The feasibility of applying material flow cost accounting as an integrative approach to brewery waste-reduction decisions

摘要

This paper explore the feasibility of integrating?material flow cost accounting?(MFCA) technique with existing environmental management systems (EMS) in a brewery process for improved waste-reduction decisions and increased environmental performance. Decisions to reduce wastewater generation in the past have focused on end-of-pipe approach, with little attention paid to the costs of generating brewery wastewater resulting in negative environmental impact. A case study was performed in a micro-brewery which provides evidence that applying MFCA supports and can improve waste-reduction decisions by brewery managers. The paper highlights the gains of applying MFCA from the case study with improvements in cost savings and increased environmental performance. The paper suggests that a significant implication for micro-breweries in South Africa is the availability of waste related information both in costs and volume for improved waste-reduction decisions for an improved waste-reduction strategy.