Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA)

This paper report findings from a pilot study in a micro-brewery that demonstrates the adoption of the MFCA model to capture adequate waste-cost information to support and improve waste-reduction decisions. While studies have shown that applying MFCA is a relevant tool in providing both financial and non-financial waste information for improving waste-reduction decisions in large- and medium-sized organizations, its adoption in a micro-brewery set-up is lacking. Findings reveal that the MFCA model can be adopted within different management systems to improve waste-reduction decision and cost savings. A significant implication for practice is the potential to adopt the MFCA model under different organizational circumstances that generally do not support systematically structured management approaches. A major significance of the findings in this study serves to focus the attention of owner–managers in micro-business circumstances on the management of product material and energy losses as well as the inclusion of certain production processes costs in product cost.

ABSTRAK Ekosistem mangrove merupakan suatu ekosistem vegetasi di wilayah pasang surut berlumpur, yang terutama dijumpai di wilayah tropis dan sub-tropis. Indonesia sebagai negara kepulauan mempunyai garis pantai yang sangat panjang, dan sebagian darinya merupakan wilayah ekosistem alami mangrove. Mengingat bahwa pembangunan secara fisik di Indonesia sangat cepat dan dalam beberapa hal kurang terkendali, banyak ekosistem alami mangrove saat ini yang mengalami gangguan dan bahkan telah terkonversi ke bentuk-bentuk ekosistem lain (terutama budidaya). Dampak dari kerusakan ini secara ekologis juga mengakibatkan berbagai masalah lingkungan lain. Oleh karena itu, inventarisasi mangrove yang meliputi pemetaan luas liputan, kekayaan jenis dan kualitasnya merupakan suatu prioritas. Penginderaan jauh diharapkan dapat membantu aktivitas inventarisasi ini. Tulisan pendek ini tidak dimaksudkan untuk menjelaskan secara rinci teknik-teknik analisis citra untuk inventarisasi mangrove, melainkan untuk memberikan gambaran tentang potensi dan keterbatasan penginderaan jauh sebagai alat utama serta kebutuhan data untuk inventarisasi dan pemetaan mangrove. 1. PENDAHULUAN: SENSOR, WILAYAH SPEKTRAL DAN CARA PEREKAMAN DALAM PENGINDERAAN JAUH LINGKUNGAN Sistem penginderaan jauh bekerja melalui pengumpulan data (citra) oleh sensor, dilanjutkan dengan pemrosesan awal citra, analisis dan ekstraksi informasi hingga menghasilkan peta-peta tematik yang nantinya dimanfaatkan lebih lanjut oleh pengguna untuk berbagai keperluan. Sebagai suatu tahap inisial, proses perolehan data yang dipengaruhi oleh jenis sensor dan cara perekaman sangat menentukan karakteristik data yang dihasilkan. Secara garis besar, sistem penginderaan jauh dapat dibedakan menurut sumber energi yang digunakan, cara perekaman, wilayah spektrum panjang gelombang dimanfaatkan, serta jenis wahana (platform) yang dijadikan basis penempatan sensor. Dari sisi sumber energi yang digunakan, dikenal adanya sistem penginderaan jauh pasif dan aktif; di mana sistem pasif merekam pantulan energi elektromagnetik matahari yang diterima oleh obyek ke sensor atau merekam energi yang dipancarkan langsung oleh sensor; sementara sistem aktif menggunakan sumber energi buatan yang dipancarkan ke obyek, untuk kemudian direkam pantulannya dan atau hamburan-baliknya. Sistem pasif mencakup sebagian besar sistem penginderaan jauh yang digunakan dewasa ini, baik melalui pemotretan dengan kamera, pemindaian termal, maupun pemindaian multispektral dan hiperspektral. Sistem aktif saat ini dapat dibedakan menjadi sistem lidar (light detection and ranging) yang berbasis sinar laser dan sistem radar (radio detection and ranging) yang berbasis gelombang mikro. Dari sisi cara perekaman, dikenal beberapa cara merekam sinyal elektromagnetik dari obyek, yaitu melalui kamera dengan film (yang saat ini sebagian sudah mulai ditinggalkan), pemindai elektro-optik (yang beroperasi pada wilayah panjang gelombang tertentu atau beberapa wilayah spaktral sekaligus), dan antena. Kamera berfilm digunakan untuk pemotretan udara, dan biasanya dimanfaatkan untuk menghasilkan satu seri foto udara yang bisa diamati secara stereoskopis. Pemindai elektro-optik ada yang beroperasi dengan cermin yang berputar (rotating mirror, disebut juga sebagai whiskbroom

Health equipment and furniture become a complementary factor for good health services to the communities. Management of health equipment and furniture is started by manufacturers within the industry scope and sustainable business processes. This study aimed to apply green concepts and MFCA at PT XYZ, and to analyze their effects on the dimensions of the company sustainability. To measure the effects of green concepts and MFCA on the dimensions of corporate sustainability, a multiple regression analysis was used. The analysis showed that they gave significant effects from the results of the F test, t test and probability test. From these results, a number of suggestions for improvement of production process performance as managerial implications for maintaining the stability of the company sustainability index were formulated.

