Development of environmental accounting as a tool for assessing the economic potential of biotechnologies

Ural State University of Economics, Yekaterinburg, Russia

^* Corresponding author: prepodpopov@yandex.ru

Abstract

Global environmental problems have a significant impact on the state of the economy and require the development of new approaches to reduce the negative impact on the environment and the development of new management methods, including the use of biotechnology. The article studies the issues of implementation and use of environmental accounting as a tool for assessing the economic potential of biotechnologies. Based on the review of the points of view of famous scientists, the author’s definition of environmental accounting is formulated, taking into account its multifaceted nature, and the basic principles of its organization are revealed. The use of environmental accounting tools is justified, including calculation of resource savings, determination of the effect of reducing costs for waste management and recycling to identify the potential benefits of using biotechnology, which is illustrated by the example of agriculture, biodiesel production and pharmaceuticals. The main problems of implementing environmental accounting are highlighted, including the lack of standards and unified methods, the low environmental responsibility of a number of enterprises, and high implementation costs. Promising directions for using environmental accounting to assess the economic potential of biotechnologies are revealed, including reducing environmental and financial risks, developing new business strategies, increasing product competitiveness and environmental responsibility of business, which ultimately corresponds to the goals of sustainable development while continuing further research in this area.