Metrics for Sustainable Business: Measures and Standards for the Assessment of Organizations

by Scott Herriott

Overview

Metrics for Sustainable Business is the first book to give students a comprehensive understanding of sustainability in organizations from an accounting perspective. The book walks student through the steps for doing a sustainability assessment, and aims to develop them into financial analysts who understand sustainability reports, and are able to create or audit them.

While most books focus on environmental issues, Herriott trains his gaze on the corporate and institutional perspective, covering measurement systems, how to evaluate and improve a standard, and conducting a life cycle assessment. Walking students through the programs of disclosure, the varying standards for corporate ratings, and organizational certification, allows them to grasp the tools for conducting a sustainability assessment and auditing reports. Chapters on accounting for greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and waste introduce students to the technical details in sustainability accounting, while a chapter on the philosophies of sustainability offers an answer to the question, "Why are they asking us to report that?"

Richly demonstrated with practical examples and informative visuals, this book will serve students of sustainability, accounting, and integrated reporting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781317450641
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/19/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Scott R. Herriott is Professor and Dean of the College of Business Administration at Maharishi University of Management, USA. He specializes in the application of quantitative methods to business strategy with a focus on sustainable business. He is the author of a dozen scientific papers and books on economics, organization, and business strategy.

Table of Contents

1. Standards for Disclosure 2. Corporate Ratings and Rankings 3. Organizational Certifications 4. Philosophies of Sustainability: The Values and Worldview Behind A Standard 5. Indicators and Measurement Systems 6. GHG Greenhouse Gas Assessment and Energy Accounting 7. Water 8. Waste 9. Social Impacts 10. Issues in the Analysis of Metrics for Sustainability

Editorial Reviews

'Metrics for Sustainable Business is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview and comparison of the frameworks companies can use for reporting on environmental and social issues. It includes a valuable discussion about the use of indicators to measure sustainability performance and offers technical details on the accounting for greenhouse gas emissions, water, and waste. Herriott’s writing style makes the material accessible and interesting for readers with varying levels of knowledge about sustainability reporting and related metrics. The book is well-written, well-organized and thorough. This is a must read for anyone interested in learning about this exciting and challenging topic. The book should also serve well as a textbook for college-level courses in sustainability reporting.' - Kenton D. Swift, University of Montana, USA

'This is the sustainability accounting text I need for my classes. Metrics for Sustainable Business brings together the set of topics needed by accountants engaged in understanding and reporting sustainability issues for organizations. Scott Herriott’s book will be foundational for my courses and will be a regularly-consulted reference on my bookshelf.' - Darrell Brown, Portland State University, USA

From the Publisher