INTHEBLACK February 2024 - Magazine - Page 51
P O D C AS T
INTHEBLACK PODCAST
The INTHEBLACK podcast addresses a broad range of topics to help
accounting, finance and business professionals and leaders thrive in
an increasingly complex business environment. Here are some
highlights from a recent episode.
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to the podcast
UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF CARBON ACCOUNTING
Carbon accounting is an exciting new trend, with accountants set to play a vital role.
Ashley Bleeker, director at Element Advisory and environmental lead at Australian Unity,
shares expert insights into how carbon accounting will help businesses, accountants and
finance professionals stay ahead.
CARBON FOOTPRINT
“Measuring a carbon footprint is a process
that has been worked out and prescribed by
the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. It essentially
requires you to work out what emissions you
produce under your own steam.
“Are you burning any fuel that creates CO2
emissions? Are you using any electricity that
creates CO2 emissions? Is there anything
happening up and down your supply chain
that’s creating CO2 emissions?”
REPUTATIONAL PRESSURE
“What’s happening with a lot of these
businesses is they’re realising that their
consumers’ spending trends are changing over
time, and that shoppers are looking to shop
with organisations that are demonstrating
more responsibility in this area [carbon
emissions].
“These organisations are making decisions
based on their access to markets and to
consumers and customers, not so much
because of regulators telling them to do it.”
COST-SAVING OPPORTUNITY
“For many years, people looked at
sustainability, or ESG [environmental, social
and governance] or carbon accounting as a
cost or a burden or a necessary evil. What a lot
of people are realising now is that these things
will often ultimately create cost savings along
the way.
“The classic is electricity usage that
generates CO2 emissions. One of the best
ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to
reduce the amount of electricity you use,
so people are investing in more efficient
technologies and more efficient machinery.
“In addition to using renewable energy, they
are using less energy, which is costing them
less money in the long term.”
ASHLEY BLEEKER
ELEMENT ADVISORY
AND AUSTRALIAN UNITY
SKILLS FOR CARBON ACCOUNTING
“The things that are driving best practice in
financial accounting and communication of
financial performance are the things that are
going to drive best practice in communicating
non-financial performance.
“These sustainability standards have been
drafted by the accountants, so the IFRS
[International Financial Reporting Standards]
Foundation that is responsible for setting
the accounting standards globally is also now
responsible for setting sustainability standards.
“They are applying the same types of
principles that would ordinarily be applied to
accounting standards. Concepts of relevance,
completeness, consistency, transparency,
accuracy – they all apply to carbon accounting.
“There will be many traditional financial
accountants who will also become carbon
accountants once they master the subject
matter, because they have the skills to do it
comprehensively and effectively.”
LISTEN
to the full
podcast episode
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 51
