Is business research shaping the circle? systematic and bibliometric review of circular economy research

A circular economy (CE) transforms the linear system into a resource flow model based on reusing products and materials and increasing lifetime periods. This academic work aims to review the current CE research status from business, economic, and managerial (BEM) research perspectives. We carried out a systematic and bibliometric analysis to gather information on the current state of the art applications and learn about the leading research topics and sources. To reach these goals, we reviewed 962 research papers published in journals indexed on the Web of Science. After analysing the articles, three categories emerged worldwide: literature reviews, case studies, and frameworks and guidelines based on the current closed-loop system approach. Results evidence that BEM research in the CE is focused on the existing barriers to adopting a CE. More concretely, findings show that CEs are being slowed by the fact that citizens and companies do not know how to be circular. At the same time, the article showcases how the BEM areas and the recurring topics in CE research are increasingly being developed by collaborations between engineers and economists to design and create robust and measurable closed-loop models. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Biodiversity accounting and reporting: A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis

Towards the improvement of environmental sustainability and the conservation of biodiversity, organisations are increasingly aware of the importance of reporting their impacts on biodiversity and the conservation plans undertaken. Biodiversity accounting and reporting are relevant for developing organisational practices oriented towards environmental sustainability, promoting cleaner management policies with less impact on the environment. Biodiversity accounting research has attracted scholars in business management and accounting, and as a result, the literature in the field has grown in recent years. This study analyses the intellectual structure of the biodiversity accounting and management discipline through a systematic literature review, along with bibliometric techniques based on a co-word analysis of the main keywords included in 63 publications. The results reveal five thematic clusters: one motor cluster (sustainability), two transversal clusters (biodiversity reporting, corporate biodiversity management) and two isolated clusters (environmental protection, emancipatory accounting). In addition, the content of the selected papers is analysed and promising research paths are found, such as the need for more robust quantitative analyses or the development of new forms of emancipatory accounting. The study discusses the main insights from the analysis, proposes future research directions and provides practical implications for biodiversity protection and environmental sustainability. © The Author

Sustainability reporting in view of the European sustainable finance taxonomy: Is the financial sector ready to disclose circular economy?

The European sustainable finance taxonomy requires financial and nonfinancial companies to provide investors with information about the environmental performance of their assets and economic activities. For financial institutions, making socially and environmentally responsible investments visible through a common label that guarantees specific standards for the entire European Union is crucial. Against this background, this study analyzes the evolution of sustainability reporting practices and their assurance in a sample of European financial institutions. To this end, we used a double qualitative methodological approach, based on (a) an external analysis of nonfinancial information and its relationship with the main economic-financial variables of the sample companies, and (b) a case study of a bank carried out through semi-structured interviews. This study provides an external measurement analysis of nonfinancial information in entities from different countries, which can contribute to broadening the scope and level of sustainability and circular economy accountability

Utilidad de la Información Financiera para la Gestión de las Entidades Privada no Lucrativas

El notable protagonismo experimentado por las entidades no lucrativas en los sistemas económicos y la relevancia social que han adquirido impulsó la emisión de normas contables dirigidas a su rendición de cuentas. La utilidad para la toma de decisiones constituye la finalidad esencial de la información financiera, y en este marco se sitúa la adaptación del Plan General de Contabilidad para las entidades no lucrativas, diseñada por el ICAC y publicada en 1998. En este trabajo se aborda el análisis de la utilidad de la información financiera exigida por esta regulación desde el punto de vista de los usuarios internos. Para ello, hemos realizado una encuesta a responsables de la gestión económico-financiera de las asociaciones de utilidad pública españolas, recabando su opinión y valoración sobre las distintas áreas de la información financiera y presupuestaria.Los resultados de la encuesta permiten constatar que los responsables de la gestión utilizan la información financiera para diversas tareas de gestión, aunque se sigue considerando muy relevante su utilidad para la rendición de cuentas. Destaca sin embargo, la baja utilidad asignada al estado del presupuesto y su liquidación, en contra de lo que cabía esperar a priori.The relevant increase of the role of non profit organizations in the economic systems and their high social impact has induced accounting standard setters to introduce financial reporting standards for these entities. Usefulness for decision-taking is the main purpose for financial reporting and, in this context, was introduced the adaptation of the General Accounting Plan for non profit organizations. The present study analyses the usefulness of financial reporting required to non profit entities from a management perspective. For carrying out this goal, we sent a questionnaire to managers of Spanish public utility associations to know their opinion about the compulsory financial reporting. Our results show that managers of these entities use financial reporting for management purposes, although financial reporting is still basically relevant for accountability purposes. However, the budgetary statement is not very used

