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We contribute to the accounting history and canals literature and the growing interest in environmental reporting by examining the philosophical approaches evident in the accountability documents of two historical canal projects, the Erie and Rideau Canals. We examine official records of the construction of these canals to identify sentences containing terms related to the environment and classify each sentence according to the environmental philosophy reflected. Of the three main streams of environmental ethics, we find evidence of both virtue ethics and utilitarian philosophical perspectives in the accounts, although the utilitarian perspective dominates. There is only sparse evidence of a deontological approach. We find differences in the ethical themes focused on for each canal consistent with the degree of settlement nearby. We also find evidence of some common themes for both canals by key phase of their planning and construction activities. We also consider the implications of these findings

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	environmental philosophy; utilitarianism; virtue ethics; water; canals
Research Division:	Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
Research Group:	Accounting, auditing and accountability
Research Field:	Sustainability accounting and reporting
Objective Division:	Commercial Services and Tourism
Objective Group:	Environmentally sustainable commercial services and tourism
Objective Field:	Environmentally sustainable commercial services and tourism not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Morrison, LJ (Dr Leanne Morrison)
ID Code:	155764
Year Published:	2023
Deposited By:	Accounting
Deposited On:	2023-03-14
Last Modified:	2023-03-15
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