Junkyard Planet: Using Stories to Teach Managerial Accounting with a Sustainability Theme

The purpose of this article is to share my experience teaching managerial accounting as a sustainability-themed course using stories. Theme-based learning suggests a relatable theme can make course content more applicable, engaging, and memorable for students. This article discusses how sustainability was integrated into an accounting class using Adam Minter's 2013 book Junkyard Planet, and smaller stories including cases and discussion boards. The stories introduce students to the role businesses have in influencing sustainable development. The stories allow for the consideration of managerial accounting concepts including direct material costs, the tradeoffs between fixed automation costs and variable labor costs, as well as the exploration of ethics, sustainability and the common good. By discussing the stories, students consider how global economic forces influence revenue and cost functions as well as the idea of market-driven sustainable development. The sustainability story assignments reflect the principles of liberal learning, which strive to prepare students for work and life through an integrated curriculum. Survey results document that students' attitudes and interest in sustainability increased following the course and that students' perceptions of their understanding of accounting concepts increased. This suggests integrated learning activities can enhance both comprehension of accounting content and students' appreciation for sustainability.