From Harm To Healing Why Sustainability Accounting Matters

From Harm to Healing: Why Sustainability Accounting Matters explores a simple but powerful question: What if the way we measure success is contributing to the world's biggest problems?

Written in clear, accessible language, the book challenges the traditional accounting model that focuses primarily on profit while overlooking environmental damage, social inequality, and long-term risks.

Beginning with the history of accounting, the book explains how financial reporting helped build modern economies but also encouraged businesses to ignore costs imposed on people and the planet. It then introduces sustainability accounting as a new way of measuring corporate performance—one that considers financial results alongside impacts on climate, biodiversity, workers, communities, and future generations.

Readers are guided through key concepts such as ESG, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), integrated reporting, IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS S1 and S2), carbon accounting, and the circular economy, with practical examples that make complex topics easy to understand. The book also examines real-world issues such as climate change, greenwashing, corporate governance, and why transparency is becoming essential for businesses and investors.

More than a technical guide, From Harm to Healing is a call to rethink the purpose of accounting itself. It argues that accountants can be more than scorekeepers—they can become stewards of sustainable development, helping businesses create lasting value while protecting society and the environment. It is an inspiring introduction for students, professionals, policymakers, and anyone interested in building a more responsible and sustainable future.