<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The aim of this study is to use material flow cost accounting (MFCA) to assess the level
at which cleaner production (CP) can improve both environmental and economic performance of an organization.
Higher energy and raw material prices are causing CP to grow in relevance and importance.
The amount of waste to landfill is increasing steadily. Most companies are using inefficient processes
and technologies that are obsolete resulting in higher production costs, which, in turn, affect their profitability
and competitiveness. This study was a case study based on a paper manufacturing company using
an exploratory qualitative and quantitative research methodology. The MFCA approach was used
to assess the efficiency of the steam production process using coal-fired boilers. The results indicated
that the process was inefficient resulting in significant negative environmental and economic impact.
Environmental costs were hugely underestimated by management, as non-product output costs were not
included as part of environmental costs calculated by company. Benefits and barriers to CP was also
brought to the forefront at the conclusion of this research.</p></abstract>

The aim of this study is to use material flow cost accounting (MFCA) to assess the level
at which cleaner production (CP) can improve both environmental and economic performance of an organization.
Higher energy and raw material prices are causing CP to grow in relevance and importance.
The amount of waste to landfill is increasing steadily. Most companies are using inefficient processes
and technologies that are obsolete resulting in higher production costs, which, in turn, affect their profitability
and competitiveness. This study was a case study based on a paper manufacturing company using
an exploratory qualitative and quantitative research methodology. The MFCA approach was used
to assess the efficiency of the steam production process using coal-fired boilers. The results indicated
that the process was inefficient resulting in significant negative environmental and economic impact.
Environmental costs were hugely underestimated by management, as non-product output costs were not
included as part of environmental costs calculated by company. Benefits and barriers to CP was also
brought to the forefront at the conclusion of this research.

Using Material Flow Cost Accounting (Mfca) to Identify Benefits of Eco-Efficiency and Cleaner Production in a Paper and Pulp Manufacturing Organization

University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Westville, Durban South Africa

Foundations of Management

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The aim of this study is to use material flow cost accounting (MFCA) to assess the level
at which cleaner production (CP) can improve both environmental and...

Using Material Flow Cost Accounting (Mfca) to Identify Benefits of Eco-Efficiency and Cleaner Production in a Paper and Pulp Manufacturing Organization

Published Online: Dec 05, 2016

Page range: 263 - 288

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/fman-2016-0021

Keywords
cleaner production, eco-efficiency, inefficient processes, environmental costs, nonproduct output costs

© 2016 Mishelle Doorasamy

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Using Material Flow Cost Accounting (Mfca) to Identify Benefits of Eco-Efficiency and Cleaner Production in a Paper and Pulp Manufacturing Organization

Published Online: Dec 05, 2016

Page range: 263 - 288

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/fman-2016-0021

Keywordscleaner production, eco-efficiency, inefficient processes, environmental costs, nonproduct output costs

© 2016 Mishelle Doorasamy

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
cleaner production, eco-efficiency, inefficient processes, environmental costs, nonproduct output costs