ABSTRACT
One specific application of environmental accounting for capital investment analysis is total cost assessment (TCA), a method by which investments, particularly environmental investments, can be evaluated in a way that more accurately reflects their profitability potential. TCA adds value by providing a better framework for investment analysis in which environmental accounting contributes to better decision-making and, with it, improved environmental performance. This chapter looks at the small commercial lithographic printer—as a good example of the value of environmental accounting to business decision-making. The largest group of environmental accounting case studies identified in the Environmental Protection Agency Snapshots report is the group of 22 capital investment decisions. The computer pre-press system allows the company to bring disk-based jobs—which were previously all sent to a local service bureau for processing—back in-house. Conducting pre-press operations in-house reduces job turnaround time by a minimum of 24 hours on disk-based jobs.
