Tapping environmental accounting potentials of beer brewing: Information needs for successful cleaner production

Abstract Improving established production processes towards Cleaner Production can be a demanding challenge as the actors involved in these processes – both management and technical staff – often need a fresh perspective on how business and the business environment are developing. Whether existing potentials are effectively and efficiently uncovered largely depends on the availability of information as well as on knowing how to make use of it. An often observed problem is the lack of tools to obtain useful Cleaner Production information efficiently. Against the background of a case study of a major Vietnamese beer producer, this paper highlights the importance of decision-making information and demonstrates how considerable performance improvement potentials can be uncovered using environmental management accounting (EMA) techniques and tools. Particular attention is paid to the information needs of the various users of such information and how these needs can be fulfilled. The analysis of the results suggests a pattern of action that increases the efficacy and efficiency of information management and use in corporate practice.