Abstract:
Climate change presents a critical economic, social, and
environmental challenge globally. United Nations Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG) 13 calls for urgent national and
organizational climate action. However, conventional financial
accounting systems routinely fail to capture environmental costs and
physical climate risks, leaving organizational decision-makers
without actionable data. To address this limitation, green accounting
has emerged as key strategic tool.
This paper presents a systematic literature review evaluating how
green accounting practices support climate action and advance SDG
13, with a contextual focus on Sri Lanka. Following a PRISMA-
compliant methodology, literature was retrieved across six academic
databases alongside official Sri Lankan policy repositories for the
primary period 2021–2026 (with key institutional policies traced back
to 2016), resulting in a final synthesis of 96 sources. Analysis
revealed six core themes: the conceptual evolution of green
accounting; operational green accounting practices; the integration
of climate mitigation and adaptation metrics; alignment with specific
SDG 13 targets; Sri Lanka’s policy and regulatory framework; and
primary implementation barriers.
Findings demonstrate strong alignment between green accounting
practices and SDG Target 13.2 (integrating climate measures into
national policies). Alignment with Target 13.1 (strengthening
resilience through risk disclosure) is emerging but less developed,
whereas research addressing Target 13.3 (capacity building) remains
largely underrepresented. In Sri Lanka, progressive policy
mechanisms including the National Environmental Action Plan
2022–2030, updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs),
and the National Green Reporting System exist, yet organizational-
level accounting infrastructure remains insufficient, revealing a
pronounced policy-practice gap. This paper establishes an integrated
conceptual framework while outlining key directions for future
empirical research.
