Business and Biodiversity: Dependencies, Responsibilities and Collaboration

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the connection between business and biodiversity through the interests that companies might have in biodiversity and the needs that biodiversity might represent to them. In order to do this, we investigated how companies consider their dependence on and responsibility for biodiversity, how they translate them into initiatives (or lack thereof) to advance biodiversity conservation and the perceived challenges to their implementation. Furthermore, the thesis aimed to investigate what incentives companies might have, or how such could be created, to collaborate with a biodiversity hub such as the Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre. The methods consisted of a literature search, a survey, and two rounds of interviews. In total, 15 companies participated in the study within the sample of the 100 largest Swedish companies by turnover in 2020. The results show that the connection between business and biodiversity has received more attention in recent years. Even though there were tendencies of companies incorporating biodiversity into their strategies and values in an increasing way, the progress is quite uneven in knowledge and implementation, ranging from companies that actively attempt to reduce their impacts to companies that are unsure about which are their impacts. Generally, almost all companies considered themselves to be responsible for and dependent on biodiversity to different degrees. However, according to which inputs they take from nature and how they perceive their impacts, the companies are divided into four categories: companies with direct interaction, companies with direct use and indirect impact, companies with an indirect use and direct impact and companies with indirect interaction. The incentives for companies to consider biodiversity stemmed from both external and internal forces and biodiversity hubs could have a role to play for companies battling biodiversity loss. Furthermore, in order to be appealing to companies, biodiversity hubs should clearly communicate what their targets are regarding biodiversity, and find companies that might be interested. In this sense, specific research topics that are currently in progress within the hub should be presented, but also what the biodiversity hub wants to achieve in a broader perspective, connecting to the business model of companies and taking advantage of network effects. The field of business and biodiversity requires further research into medium and small companies from a wider set of industries, as well as possibilities for standardised frameworks to measure and monitor biodiversity in companies.