sea. This total process causes water pollution. The drinking waters of the community become contaminated, and it causes fatal diseases to the people of the community (Lu Yuan, 2013). Chobani produces dairy products. They use domestic animals like cows for the production of milk. So Chobani needs to treat those animals in a right way. Otherwise, the balance of nature will be misbalanced. One important concern is the overuse of natural resources. Natural resources should be extracted in such a way that there is no scarcity of it. Suggested Objectives Methods of Measuring Progress: Dimension Objective Possible Performance Measures Environmentally sustainable manufacturing 1. The first objective is to control the smoke omitted from the factory due to the production process. 1. Daily observation. 2. Taking feedback from the locals. 2. The second objective is to control the disposal of hazardous chemicals which mix with the waters of the pond, rivers, oceans, etc. 1. Regular observation. 2. Testing the waters of the lake, rivers, oceans, etc. 3. The third objective is to control the sounds of the plants at the time of production which causes sound pollution in the locality. 1. Regular observation. 2. Taking feedbacks from nearby schools, colleges, hospitals, etc. Contribution to the community 1. The first objective is to donate a certain portion of companys profit for the welfare of the community. 1. To check whether there is an improvement or not. 2. Take feedbacks from the locals about the welfare. 2. The second objective is to arrange anti-pollution campaigns to create awareness about the environment. 1. To monitor whether the campaigns are arranged properly. 2. Take feedbacks from the locals. 3. The third objective is to adopt strategies to reserve the natural resources of the locality. 1. To monitor whether there are enough natural resources in the locality. 2. Take feedback from the local people. Suggestions of Environmental Accounting Practices: The two other Environmental Accounting Practices are Life-Cycle Assessment and Activity Based Costing. They are discussed below: According to Tsai et al., (2014), the Life-Cycle Assessment method refers to the process of valuing the cost of a product from production to disposal which affects the environment. Life Cycle Assessment approach helps to ascertain the value of existing internal environment and also helps to recognize the impact of those costs on the external environment. Earlier the burden of disposal was on the customer, but now the burden is on the businessmen. Activity Based Costing refers to the equal allocation of production costs in each and every level of production. Activity Based Costing has two approaches. The first approach is to create sub-accounts in a general ledger so that all the costs are divided in equal proportion. The second approach is to observe closely the actual flow of costs in the organization (Kaplan Anderson, 2013). Conclusion: From the above report, it can be concluded that Sustainable development is one of the important aspects of Chobanis operation. On the other hand, sustainable development leads to Environmental Accounting Practices. There are different types of environmental accounting methods. Environmental Accounting Methods helps to allocate the production costs equally in each production steps so that the actual environmental costs can be ascertained. References: Hawkins, T. G. (2014).Studies and research regarding sound reduction materials with the purpose of reducing sound pollution(Doctoral dissertation, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo). Kaplan, R., Anderson, S. R. (2013).Time-driven activity-based costing: a simpler and more powerful path to higher profits. Harvard business press. Kumar, S. R., Davies, S., Weitzman, M., Sherman, S. (2014). A review of air quality, biological indicators and health effects of second-hand waterpipe smoke exposure.Tobacco control, tobaccocontrol-2014. Lu, W., Yuan, H. (2013). Investigating waste reduction potential in the upstream processes of offshore prefabrication construction.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,28, 804-811. Pearce, D., Barbier, E., Markandya, A. (2013).Sustainable development: economics and environment in the Third World. Routledge. Tsai, W. H., Yang, C. H., Chang, J. C., Lee, H. L. (2014). An Activity-Based Costing decision model for life cycle assessment in green building projects.European Journal of Operational Research,238(2), 607-619.