Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, scholars, practitioners, and institutions have been paying increasing attention to the environmental, sustainability, and social issues that represent the three dimensions of the “triple bottom line” (TBL) approach (Elkington, 1998). In other words, companies deliver their business into strict regulation frameworks and, at the same time, welcome social values, especially to achieve a sustainable performance and to promote a solid reputation (Scheyvens et al., 2016; Tavanti and Stachowicz-Stanusch, 2013; Adams and Larrinaga-González, 2007).

In the realm of normative requirements, the adoption of rules does not only refer to controlling and reporting activities (such as certifications and permissions), but also requires careful business behavior and treatment of the environment. Hence, companies attempting to comply to typical regulations do not always achieve efficient and improved corporate performance. Indeed, a revised mindset towards redefining the core business model to include sustainability and environmental dimensions as well as social perspectives and implications can support the promotion of efficient operational processes and, eventually, profitability and value creation. 

Effective and innovative managerial processes and instruments must be proposed that aim toward the promotion of environmentally responsible and sustainable behaviors. Thus, control and metric systems need to be implemented to allow all stakeholders to make choices regarding the effective management of economic but also environmental and social impacts derived from business operations and activities, putting management innovations into practice.

The United Nations introduced the UN 2030 agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 to promote operational actions for human wellness worldwide. Meeting these goals also entails realization of the TBL approach. Nevertheless, in 2020, the achievement of these goals is discussed in the context of uncertainties that have arisen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The entrepreneurial business models must be revised and reorganized in terms of organizational, accounting, and strategic systems and, above all, to account for the “social distancing” necessary to limit the contagion. Sustainable, environmental, and social disclosure need to be revised. This is necessary to rebuild the trust of stakeholders regarding business continuity. Indeed, the timely assessment of ongoing concerns is required with respect to when financial statements are issued. 

To achieve the SDGs, academics and practitioners seek technical tools and accounting and reporting approaches and practices (Bebbington and Unerman, 2018; Schaltegger, 2018). This process is vital for conducting business-as-usual, especially in integrating social distancing measures. Enterprises must ensure sustainable and social organizations founded upon architectures of environmental and sustainable accounting, accounting for “social distancing” and its impact on processes, workers, partnerships, and financial measures. A broad reading of the proposed managerial instruments can fill the ever-existing gap in the regulatory and research frameworks. SDG methodologies and practices in the context of social distancing still appear to be underdeveloped.  

The Special Issue invites scholars to detail the current methodologies and practices for the SDGs initiatives adopted by firms operating in sectors, particularly outlining the involved complexities. The aim of this Special Issue is to promote innovative and original research on the accounting and reporting methodology and practices for the achievement of SDGs. Relevant papers of theoretical and empirical research on these topics are welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Assunta Di Vaio
Prof. Dr. Theodore Syriopoulos
Guest Editors

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• Business models and social issues
• COVID-19 pandemic, environmental and social accounting
• Management innovation for environmental sustainability
• Resilience theory, SDGs, and reporting
• SDGs and management innovation systems
• Social distancing
• SDGs initiatives and business continuity