Plenary speech: Business Cases for Sustainability. What is the Role of Accounting Research?

The debate whether a business case for sustainability exists or not, and if yes, whether it is relevant and sufficient to achieve sustainable development splits the literature. Some believe in an inherent and unsolvable conflict between economic and sustainable behavior and thus see the role of accounting research to critically analyze deficiencies of accounting and conventional business case creation. Another group acknowledges the possibility and existence of some business cases for sustainability but assesses their contribution potential to sustainable development as insufficient and limited to eco-efficiency. A third group explores possibilities how to create business cases for sustainability through voluntary social and environmental activities and focuses on the development of accounting approaches for sustainability. This presentation identifies the logical patterns of sustainability accounting research which results from these three views and which consequences they have for to support accounting practice and sustainable development.