IMPLEMENTING ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO STRENGTHEN ESG PRACTICES AND BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY: AN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AT NUTSAFIR COOKIES SME, INDONESIA
Abstract
The growing emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance has encouraged exportoriented Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to strengthen sustainability governance through more comprehensive accounting practices. Nevertheless, many SMEs still face challenges in integrating environmental and social information into their accounting systems, limiting their ability to evaluate sustainability performance and communicate ESG achievements to stakeholders. This international community engagement program was conducted at Nutsafir Cookies SME, Indonesia, to develop and implement an Environmental Management Accounting Information System (EMAIS) that supports ESG practices and sustainable business management. The program employed a participatory community engagement approach consisting of needs assessment, system design, capacity-building workshops, technical training, mentoring, and implementation evaluation. The developed EMAIS integrates financial transactions with environmental and ESG-related information, enabling the systematic recording of environmental costs, monitoring of sustainability indicators, and preparation of sustainability-related information for managerial decision-making. The implementation enhanced participants' competencies in Environmental Management Accounting and ESG practices, improved the quality of environmental information management, and strengthened organizational transparency and accountability. In addition, the integrated accounting information system supported more effective resource management, facilitated sustainability reporting, and reinforced long-term business competitiveness. The program demonstrates that integrating Environmental Management Accounting with digital accounting technologies provides an effective and replicable approach for strengthening ESG implementation and sustainability governance among export-oriented SMEs.