3. Environmental internal failure costs are costs of activities performed because contaminants and waste have been produced but not discharged into environment. Thus, internal failure costs are incurred to eliminate and manage contaminants or waste once produced. Internal failure activities have one of two goals: (1) to ensure that the contaminants and waste produced are not released to the environment, or (2) to reduce the level of contaminants released to an amount that complies with environmental standards
4 Environmental external failure costs are the costs of activities performed after discharging contaminants and waste into the environment. Realized external failure costs are those incurred and paid for by the firm . Unrealized external failure (societal) cost are caused by the firm but are incurred and paid for by parties outside the firm . societal cost can be further classified as (1) those resulting from environmental degradation and (2) those associated with an adverse impact on the property or Welfare of individuals. In either case, the costs are borne by others and not by the firm even though the firm causes them.
Exhibit 14.10 summarizes the four environmental cost categories and lists specific activities for each category. Within the external-failure cost category, Societal costs are labeled with an "S" The. costs for which the firm is financially responsible are called private costs. All without the S label are private costs. Of the four categories costs of environmental activities, the external failure cost category is the one that cause the most economic hardship for an organization
Environmental Cost Report
Environmental cost reporting is essential if an organization is Serious about improving its environmental performance and controlling environmental costs. Reporting environmental costs by category reveals two important outcome: (1) the impact of