Evaluación del impacto de la actividad empresarial en términos de sostenibilidadconstatación empírica de su determinación en las empresas españolas

Abstract

Because the issue of sustainability presents urgent problems crucial to the future of mankind, there has been serious discussion of the role accounting should play. In this context, a new line of research, still at a relatively unexplored, embryonic stage, has arisen, which tries to establish measurement of business sustainability and so compensate for the lack of information currently existing about the net impact of the company's activity. After establishing a simple theoretical model which supports integration of social and environmental information and accounting in the company, we choose the more mature Full Cost Accounting as the most suitable method for this aim. This tool allows sustainability to be translated into the language of business, together with analysis and comparison of its progress, making it the most appropriate vehicle for more participatory, democratic accounting, with greater dialogue, giving the accountant a much more active role. To consolidate this model, a survey of 192 Spanish companies has been carried out to obtain at first hand the perception of strategic positioning adopted with regard to Sustainable Development, measurement of the contribution of business activity to its achievement and the rendering of accounts carried out.