Abstract This article, intended as a collateral reading assignment for a principles or intermediate accounting course, explores the current state and future issues of environmental accounting and reporting. The primer is divided into two parts: (1) a brief rationale directed to accounting professors for allocating precious class time to environmental reporting, and (2) a much fuller exposition for students of the associated issues past, present, and future that will serve to generate classroom discussion. Accounting faculty can use the student portion of the primer to incorporate environmental accounting and reporting into their courses without the need for extensive advance preparation.