Title: Environmental accounting in the public sector: a systematic literature review

Authors: Aurelio Tommasetti; Gennaro Maione; Andrea Bignardi; Pietro Lentini

Addresses: Department of Business Sciences – Management and Innovation Systems (DISA-MIS), University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy ' Department of Economics and Statistics (DISES), University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy ' Department of Business Sciences – Management and Innovation Systems (DISA-MIS), University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy ' Department of Business Sciences – Management and Innovation Systems (DISA-MIS), University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy

Abstract: The study analyses the state of the art on environmental accounting in the public sector, highlighting the evolution of literature and providing ideas for future research advances on the topic. The article is based on a systematic literature review, developed according to the PRISMA protocol to ensure scientific rigour within the data search, selection, analysis, and interpretation process. The findings highlight that the research on environmental accounting in the public sector is still limited, albeit showing an increasing trend. Future research might deepen the link between the implementation of environmental accounting practices and the economic-financial performance of public companies. The limits of the study have a methodological nature, being linked to the adoption of the systematic literature review: brief time span, restrained number of evidence, inclusions of only journal articles, and absence of the risk of bias assessment. The article contributes to the enrichment and updating of the state of the art given that to date there are no studies that carry out a systematic literature review on the topic of environmental accounting in the public sector.

Keywords: environmental accounting; public sector; systematic literature review; PRISMA protocol.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBE.2023.129907

International Journal of Business Environment, 2023 Vol.14 No.2, pp.164 - 182

Received: 03 Mar 2022
Accepted: 23 Jun 2022
Published online: 03 Apr 2023 *

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