Using EMA to Benchmark Environmental Costs—Theory and Experience from Four Countries Through the UNIDO TEST Project

The paper reports the results of the UNIDO TEST project (De Palma and Dobes 2003) as a consequence of simultaneously introducing environmental management accounting (EMA), cleaner production assessment (CPA). and environmental management systems (EMS) in four countries of the Danube river basin. The implementation of CPA was instrumental in identifying non-product output costs. The analysis of materials and energy flows provided the basis for assessing and comparing the performance of the production processes against the standards defined by the technical specifications of the existing technology and against the standards of best available technology (BAT) or theoretical standards. This categorization showed which part of the non-product output costs could be controlled in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term. On the basis of this analysis, companies were enabled to make strategic decisions such as to phase out products and plan new investments in environmental technologies through a step-by-step approach. Broadening the scope of EMA and developing the necessary information system within the framework of the EMS were immediate results of the project.