Managerial Sensemaking of Climate Policy Uncertainty: Environmental Management Accounting and Climate Risk Disclosure in Zimbabwean Firms

The purpose of this study is to explore how Zimbabwean firms use Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) and climate risk disclosure in times of policy uncertainty and how these relate to sustainable growth and macroeconomic stability. The study was couched in the interpretivist research philosophy and adopted the inductive research approach. A case study research design, which aligns with a qualitative research design, was chosen for the study. The study employed in-depth interviews with management accountants, finance executives, and industry leaders across firms in Harare. The study adopted the cross-sectional time horizon and analysed data using thematic analysis to develop insights into the role of EMA and climate risk disclosure in times of policy uncertainty. The study's findings show that climate policy uncertainty compels business leaders to reconfigure management accounting systems to integrate environmental performance measures and scenario-based capital planning. The findings indicate that strategic EMA is essential because it enhances cost visibility, which, in turn, supports proactive risk management and stabilises investment decision-making within an enterprise. Firms that have integrated climate disclosure frameworks were found to demonstrate stronger stakeholder confidence and had high adaptability capacity. In an uncertain policy environment, firm-level adjustments support macroeconomic resilience and sustainable growth by lowering regulatory shock sensitivity and reducing the costs they impose. The study contributes to the literature by connecting the discussions of macroeconomic stability with micro-level accounting procedures and providing a process-based approach and understanding of how strategic EMA disclosure serves as a transmission mechanism between economic resilience and climate policy uncertainty. The study contributes to the emerging discourse on climate risk accounting within the fragile macroeconomic context of developing countries. It is therefore recommended that the regulatory institutional pillar be strengthened to reduce uncertainty and enhance the EMA's strategic adaptation.