Green Accounting and Sustainable Development in India: Integrating Environmental-Economic Accounting for Sustainable Policy and Growth

Abstract

Green accounting acts as an important framework for integrating environmental sustainability into economic decision making. Earlier economic accounting systems do not include ecological degradation, depletion of resources, and environmental externalities, which leads to falsify measures of development. India’s rapid economic development increased the environmental challenges which necessitate the accounting frameworks that link economic growth with sustainability goals. This study examines the role of green accounting to support sustainable development in India through theoretical evaluation, analysis of policies, and examination of corporate practices. This study identifies institutional progress, barriers in implementation and future opportunities. Findings indicate that while India has started environmental economic accounting and corporate sustainability reporting, detailed integration remains incomplete due to methodological, institutional and data limitations. The research focus on the need for integrating natural capital accounting into national policy planning to achieve long term sustainable growth.