The Role of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Curriculum in Supporting the Implementation of Green Accounting at Politeknik Negeri Medan: A Literature Review

Abstract

Sustainability issues have become an urgent global agenda, demanding the simultaneous integration of economic, social, and environmental aspects into organizational activities, including higher education. Green Accounting serves as an instrument to internalize environmental impacts into an organization's recording and reporting systems; however, its implementation in higher education institutions, particularly in vocational education, remains limited to the awareness level and has yet to reach systematic environmental cost measurement and reporting. This study analyzes the role of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) curriculum as a strategic instrument to support the implementation of Green Accounting at Politeknik Negeri Medan, guided by Stakeholder Theory, Legitimacy Theory, and the Triple Bottom Line concept. The research employs a qualitative descriptive approach using a narrative literature review, analyzed through the Miles & Huberman content analysis model, and triangulated with institutional documents from Politeknik Negeri Medan, specifically the OHS-Environment (K3L) organizational structure and the 2026–2027 SMK3 Certification Roadmap as supporting secondary data. The findings indicate that the Occupational Health and Safety HIRARC (Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, and Risk Control) framework shares structural-methodological compatibility with the core logic of Green Accounting; the OHS-Environment institutional structure at Politeknik Negeri Medan represents multi-stakeholder involvement consistent with Stakeholder Theory; and the drive toward SMK3 certification can be interpreted as an effort to gain institutional legitimacy under Legitimacy Theory. Mapped through the Triple Bottom Line, the People and Planet dimensions are adequately accommodated within the OHS-Environment structure, whereas the Profit dimension concerning the financial implications of environmental impacts remains unbridged. This study recommends integrating environmental cost and impact recording components into the Hazardous and Toxic Waste (Limbah B3) Management SOP, which is currently under development (scheduled for August 2026), as a concrete and time-bound operational step for strengthening Green Accounting in vocational education.

Keywords: Green Accounting, OHS Curriculum, Stakeholder Theory, Legitimacy Theory, Triple Bottom Line, Vocational Education