Keywords:
efficiency and effectiveness of production cost, green concepts, the company sustainability, material flow cost accounting

This research aimed to answer the questions of sustainability of palm oil processing PT XYZ in the economic, social, environmental and technology with the design and implementation of Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA). MFCA provides open information about the classification of production costs, with special attention to the cost of material loss and production waste. The goal is efficiency and effectiveness of production cost which can increase the performance of the production process as well as providing an influence on the value of corporate sustainability. The method used in this research was a mixture of qualitative and quantitative method. Measuring tool used multiple regression analysis to measure the significance of independent variables on the dependent variables. As additional analyses used Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) method with rapMFCA techniques and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method with a pairwise comparison technique for assessed corporate sustainability indexes for every dimension and weight combined. The analysis showed that the MFCA provides significant effect as the results of the F test, t test and probability test. The results obtained with this technique showed that the value of sustainability index after merging weight is 85,33 and is in the category of highly sustainable. From these results the performance formulation formulated suggestions for maintaining the stability of the production process of corporate sustainability indexes.

Concerns regarding the development of environmental accounting have been around for decades. This work is an update to some of the previous questions around the development of ecological accounting to see how this has changed over the last two decades. The work is based on a systematic review of two journal articles from separate accounting journals. The two articles are by widely published academics and are formative ecological management accounting papers highlighting issues since 2000. The analysis includes a comparative review of the two articles, a review of successive articles in the journals, and a citation analysis. The first general finding is around the complex and confusing terminology that is still used, exemplified in the amorphous term sustainability. Specific findings from the paper analysis include ecological management accounting requires a fundamental change to organization management, different values exploring relationships such as material flows, inclusive of the living and physical world, with a longer time horizon, and a centrality of external factors. Due to these challenges, ecological management accounting is presently not used as a research category and therefore is an undeveloped research domain. Environmental accounting is a more commonly used synonym for ecological accounting, though this term is distinct and does not cover many of the ecological challenges. Under this research area, there have more recently been attempts to bridge the difficult macro (planetary) and micro (organization) environmental challenge. Concepts such as Accounting for the Management of Ecosystems and Material Flow Cost Accounting are areas of research seen as offering future opportunities to develop into a more ecological management accounting framework, though this will ultimately require research in ecological management accounting based on a multidisciplinary approach.

Health equipment and furniture become a complementary factor for good health services to the communities. Management of health equipment and furniture is started by manufacturers within the industry scope and sustainable business processes. This study aimed to apply green concepts and MFCA at PT XYZ, and to analyze their effects on the dimensions of the company sustainability. To measure the effects of green concepts and MFCA on the dimensions of corporate sustainability, a multiple regression analysis was used. The analysis showed that they gave significant effects from the results of the F test, t test and probability test. From these results, a number of suggestions for improvement of production process performance as managerial implications for maintaining the stability of the company sustainability index were formulated. Keywords: efficiency and effectiveness of production cost, green concepts, the company sustainability, material flow cost accounting

Since the Balearics are one of the key tourism destinations in Europe, the tourism industry has entailed a radical transformation of coastal life on the islands. In the 1960s and 1970s, fish captures increased enormously due to the expansion of consumption derived from tourism, and through technological improvements. There has been a change in target species from cheap fish consumed by local people towards expensive species consumed by tourists. However, since the 1980s a combination of factors including the adoption of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, the globalization of trade, and overfishing of some target species has led to a drastic fall in fishing sector jobs, catch reductions, and an increase in cheap imports. This article analyses the transformation of Balearic fisheries combining ecological economics (EE) and political ecology (PE) approaches. Material flow accounting (MFA) and the ecological footprint (EF) are applied in order to conceptualize the biophysical dimension of fisheries in relation to the historical dynamics of capital in the archipelago. Between 1940 and 2012, total fish catches doubled the official landings, while non-reported or hidden catches were underestimated. In the neoliberal period (1990-2012), fish catches decreased and seafood consumption was satisfied mainly through imports, five times the local captures. Thus, the metabolism of fish consumption in the Balearics illustrates the logics of capital and its metabolism in advanced capitalist regions, characterized by the displacement of socio-ecological conflicts to distant waters.

