This study aimed to clarify the essence of environmental management control, and identify topics for future research. Environmental management control systems are mechanisms that serve to integrate a company’s social and environmental efforts into its management accounting systems. In general, the ultimate goal of management control is to improve goal congruence (Drucker 1954, etc.). Therefore, in this study, case analysis is used to clarify the characteristics of goal congruence (hereinafter referred to as Environmental Goal Congruence) in environmental management control. The subject of my case study is Kirin Holdings Co., Ltd., which is developing leading edge of social and environmental management in Japan.
In short, we concluded that the essence of environmental goal congruence, which is the ultimate goal of environmental management control, is an integration of total and partial optimization of three axes. The first part here is the integration of corporate and global environmental systems (economic and social systems), while the second is the integration of the (environmental) performance evaluation and management purpose systems (short-term, and medium- and long-term management plans). Last is the integration of the structure of member minds at the individual level with the corporate system (department, division).
The parts should contribute to the whole, and it is important that they are properly positioned, utilized, and developed. In other words, environmental goal congruence is characterized expanding scopes and strengthening relationships in these three axes.