Utilidad de la Información Financiera para la Gestión de la Entidades Privadas no Lucrativas: Usefulness of Non-Profit Private Entities Financial Reporting for Management Purposes

The relevant increase of the role of non profit organizations in the economic systems and their high social impact has induced accounting standard setters to introduce financial reporting standards for these entities. Usefulness for decision-taking is the main purpose for financial reporting and, in this context, was introduced the adaptation of the General Accounting Plan for non profit organizations. The present study analyses the usefulness of financial reporting required to non profit entities from a management perspective. For carrying out this goal, we sent a questionnaire to managers of Spanish public utility associations to know their opinion about the compulsory financial reporting. Our results show that managers of these entities use financial reporting for management purposes, although financial reporting is still basically relevant for accountability purposes. However, the budgetary statement is not very used.El notable protagonismo experimentado por las entidades no lucrativas en los sistemas económicos y la relevancia social que han adquirido impulsó la emisión de normas contables dirigidas a su rendición de cuentas. La utilidad para la toma de decisiones constituye la finalidad esencial de la información financiera, y en este marco se sitúa la adaptación del Plan General de Contabilidad para las entidades no lucrativas, diseñada por el ICAC y publicada en 1998. En este trabajo se aborda el análisis de la utilidad de la información financiera exigida por esta regulación desde el punto de vista de los usuarios internos. Para ello, hemos realizado una encuesta a responsables de la gestión económico-financiera de las asociaciones de utilidad pública españolas, recabando su opinión y valoración sobre las distintas áreas de la información financiera y presupuestaria. Los resultados de la encuesta permiten constatar que los responsables de la gestión utilizan la información financiera para diversas tareas de gestión, aunque se sigue considerando muy relevante su utilidad para la rendición de cuentas. Destaca sin embargo, la baja utilidad asignada al estado del presupuesto y su liquidación, en contra de lo que cabía esperar a priori

Adopting sustainability competence-based education in academic disciplines: Insights from 13 higher education institutions

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been incorporating sustainability into education and curricula, where recent research has focussed on sustainability competences, pedagogical approaches, and how to connect them, generally on a single HEI. The process of integrating sustainability into education based on curricula assessment has been explained using adoption of innovations; and has the potential to explain the process of developing competences through pedagogical approaches. The aim of this paper is to investigate this process at academic discipline level. An online survey was developed to investigate teaching sustainability competences in 13 HEIs, from which 678 responses from educators were obtained. The competences and pedagogical approaches from the responses were ranked, and then the connections between the competences and pedagogical approaches per discipline were analysed using a correlations-based framework, from which three disciplines groups were created. The groups were categorised using diffusion of innovations theory, which indicated that some disciplines are more innovative than others in adopting sustainability competence-based teaching. The results are used to propose two frameworks to better understand the adoption of sustainability competence-based teaching: (a) the D-RAPID framework; and (b) the Disciplinary Multi-dimensional Sustainability Influence Change for Academia (D-MuSICA) memework. The adoption of sustainability competence-base education must expand from a single HEI perspective to a disciplinary collaborative one spanning many HEIs, where academic disciplines should learn from each other''s insights and mistakes and provide students with more transdisciplinary skillsets to make societies more sustainable. © 2021 The Authors. Sustainable Development published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

How do firms comply with international sustainability standards? Processes and consequences of adopting the global reporting initiative

This paper addresses the issue of the influence of global governance institutions, particularly international sustainability standards, on a firm’s intra-organizational practices. More precisely, we provide an exploratory empirical view of the impact of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on a multinational corporation’s (MNC) corporate social responsibility (CSR) management practices. We investigate standard compliance by comparing the stated intention of the use of the GRI with its actual use and the consequent effects within the firm. Based on an in-depth case study, our findings illustrate the processes and consequences of the translation of the GRI within the organization. We show that substantive standard adoption can lead to unintended consequences on CSR management practices, specifically it can influence the management structure and CSR committee function; the choice of CSR activities, the relationships between subsidiaries, the temporal dimension of CSR management, and the interpretation of CSR performance. We also highlight the need to look at the relationship dynamics (or lack of) between standards. Finally we illustrate and discuss the role of reporting and its influence on management in order to better understand the internal issues arising from compliance with standards