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Environmental Management Accounting in Organizational Sustainability Transformation: A Review

Chunyan Xia1, Amirul Shah Md Shahbudin1
1School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70517/revcc2624170
Published: 15/10/2026
: Chunyan Xia, Amirul Shah Md Shahbudin. Environmental Management Accounting in Organizational Sustainability Transformation: A Review. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 2044-2057.

Abstract

This review examines the evolution of environmental management accounting (EMA) research, its role in organizational sustainability transformation, and the factors shaping that role. Bibliometric analyses of 357 Scopus-indexed publications were combined with a focused thematic synthesis of 51 transformation-oriented studies. The findings reveal a marked but non-linear expansion of EMA research and a thematic broadening from environmental costs, production efficiency, and accounting techniques toward performance, innovation, institutional influences, and organizational sustainability. The thematic synthesis shows that EMA supports sustainability transformation by integrating physical and monetary environmental information and making resource consumption, material losses, and environmental costs visible. When adopted and actively used, this information can support operational improvements, innovation, and the integration of environmental considerations into planning and strategic decision-making. However, EMA’s contribution depends on strategic and leadership conditions, organizational capabilities and collaboration, technological and information infrastructure, institutional and stakeholder conditions, and resources and implementation conditions. The review therefore conceptualizes EMA as an organizational information infrastructure whose transformational contribution depends on its effective integration into managerial processes. These findings provide an integrated understanding of EMA’s organizational role and practical guidance for strengthening its implementation.

Keywords: environmental management accounting, organizational sustainability transformation, bibliometric analysis, thematic synthesis

Abstract

This review examines the evolution of environmental management accounting (EMA) research, its role in organizational sustainability transformation, and the factors shaping that role. Bibliometric analyses of 357 Scopus-indexed publications were combined with a focused thematic synthesis of 51 transformation-oriented studies. The findings reveal a marked but non-linear expansion of EMA research and a thematic broadening from environmental costs, production efficiency, and accounting techniques toward performance, innovation, institutional influences, and organizational sustainability. The thematic synthesis shows that EMA supports sustainability transformation by integrating physical and monetary environmental information and making resource consumption, material losses, and environmental costs visible. When adopted and actively used, this information can support operational improvements, innovation, and the integration of environmental considerations into planning and strategic decision-making. However, EMA’s contribution depends on strategic and leadership conditions, organizational capabilities and collaboration, technological and information infrastructure, institutional and stakeholder conditions, and resources and implementation conditions. The review therefore conceptualizes EMA as an organizational information infrastructure whose transformational contribution depends on its effective integration into managerial processes. These findings provide an integrated understanding of EMA’s organizational role and practical guidance for strengthening its implementation.

Keywords: environmental management accounting, organizational sustainability transformation, bibliometric analysis, thematic synthesis

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Chunyan Xia
School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
Amirul Shah Md Shahbudin
School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
amirulshah@usm.my

How to cite:

Chunyan Xia, Amirul Shah Md Shahbudin. Environmental Management Accounting in Organizational Sustainability Transformation: A Review. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 2044-2057.

Publication History

  • Received: 25/06/2026
  • Accepted: 12/10/2026
  • Published: 15/10/2026
Copyright © 2026, Chunyan Xia, Amirul Shah Md Shahbudin. Published by Revista Cultura Científica. This article is published as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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