Accounting for the Anthropocene and planetary boundaries: insights and future directions from Aurelio Peccei

Purpose – This paper aims to reveal how the thought and works of Aurelio Peccei, one of the global pioneers in exposing sustainability-related limits of the growth-based economic model, can enrich and advance the field of accounting for the Anthropocene and planetary boundaries (PB). Design/methodology/approach – The research followed two steps. First, a biographical documentary analysis of Peccei’s writings mapped the evolution of his thought on the Anthropocene and PB. Second, we conducted a systematic literature review of the accounting literature on the Anthropocene, analyzed through Peccei’s lens. Findings – Peccei’s work evolved from stressing external, biophysical limits to a mature synthesis that foregrounds internal limits (such as education, ethics, institutions and conflict), articulates layered foresight and promotes systems-thinking approaches to reveal how the different internal and external limits interact. Contemporary literature remains conceptual mainly, privileging external limits and rarely proposing operational avenues for accounting for Anthropocene technologies. Research limitations/implications – As with biographical research, the findings depend on the availability of archives and the interpretive coding. The study is programmatic, proposing avenues for future research in accounting and practice. Practical implications – We outline an operational agenda, including designing accounting approaches that integrate internal limits with the PB; developing and trialing systems-thinking-based accounting models for the Anthropocene and building shared digital datasets and scenario or forecasting tools for risk and impact assessment. Originality/value – The paper introduces Peccei, a foundational yet underutilized figure, to the accounting literature for the Anthropocene. It also shows the potential of rediscovering historical statistics and methods to understand and address contemporary sustainability challenges.