Organisation of Accountability Versus Accountability of Organisations: A Critical Reappraisal of Organisational Engagement with Planetary Boundaries

Given the ongoing disregard for planetary boundaries, scholars have been exploring ways to integrate ecological limits into organisational accountability. To critically examine these expanding efforts, we use the conceptual framework of ‘partial organisation’ (Ahrne and Brunsson Citation2011, Citation2019a) to distinguish between the organisation of accountability and the accountability of organisations. The former refers to how accountability is organised between two parties, while the latter refers to the organisation as an actor that can be held accountable. Exploring the limitations of the organisation of accountability reveals that formalised accounting systems may proliferate in a self-reinforcing cycle that obscures rather than clarifies accountability and remains locked in a retrospective focus. This undermines their ability to prevent future ecological harm. By shifting focus to the accountability of organisations as actors, we identify a similar pattern, while also uncovering a potential to examine not only how formal accounting frameworks hold organisational actors accountable (i.e. the internal logic of accountability) but also how organisational actors care for the planet due to normative pressures and responsive attitudes toward their environment (i.e. the external logic of accountability). The article calls for foregrounding organisations as actors and integrating external accountability dynamics into the study of accounting for planetary boundaries.