Business Company Approaches to the Protection of Nature and Biodiversity

Abstract

The conservation and protection of nature is attracting increasing attention in the business world, and this reflects the growing explicit corporate recognition that many businesses depend on nature and natural resources. However, business company initiatives to protect nature and biodiversity have received very limited attention in the business and management literature, and this represents a gap in that literature. With this in mind, this paper looks to explore and illustrate, why, and how, a number of major companies have publicly claimed to be protecting nature and biodiversity. The paper identifies five themes, namely an ambitious approach, a business led rationale, forest regeneration, collaborative endeavours, and a focus on the supply chain, which collectively capture the companies’ approach to protecting nature and biodiversity. The author also argued that a number of wider issues were important in exploring the role of businesses in protecting and restoring nature and biodiversity. Keywords: business; nature; biodiversity; nature positive; sustainability