Depuis les Baléares sont l'une des principales destinations touristiques en Europe, l'industrie du tourisme a entraîné une transformation radicale de la vie sur les îles côtières. Dans les années 1960 et 1970, les captures de poissons a énormément augmenté en raison de l'expansion de la consommation d'un secteur touristique en plein essor, et les améliorations technologiques. Il y a eu un changement dans les espèces cibles de poissons pas cher consommée par les populations locales à l'égard des espèces coûteuses consommés par les touristes. Cependant, depuis les années 1980, il y a eu une chute drastique dans les emplois du secteur de la pêche, une réduction des captures, et une augmentation des importations à bas prix. Ceci a été causé par l'adoption de la politique commune de la pêche de l'UE, la mondialisation des échanges, et la surpêche de certaines espèces cibles. Cet article analyse la transformation de la pêche Baléares en combinant une approche de l'économie écologique (EE) et de l'écologie politique (PE). La comptabilité des flux de matières (AMF) et l'empreinte écologique sont appliqués afin de conceptualiser la dimension biophysique de la pêche dans le cadre de la dynamique historique du capital de l'archipel. Entre 1940 et 2012, les captures officielles de poisson a doublé, tandis que les captures non déclarées ou cachées ont été sous-estimés. Dans la période néolibérale (1990-2012), les prises de poissons ont diminué et la consommation de fruits de mer, satisfaite surtout par les importations, cinq fois les captures locales. Ainsi, le métabolisme de la consommation de poisson dans les Baléares illustre les logiques de capital et de son métabolisme dans les régions capitalistes avancés, caractérisé par le déplacement des conflits socio-écologiques à des eaux lointaines.

Teniendo en cuenta que las Baleares son uno de los principales enclaves del turismo europeo, el turismo ha sido la pieza central de las potentes transformaciones de la vida costera del archipiélago. En los años 1960 y 1970, las capturas pesqueras aumentaron notablemente empujadas por la especialización turística y los cambios tecnológicos del sector pesquero. Además del aumento de las capturas se produjo un cambio en las especies desembarcadas, pasando de aquellas consumidas por las clases populares a las consumidas por turistas. Sin embargo, a partir de la década de los 1980, la combinación de factores como la adopción de la Política Pesquera Común de la UE y la globalización comercial, junto con las claras muestras de sobreexplotación de algunas pesquerías, desembocó en un cambio drástico caracterizado por la constante disminución de puestos de trabajo en la pesca, la reducción de las capturas y el aumento de las importaciones de bajo precio. Este artículo analiza la pesca combinando los enfoques de la economía ecológica (EE) y la ecología política (EP). Se aplica la contabilidad de los flujos de materiales flujo (CFM) y la huella ecológica (HE) con el fin de conceptualizar la dimensión biofísica de la pesca para relacionarla con la dinámica histórica del capital en el archipiélago. Entre 1940 y 2012, las capturas totales han representado el doble de los desembarques oficiales, destacando el hecho que las fracciones no reportadas u ocultas permiten a profundizar en aspectos políticos que a menudo son subestimados. Por otro lado, durante el período neoliberal (1990-2012), las capturas pesqueras han disminuido y el consumo se ha satisfecho principalmente a través de las importaciones, quintuplicando la pesca local. De este modo, el metabolismo del consumo de pescado en las Baleares es un claro ejemplo de las lógicas del capital y su metabolismo en los espacios del capitalismo avanzado, caracterizados por el desplazamiento de los conflictos socio-ecológicos hacia mares distantes.

This paper explore the feasibility of integrating material flow cost accounting (MFCA) technique with existing environmental management systems (EMS) in a brewery process for improved waste-reduction decisions and increased environmental performance. Decisions to reduce wastewater generation in the past have focused on end-of-pipe approach, with little attention paid to the costs of generating brewery wastewater resulting in negative environmental impact. A case study was performed in a micro-brewery which provides evidence that applying MFCA supports and can improve waste-reduction decisions by brewery managers. The paper highlights the gains of applying MFCA from the case study with improvements in cost savings and increased environmental performance. The paper suggests that a significant implication for micro-breweries in South Africa is the availability of waste related information both in costs and volume for improved waste-reduction decisions for an improved waste-reduction strategy.

Material flow cost accounting analyzes input/output relations of material flows in the production process based on mass balance principles. However, the measured data of a process contains errors representing a mass imbalance in the system such as that of a wastewater treatment plant. Therefore, measured data should be verified before establishing mass balance and, subsequently, material flow cost accounting. Hence, in this work, a novel practical stepwise methodology using data reconciliation technique is introduced to improve the accuracy and certainty of measurements before material flow cost accounting. A full-scale petrochemical wastewater treatment plant was selected to establish this methodology. The presented results of this case study show an error of – 3.22% (–35244 t/year) between total input and output streams of wastewater treatment plant demonstrating mass imbalance in the system. However, the overall mass balance could be closed by simultaneously solving the incidence matrix (system of balances). The results revealed that by including data reconciliation into material flow cost accounting, an accurate mass balance can be performed, which is a key element in material flow cost accounting calculations. The comparison results showed a relatively significant difference between material flow cost accounting for reconciled and measured data (unreconciled). The developed approach provides a reliable set of data for implementing material flow cost accounting in the system. Therefore, using this novel stepwise approach will help decision-makers to enhance both financial and environmental performances more confidently and to define appropriate improvement plans.