In the Sustainability Accounting and Accountability Literature (SAL) increasing attention has been given to the potential and actual role of accounting to promote sustainable transformation in the current ways of organizing business and society (Gray, 2002; Contrafatto & Burns, 2013). More recently, the idea of Anthropocene has been proposed to denote a relatively new perspective to observe and understand sustainability, sustainable transformation and accounting for sustainability (Bebbington and Larrinaga, 2014; Bebbington et al., 2021).  

Anthropocene, which has emerged from longstanding concerns about the state of the physical and ecological environment, is used to describe a new geological epoch that is characterized by humanly driven wide effects on the ecological and natural systems. As observed by Bebbington et al., (2021), while traditional sustainability practices, policy and scholarship has been mainly concerned about examining how societies and business can be organized to ensure socially fair and ecological sound development, Anthropocene’s main focus is on the nature and functioning of the Earth’s system and related interlocked ecological and socio-economic systems of which business and organizations are part of (Bebbington et al., 2021). Thus, Anthropocene takes debates about sustainable development into a new phase and provides an alternative perspective for understanding sustainability and achieving sustainable transformations. As sustained by Olsson et al., (2017), Anthropocene poses challenges but also opportunities to re-imagine research in management, accounting and finance. In particular, this requires accounting and accountability scholarship to go beyond its traditional focus, when examining “Sustainable Change in the context of Anthropocene”, by attending new questions, issues and problems and by offering innovative answers/solutions to these. For instance, as suggested by Bebbington et al., (2021), this means to examine, among others, the issues related to the “responsibilities” which emerge out of Anthropocene: what are the responsibilities? How can be these conceptualized? How can we account and control these responsibilities? What is (or should be) the role of “accounting”? It may be argued that new theoretical perspectives are required to answer these questions. In particular, stewardship could provide a strong normative and explanatory framework to address these questions and to attend the complex issues which emerge from conceptualizing accounting and sustainable transformation in the context of Anthropocene.  

Stewardship is a notion that has motivated several organizations whose mission is to protect and enhance different natural, social and cultural resources for the benefit of communities, society at large and environment (Contrafatto & Bebbington, 2012). In general, stewardship is a potent concept which has resonance with current policy agenda that (at the macro and more organizationally focused levels), attend to global issues such as sustainable development, corporate social responsibility and accountability (Bebbington et al., 2021). Drawing on the existing SAL which has examined the concept/framework of stewardship (Contrafatto & Bebbington, 2012; Contrafatto, 2014; Bebbington et al., 2021), this essay offers some “appreciative reflections” about stewardship (Bebbington et al., 2017) to reflect on what “might work” (p. 22) with addressing the Anthropocene-related challenges/issues/questions, with the hope that these reflections might eventually offer useful insights in respect to decision- and policy-making for sustainable society and business.

All welcome - registration required.

NB: The seminar runs from 10:30-12:30. There will be a light lunch available for participants from 12.30-13.30 in the Charles Carter Foyer. 

Please register below - registrations close Wed 22 March to allow for catering preparation. Please contact pentlandcentre@lancaster.ac.uk for queries re booking after that date.

Photo at top of page by Any Lane (Pexels)

Dr Massimo Contrafatto is a Reader in Accounting for Sustainability at the Department of Accounting and Finance of the University of Sussex (UK) where he is Convenor for the PhD Programme. He is also an Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Dundee. His research interests are primarily in social and environmental accounting and reporting, accountability and stewardship, institutional theory, organizational change and accounting/accountability for risks. Massimo has carried out research on these topics, including fieldwork with diverse organizations - multinationals, social enterprises, co-operatives and foundations.  

He is also a member of the Executive Council of CSEAR (Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research) based at St. Andrews University; Co-director of CSEAR Italy based in Bergamo University; and Associate Member of CRIS (Research Centre on Sustainability) at Royal Holloway University, London. He is currently carrying out research projects with international colleagues of prestigious institutions: for example, University of St. Andrews (Scotland), London Royal Holloway University, University of Newcastle (UK), Birmingham University (UK), University of Trento (Italy) and University Autonoma of Madrid (Spain).  

Health & Safety and access information

• In order to safeguard everyone's health, if you test positive for Covid-19 before the event, or are feeling unwell in any way, please don't attend (and please let us know).
• You are encouraged to wear face coverings during the event, unless eating and drinking.
• Please maintain good hand hygiene, washing your hands regularly/before eating or drinking, and making use of hand sanitiser.
• The room is wheelchair accessible

Find out more about the Pentland Centre on our website