Abstract It is evident the need for companies to value, measure and disclose environmental impacts in the search to make better decisions regarding environmental management in the future, however, many companies decide not to recognize the environmental costs derived from the development of their social object, this is largely due to the lack of knowledge of environmental accounting on the part of company managers since they focus on short-term profitability, which in most cases implies an excessive consumption of resources, and not on long-term sustainability, which aims at a conscious consumption of these resources. Currently, due to the growing environmental deterioration, it is necessary to take measures to ensure that resources last over time, therefore, it is of vital importance that companies integrate a program that includes environmental management policies into their operational development plan. Therefore, this paper seeks to give a brief description of the role of environmental costs in the sustainable development of companies. Keywords: Environmental costs, sustainable development, environmental accounting