Corporate Green Accounting and Environmental Sustainability: Current Prospects and Future Direction

Corporate green accounting has emerged as a strategic mechanism for embeddingenvironmental sustainability into corporate decision-making and financial reporting systems. Thepresent review examines how environmental costs, resource-efficiency metrics, carbondisclosures, and ecological risk assessments can be integrated into traditional economic modelsto enhance transparency, accountability, and long-term value creation. By incorporatingenvironmental externalities into corporate balance sheets and performance evaluations, greenaccounting strengthens organisational resilience and supports sustainable economictransformation. The theoretical foundations, particularly institutional theory and naturalresource-based perspectives, are identified as central determinants shaping organisationaltransitions toward sustainable accounting practices, including leadership commitment,regulatory pressures, stakeholder expectations, and evolving ESG frameworks. Sectoral evidencefrom agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and maritime industries demonstrates that firmsadopting structured green accounting frameworks report improved environmental performance,enhanced ESG outcomes, and stronger stakeholder trust. Despite its transformative potential,several systemic barriers persist. Measurement complexity, inconsistent regulatory standards,limited technical expertise, data gaps, and cultural resistance, especially within emergingeconomies, continue to impede widespread adoption. The fragmentation of reporting frameworksfurther complicates comparability and increases compliance burdens for corporations operatingacross jurisdictions. The review also highlights the growing role of digital innovation instrengthening green accounting systems. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, big dataanalytics, blockchain, and robotic process automation enhance data accuracy, predictiveenvironmental modelling, real-time monitoring, and reporting harmonisation. However,technological integration introduces new technical, ethical, and organisational challenges,including cybersecurity risks and governance complexities. It also concludes that the future ofcorporate green accounting lies in the convergence of standardised global frameworks,technological integration, and empirical validation of sustainability impacts. It offers strategicinsights for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to accelerate adoption, overcomestructural barriers, and align corporate reporting systems with global sustainability objectives.