A multi-language online survey of CSEAR members conducted in 2021 has provided insights into the carbon and climate-related topics featured in accounting and finance education at 31 higher education institutions around the world. Often these topics are considered in existing specialist – and sometimes optional – modules with limited evidence of integration across programmes. Findings from the survey suggest that professional accreditation or professional practise was neither a driver nor an obstacle to efforts to teach carbon or related-sustainability topics. Nevertheless, accreditation and professional practice were identified as having the potential to drive further change building on the work of these early innovators.

Taking on board the survey findings, CSEAR will be hosting future events in order to share learning and experiences from around the world and to mobilise accounting education scholarship to address the climate emergency.

Background to the project
The climate crisis is a major threat to life on Planet Earth. Amidst this crisis, decision makers must know how today’s decisions are connected to past, present and future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

All disciplines and professions must recognise and enhance their carbon literacy if they are to contribute to the reduction of atmospheric concentrations of GHG to manageable levels. Ignorance of GHG consequences, or naively trusting others to provide that evidence, has resulted in many decision makers genuinely believing their actions will reduce GHG when, instead, they might actually lead to an increase of global GHG. Not properly accounting for GHG, or getting GHG measurements wrong, means that an array of critical decisions are based on misinformation. Existing research demonstrates how flawed and inaccurate most forms of GHG accounting can be.

Education can play a central role in enabling decision-makers, including accountants, to enhance carbon literacy and develop competencies to address the climate emergency. Mainstreaming climate change education into climate change education into higher education institutions can take many forms.

With support from the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), the Building Carbon Literacy project aimed to:

1. map the provision of climate change education in accounting and finance education across the world;
2. understand the dissemination of carbon literacy in accounting and finance programmes;
3. understand barriers and facilitators to teaching climate change; and
4. build a supportive network and co-create resources to enable educators to mainstream climate change and sustainability in accounting and finance education.

Survey highlights
The survey is a first step to understanding patterns of carbon and climate-related education. Highlights include

• 124 out of 154 respondents reported teaching climate change in accounting and finance at Higher Education Institutions in 31 different countries across Europe, South America, North America, Africa, and Asia.
• Most respondents appeared to adopt a piggy-backing strategy of adding climate change into existing modules.
• Carbon and climate change topics were not fully integrated across all accounting and finance programmes. Instead, these topics were often concentrated in specialist – and often optional – social and environmental accounting modules.
• Committed and networked individuals appear to develop and deliver climate change and sustainability teaching often without connection to wider institutional strategies, programmes or in response to accreditation requirements.
• Membership of academic networks and other communities of practice was associated with higher reported levels carbon-related accounting and finance teaching.

Looking to the future
Amidst calls for deeper integration of climate change education into universities, opportunities arise to learn from each other and share experiences. CSEAR will organise events to enable educators to mainstream climate change and sustainability in accounting and finance education. To learn more, join CSEAR to receive our monthly newsletter for information about forthcoming events.

How to get involved
If you would like to share experiences or learn more about this project, please get in touch via csear@st-andrews.ac.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

You can find a copy of the report here.