Circular Economy Initiatives through Energy Accounting and Sustainable Energy Performance under Integrated Reporting Framework

Abstract

The financial reporting plays a significant role in sustainable development, as it contributes greatly to providing the information required to assess sustainable development performance. In order to achieve the sustainable development, accurate information should be provided to stakeholders on the energy consumed and the impact of energy consumption on the environment. Information on sustainable energy performance needs providing both of financial and non-financial information. However, the traditional financial reporting system is unable to provide information that helps measure and promote sustainable energy performance, as the current accounting system provides financial information only. It is therefore important to adopt an appropriate reporting framework to support the evaluation of sustainable energy performance. This paper proposes an approach to the measure the sustainable energy performance based on the integrated reporting framework. A unique feature of the approach is the selection of corporate energy performance indicators that cover both financial and non-financial information. This paper therefore sets out indicators for assessing sustainable energy performance based on the Integrated Reporting Framework. Furthermore, the application of the indicators proposed in this paper helps regulators and economic policy makers to develop sustainable development strategies at national level. Moreover, the adoption of the proposed indicators can provide accurate information on the real and future of sustainable energy in the country.