Forging cleaner production: the importance of academic-practitioner links for successful sustainability embedded carbon accounting

Climate change related risks are likely to be addressed, where not already, by new governmental regulations, such as the EU Emission Trading System, carbon taxes, new building codes and energy efficiency standards. However, a gap exists between contemporary research into and knowledge of sustainability embedded carbon accounting and application of these techniques by practitioners. This research addresses the gap between ‘knowledge generation’ of sustainability embedded carbon accounting instruments (research) and sustainability embedded carbon accounting ‘knowledge application’ through use of tools (practice) by examining their relationship, the characteristics of the gap, investigating who can change the current relationship, what changes are feasible in the near and medium terms, and how these changes can best be introduced to forge ahead with cleaner production. Accountants in academe as ‘knowledge generators’ have been vociferous in their calls for accountants in practice to use their professional strengths as appliers of instruments to manage the impacts of business on the environment and the environment on cleaner production by business. For many, carbon is the face of sustainability and the accounting for carbon a method of participating in the sustainability agenda, yet prior research indicates that accountants in practice have been slow to engage with climate change and carbon issues being forced upon them by the environmental crisis. Empirical evidence from a survey of professional accounting firms in South Australia finds that many accounting tools related to sustainability developed by academics are ignored and need greater promotion, yet the results also suggest that, unexpectedly, practitioners apply some ‘knowledge’ tools promoted by researchers confirming that a gap between academics and practitioners exists. The paper concludes that increased collaboration between academic accounting and professional practice will be the only way for evolution of the relationship between research and practice of sustainability embedded carbon accounting in order to forge ahead towards cleaner production.