Improving decision-making through material flow cost accounting: the case of VietGreen bottled mineral water company

Abstract

VietGreen, headquartered in the South of Vietnam, is a bottled mineral water company striving towards becoming a leading mineral water producer with a strong reputation for social responsibility and integrity. This case describes VietGreen’s decision to explore the potential of material flow cost accounting (MFCA) for enhanced eco-efficiency and achieving the company’s long-term goals. It introduces the students to the company’s major challenges in meeting existing and newly introduced environmental regulations and in dealing with various controversial perspectives of managers involved in a project to implement MFCA. The focal questions of the case are why and how the company’s management should invest in and apply MFCA to implement its major strategic objectives. In particular, it focuses on the tension between measures improving either environmental or economic performance as well as the search for solutions contributing to both types of goals.