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Well, it was in the early 1990’s that I
first started thinking about this and a couple of
colleagues and I went to a conference and we
went to a session on environmental taxation
and we started thinking about how
we could create an area of research that
fit in with accounting and also
saved the world at the same time,
which was kind of important to me.
So the first thing I did was actually apply for a
one quarter sabbatical in 1994 in the spring,
and I really wanted to think through this
environmental tax thing and how does it fit
and what does it all mean,
and so I wrote a paper out of that sabbatical
and felt like I really need more time.
And so, I had heard about the Center for
Social and Environmental Accounting Research
in Scotland and I was thinking about applying
for another sabbatical, and some of my
colleagues talk about how you've got to
plan your sabbaticals years in advance.
Well, that’s not how I work.
So I sent an email to them and I said,
you know, ‘I’m interested in visiting and
do you do that?’ and they said,
‘Well sure, we do that all the time.
So, you’re welcome to come.’
And so, I applied for two quarters of
sabbatical this time, and was awarded the
sabbatical time and, in preparation for going,
I thought, ‘You know, I should be more
prepared for this,’ because these are
the world leaders right now in environmental
accounting and I really don’t know anything.
I know a little bit about environmental tax
but I really don’t know anything.
So, I put together a summer grant
for developing a class called
Environmental Accounting, and I went into
my department chair at the time and said,
‘This is what I want to do,’ and he says,
‘This is great, looks like you’re catching a
wave, and I’m highly supportive of this.’
So, I got the grant, developed the class,
taught it for the first time in fall of 1996,
and, then, in February of 1997,
I went to Scotland.
And they didn’t really know what to expect,
and I didn’t know what to expect,
but it turned out to be a really, really
wonderful experience because they are very
passionate about what they do
and they are excellent educators
and education is extremely important to them.
And so, I learned a lot about education
while I was there, as well as about
environmental issues, and it really changed
the way I think about my class and teaching
all the way across the board.
In corporate America sustainability is
becoming more of a buzzword
and, for that reason, from the time I started
teaching this course when, you know,
a lot of companies were still like this, a lot
more companies are embracing sustainability.
Now, what does that mean?
Does that mean that they pay lip service to it,
and a lot of corporations do,
green marketing - very common.
But, there are corporations that are
really doing some interesting things
and probably the most exciting change,
over the eleven years that I have taught this
course, is the standalone reporting on
environmental and sustainability issues.
They used to be called Environmental Reports
or Environment, Health and Safety,
now they’re often called Sustainability Reports
and while there’s no required standards
for these reports, which makes them a little
suspect in terms of, you know, what’s in it
and how true is it and all that, it’s also
exciting just to see that this is happening
that more and more information is out there
for people to look at
on what organizations are doing.