This multi-capital accounting model has been designed to help companies become part of a sustainable socio-environmental system and ensure the sustainability of their activities. To this end, the model tracks their overall performance on two new capitals: social and environmental.
Planetary limits indicate an environmental budget ceiling not to be exceeded. Social foundations, on the other hand, indicate a minimum social budget to achieve. The company then ensures that its activities do not exceed the limits of the earth system or degrade access to people's basic needs.
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Suppliers and products sold are choices for which the company is responsible. A breakdown on 3 perimeters is carried out: operations containing the company's activities, the supply chain including the activities of its suppliers and products & services including the externalities of the products or services sold by the company. Upstream of the accounting work, the prism of the chosen business model is used to determine areas of high potential impact on boundaries and foundations. Through accounting, the company has a global view of its model, enabling it to envisage the transformations necessary to ensure its sustainability while respecting its limits and foundations.
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This model is where financial accounting meets environmental and socio-economic issues. Coupled with planetary limits and social foundations, it tracks multi-capital performance by having an accounting system that records activities in physical streams, alongside audited financial accounting. The budget is compared with the company's actual activities over a given period. The result, once contextualized, provides information on overall performance.
The performances calculated on each of the boundaries and foundations are not offset. Results are calculated and analyzed separately from each other.
The LIFTS Accounting Model© for multi-capital accounting has been tested in three SMEs. An initial tool produced in Access to test it, will be developed in software form with the help of an IT team. The methodology associated with this model has been published in its first version. Parts of this methodology, which is intended to be comprehensive on planetary limits, social foundations and economics, will be published in a version 2 of the methodology.
Nepsen is a group committed to ecological transition and energy sobriety. For 40 years, Nepsen has been supporting and advising all types of public and private stakeholders in France and abroad in their energy and environmental efficiency initiatives. Today, Nepsen has some fifteen local offices with a total workforce of over one hundred people throughout France. The group also has expertise in environmental approaches (Carbon balance, Life Cycle Assessment, Adaptation to climate change).
Based in Yangon, Myanmar, Yever is a consulting firm whose mission is to support and accelerate the transformation of Burmese organizations towards more sustainable and responsible business models. Their leaders are convinced of the importance of devoting time to pro bono missions. In addition to bringing value to Myanmar society, it enables them to train their team and develop their skills to better serve their customers. They aim to be exemplary in creating and sharing value with all their stakeholders, including customers, employees and Myanmar society.
BATHÔ is a socially responsible company that transforms disused pleasure boats into fixed accommodation, which can be used as meeting rooms, unusual tourist accommodation, playgrounds or even gîtes for private individuals. After more than a year in operation, the company has already rehabilitated some 15 boats. This concept, the only one of its kind in France, is a response to the need to deal with a large number of end-of-life boats, whose main materials cannot be recycled. The trades involved in renovating these boats enable young workers to receive vocational training, and people who have been excluded from the workforce to find work. Social and environmental commitment is thus at the heart of BATHÔ's mission.
