cial impact of their operations on the environment. Depending upon the mitigation actions of a company, these impacts may be either positive or negative ("Company Law: Recommendation on Green Accounting", 2001).
Green accounting is neither financial accounting nor managerial accounting. When green accounting is applied, however, it does involve written assertions by company officers ("Company Law: Recommendation on Green Accounting", 2001). Therefore, green accounting is appropriate for a non-traditional attestation service offered by a certified public accountant.
Market for the Proposed Attestation Service
The contemporary environmental movement was initiated with Earth Day in 1970 (O'Riordan, 1995). Corporations, during the earlier years of this movement were characterized by a state of denial with respect to the impact of their operations on the physical environment. A series of ecologically relevant disasters led to the development of widespread public support for the strict government regulation of activities that hold the potential to harm the physical environment. By the mid-1990s, many corporations had recognized a responsibility to do no harm to the physical environment. This recognition was manifested in revised products and production processes that reduced the potential for environmental harm. Further, many corporations found that it is not only possible but also feasible to reduce pollution and increase profits simultaneously (Hart, 1997).
Although many corporations have accepted a responsibility not to harm the physical environment, far more have either not accepted such a responsibility or have demonstrated little commitment to such acceptance of responsibility in actual practice. Further, although the essential premise of corporate social responsibility is the integration of business activity and the broader society, neither corporations nor government (representing society) have defined precise mec...