Environmental accounting on a communal level: A tool to support environmental management and decision-making by communal executives

Starting from an ecological perspective of urban-industrial areas, environm ental accounting is used to analyse and to evaluate which environmental imp acts are the result of communal activities (e.g. the results of different k inds of water supply systems). Therefore, the anthropogenic fluxes, the cha nging quality of areas as well as the processes between the environmental f ields are taken into account. The approach is based on methodical elements of re Life Cycle Analysis and the Environmental Impact Assessment. Looking at the 'urban systems' within the communal activities, 'ecological modelling' gives us a new and fuller picture of the spatial and temporal ch aracter of urban metabolism. The approach supports the perception of cumula tive effects and the postponement of environmental problems and opens new h orizons for process-oriented environmental planning within the community. G reater efficiency and a decrease in costs can be arrived at by leaving 'end of the pipe' strategies; opportunities for a better planning process and m easures for different individuals and organisations can be drawn up. A data base which acts as a 'support system' implements the computer-aided approa ch to environmental accounting.