Green Accounting Practices in Opak Factory SMEs

General Background: Environmental sustainability has become an essential aspect of business operations, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the food processing sector. Specific Background: The opak factory in Sidodadi Village, Indonesia, produces organic and inorganic waste, necessitating strategic environmental management. Knowledge Gap: While studies have shown benefits of green accounting, limited research explores its application and link to business sustainability within rural SMEs. Aims: This study aims to assess the implementation of green accounting and environmental performance in supporting business sustainability at the opak factory. Results: Using qualitative methods including interviews and field observations, findings reveal suboptimal integration of environmental costs into financial records and inadequate documentation of environmental initiatives. Although the factory engages in solid and liquid waste management—such as reusing cassava pulp as animal feed and building liquid waste tanks—these efforts are not systematically reported under green accounting frameworks. Novelty: The study offers empirical insight into green accounting within a rural food SME, highlighting distinct challenges and context-specific practices. Implications: Without structured financial tracking and better stakeholder awareness, potential long-term benefits such as increased competitiveness, regulatory compliance, and market access remain underutilized. Strengthening institutional understanding and environmental cost reporting is crucial for advancing sustainable business practices. Highlights: Environmental costs are not systematically recorded in financial reports. Waste management practices exist but lack integration into sustainability reporting. Green accounting remains underutilized due to limited awareness and resources. Keywords: green accounting, environmental performance, business sustainability, SMEs, waste management