Final answer:
EMA systems collect and analyze data on materials use, energy consumption, waste and emissions, associated costs and savings, including external costs of carbon emissions. They are instrumental in environmental protection gap analysis, ecotourism impacts, and marginal analysis for optimal pollution reduction investments.
Step-by-step explanation:
An Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) system should collect and analyze various types of information that pertain to the environmental and financial aspects of a business's operations. This includes collecting data on materials and energy use, waste and emission volumes, associated costs and savings resulting from environmental strategies and investments, and other factors influencing both environmental and financial performance. It should also consider external costs, such as those resulting from carbon emissions, where a dollar value needs to be assigned to the external costs of such emissions. This valuation would involve acquiring data related to the impact of emissions on health, property, and the broader ecosystem.
Moreover, EMA systems play a crucial role in gap analysis for environmental protection, assessing the costs and benefits of environmental protection, as well as analyzing the impacts of ecotourism. They also assist in understanding the balance between environmental costs and benefits through marginal analysis, which is critical for determining the optimal level of investment in pollution reduction activities, such as avoiding the scenario where marginal costs exceed marginal benefits.