The Relationship between Material Flow Cost Accounting and Life Cycle Assessment: Considering the Introduction of MFCA into Green Supply Chain Management

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate how Material Flow Cost Accounting（MFCA）contributes to Green Supply Chain Management（GSCM）and how it relates to Life Cycle Assessment（LCA）. This article shows three merits and two difficulties when incorporating MFCA into GSCM. Both theoretical papers and case studies suggest addressing the problem from the organizational point of view, putting factory managers or product managers in charge of the loss reduction over the supply chain, and allowing a company or a consultant as a leader of GSCM to foster cooperation among companies. Additionally, from the accounting and technological points of view, combining MFCA and LCA may foster GSCM because this combination enables MFCA to consider life-cycle environmental impacts. Moreover, it makes it easier to share MFCA information among companies because the figures of MFCA, which are integrated with LCA, do not show material cost or labor cost directly. Although combining MFCA with LCA helps GSCM, we need more investigations as to how to use this information in decision making.