Philip Dickemann

2026

Environmental Management Accounting is increasingly dominated by external reporting regulations, frequently leading to a disconnect between high-level strategic oversight and granular technical data. This study addresses this "missing middle" by investigating the potential of Digital Twins to bridge the gap between physical operations and monetary accounting. Adopting a qualitative research design, the paper combines a structured literature review with semi-structured expert interviews across various industries. The empirical findings confirm that current EMA practices often suffer from data silos and manual aggregation, hindering effective internal steering. To overcome these hurdles, this research develops an integrated framework that maps Digital Twin capabilities onto established EMA structures, categorized into Data, Intelligence, and Action layers. The analysis reveals that while the Data Layer establishes essential transparency, the Intelligence Layer currently offers the most significant potential by enabling advanced simulations, forecasting, and automated CAPEX planning. The Action Layer, representing fully autonomous control, is identified as a future prospect constrained by current infrastructural maturity and costs. The study concludes that Digital Twins can transform compliance-driven data into a strategic asset. By integrating financial and environmental systems, organizations can reconcile the demands of external reporting with future-oriented decision-making, thereby realigning EMA with its original purpose of driving ecological and economic value.