Environmental accounting and sustainability: representation through set theory

Abstract

The objective of this article is to graph, based on set theory in two-dimensional and three-dimensional spaces, the different possibilities of evaluative relationship of natural elements in their possible uses, which can be optimal, depletion or degradation. The research carried out is of a qualitative nature, it privileges the concept of sustainability over that of sustainability, the first is of a biocentric nature, anchored in deep ecology and ecological economy, with the purpose of protecting the natural heritage; while the second is associated with neoclassical environmental economics, organizational stability based on economic utility and the maintenance of financial capital. The developed proposal allows knowing a priori the different valuation scenarios of natural elements, thereby contributing to informed decision-making regarding alternative valuations that a natural element may have, identifying the coordinates with the highest possible environmental valuation, followed by the social and finally economic, in accordance with the integral pyramid of sustainability.