Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) remains a relatively new decision-making initiative at the corporate level. This is particularly true when it comes to its adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and newly industrialised countries. This paper elaborates upon the concept of EMA for a research study which aims to understand the decision-making context of successful EMA application in small and medium-sized enterprises in the South-East Asian region. It describes the case study approach chosen for implementing the EMA framework established by Burritt et al. (2002) and provides initial results from the analysis. The research study is part of the international capacity development and research project addressing 'Environmental Management Accounting for small and medium-sized enterprises in South-East Asia' (EMA-SEA). More information on the EMA-SEA project is available: ema-sea@uni-lueneburg.de, www.environmental-accounting.org.