Environmental Disclosure: Contributions of the Multi-Criteria Methodology in the Identification of Financial Aspects for Environmental Management

Abstract

Situated in the context of environmental disclosure, the present paper aims at building a multi-criteria model for disclosure of financial aspects. This is an exploratory-descriptive study that employs a qualitative approach at the stage of model structuring. The Multi-Criteria Decision Aiding – Constructivist (MCDA-C) was the tool selected to guide the process of building the model. This is because this tool allows representing the perception of a member of the academic community in the model and interpreting the following guidelines for environmental disclosure: Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting – United Nations (ISAR/UNCTDA); The Institute of Independent Auditors of Brazil (IBRACON); Brazilian Accounting Standards (NBCT-15). The developed model made it possible: (i) to identify the twenty seven financial aspects that constitute the environmental management model; (ii) to present a measurement proposal of these aspects by using an ordinal scale; and (iii) to demonstrate how to conduct the internal management of these disclosure aspects. Thus, the multi-criteria model proposed in this study can assist environmental disclosure because it advances a perspective that differs from other models found in the literature.