This document discusses using activity-based costing/management (ABC/M) to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. ABC/M is a methodology that assigns costs to activities and cost objects based on their use of resources. The document explains that ABC/M can be used to create a model that incorporates environmental costs and GHG emissions. It also discusses how ABC/M can help identify the GHG footprint of products/services, provide a detailed understanding of energy consumption and emissions from activities, and enhance an organization's ability to evaluate GHG intensity and costs. The benefits of using ABC/M to measure GHGs include identifying reduction opportunities, improving decision making, and enhancing public reputation as a responsible corporate citizen

1. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
Consortium for Advanced Management -
International
Measuring and Managing Environmental
Sustainability:
Using Activity-Based Costing/Management
(ABC/M)
Mark Lemon (Grant Thornton LLP)
Anthony Pember (Grant Thornton LLP)
September 22, 2015

2. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
Introduction
• Consortium for Advanced Management
International (CAM-I)
• http://www.cam-i.org/
• Environmental Sustainability Interest
Group
• Formed to study the use of business
management tools and techniques for the
furtherance of environmental sustainability
initiatives

3. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
Introduction
Environmental
Sustainability
Operational
Decision-Making
Strategy
Cost
Management
Cost
Management
Environmental
Sustainability
Operational
Decision-Making
Strategy

4. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
What is ABC/M?
“A methodology that measures the cost and
performance of activities, resources, and cost
objects. Resources are assigned to activities, then
activities are assigned to cost objects based on
their use. Activity-based costing recognizes the
causal relationships of cost drivers to activities.”
- CAM-I definition

5. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
What is ABC/M?

6. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
What is ABC/M?

7. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
How ABC/M addresses a
firm's GHG emissions
• Standalone model where resource inputs would
include the total spend on environmental costs

8. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
How ABC/M addresses a
firm's GHG emissions
• Environmental measure of importance to the
organization

9. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
How ABC/M addresses a
firm's GHG emissions
• True Power: Integrate multiple value items into a
model
• Combine cost, revenue, and GHG emissions as
value items

10. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
How to move towards a GHG
model using ABC/M

11. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
How ABC/M addresses a
firm's GHG emissions

12. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
Is your organization ready to measure
and manage its GHG emissions?
• Support within the entire organization
• People in charge of the initiative have
proper authority to enact change
• How information will be used and who will
use it
• Ability to gather data
• Ability to collect data from the supply chain

13. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
Benefits of using ABC/M to
measure GHG
• Identifying the GHG footprint of particular products and
services
• Providing a detailed understanding of the energy
consumption and emissions of particular activities within
a company
• Better defining the “boundaries” of emissions for which a
company is responsible
• Understanding how energy and GHG intensity affect cost
and how those costs are passed from producer to
consumer
• Building a valuable knowledge-base to help measure
and justify future corporate environmental and financial
decisions

14. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
Benefits of using ABC/M to
measure GHG
• Enhancing ability to evaluate and compare GHG
intensity and cost implications of activities, products and
services
• Articulating GHG related costs, risks and opportunities to
shareholders and other stakeholders
• Engaging staff in targeted energy reduction steps
• Setting the example and expectation to suppliers and
contractors to do the same
• Enhancing public profile and reputation as a good
corporate citizen

15. Over Three
Decades of
Industry-led
Collaborative
Research
Global Leadership in Cost, Process and Performance Management
Questions?