Table 2 Roles of time in framing... | Emerald Publishing

Table 2

Roles of time in framing biodiversity performance (past and present rationality)

Role of time	Description	Enabling role in emancipatory accounting	Risk for emancipatory accounting
Time as trend	Quantifying the past through past-based rationality, where past trends provide a concrete and precise backdrop for assessing performance in the present (e.g. through benchmarking)	Can lead to more concrete, realistic and relevant targets as performance is situated within the reporting organisation's historical context	Anchoring performance objects to potentially incomplete or biased past trends can lead to less relevant ways of assessing performance in the present, or to more incremental initiatives as new targets depend on past outcomes
Time as urgency	Mobilising a negative imminent future to convey a sense of urgency to act in the present, supporting the call to action in the setting of targets	Can emphasise the need to act now by mobilising short-term targets to support decisive action in the present	A fatalistic view of the near future may paralyse stakeholders and reduce their willingness to act, rather than invite more engagement
Time as expectation	Extrapolating from the present using present-based rationality to paint a hopeful scenario of expected future outcomes of actions taken in the present	Goals may appear more achievable by focusing on actions needed in the present based on hopes of positive outcomes	Effects of present actions may not materialise at a later date, leading to weaker link between actions and outcomes and lower engagement
Time as snapshot	Using ad hoc temporal brackets (e.g. decade, month, year, week) to determine performance based on present-based rationality, reflecting current best knowledge of results in lieu of consistent and recurring brackets over time	Performance can be communicated to key stakeholders on a continuous basis without getting stuck in data capture difficulties of the past, or undefined time horizons of the future	Ad hoc brackets may lead to fragmented accounts that do not show the bigger picture nor enable comparison over time, and may fail to take long time horizons of restoration projects into account
Time as journey	Exhibiting perseverance for biodiversity by framing present performance as the result of cumulative and continuous efforts over time, in line with past-based rationality	Can be a way to show the value of long-term commitment to biodiversity outcomes, as well as an opportunity for self-reflection and learning about more and less successful actions	Describing performance as continuous may obscure the urgency of acting now, since performance will be viewed as the result of repeated, cumulative extraction points in the future

Role of time	Description	Enabling role in emancipatory accounting	Risk for emancipatory accounting
Time as trend	Quantifying the past through past-based rationality, where past trends provide a concrete and precise backdrop for assessing performance in the present (e.g. through benchmarking)	Can lead to more concrete, realistic and relevant targets as performance is situated within the reporting organisation's historical context	Anchoring performance objects to potentially incomplete or biased past trends can lead to less relevant ways of assessing performance in the present, or to more incremental initiatives as new targets depend on past outcomes
Time as urgency	Mobilising a negative imminent future to convey a sense of urgency to act in the present, supporting the call to action in the setting of targets	Can emphasise the need to act now by mobilising short-term targets to support decisive action in the present	A fatalistic view of the near future may paralyse stakeholders and reduce their willingness to act, rather than invite more engagement
Time as expectation	Extrapolating from the present using present-based rationality to paint a hopeful scenario of expected future outcomes of actions taken in the present	Goals may appear more achievable by focusing on actions needed in the present based on hopes of positive outcomes	Effects of present actions may not materialise at a later date, leading to weaker link between actions and outcomes and lower engagement
Time as snapshot	Using ad hoc temporal brackets (e.g. decade, month, year, week) to determine performance based on present-based rationality, reflecting current best knowledge of results in lieu of consistent and recurring brackets over time	Performance can be communicated to key stakeholders on a continuous basis without getting stuck in data capture difficulties of the past, or undefined time horizons of the future	Ad hoc brackets may lead to fragmented accounts that do not show the bigger picture nor enable comparison over time, and may fail to take long time horizons of restoration projects into account
Time as journey	Exhibiting perseverance for biodiversity by framing present performance as the result of cumulative and continuous efforts over time, in line with past-based rationality	Can be a way to show the value of long-term commitment to biodiversity outcomes, as well as an opportunity for self-reflection and learning about more and less successful actions	Describing performance as continuous may obscure the urgency of acting now, since performance will be viewed as the result of repeated, cumulative extraction points in the future