Shaping nature outcomes in corporate settings
Abstract
Transnational companies have substantive impacts on nature: a hallmark of living in the Anthropocene. Understanding these impacts through company provision of information is a precursor to holding them accountable for nature outcomes. The effect of increasing disclosures (of varying quality) is predicated on ‘information governance’, an approach that uses disclosure requirements to drive company behaviour. However, its efficacy is not guaranteed. We argue that three conditions are required before disclosures have the possibility to shape nature outcomes, namely: (1) radical traceability that links company actions to outcomes in particular settings; (2) developing organizational routines, tools and approaches that translate strategic intent to on-the-ground behaviour; and (3) mobilizing and aligning financial actors with corporate nature ambitions. While disclosure is key to each of these conditions, its limits must be taken into account and it must be nested in governance approaches that shape action, not just reporting.
Citation
Bebbington , J , Blasiak , R , Larrinaga , C , Russell , S L , Sobkowiak , M , Jouffray , J-B & Österblom , H 2024 , ' Shaping nature outcomes in corporate settings ' , Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences , vol. 379 , no. 1903 , 20220325 . https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0325
Publication
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0962-8436Type
Journal article
Description
J.B., R.B. and H.Ö. were funded by the Walton Family Foundation (grant nos 2017-693, 2018-1371, 00104857), the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (grant nos 2017-66205, 2019-68336, 2022-73546) and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (grant nos 5668.01, 5668.02). J.-B.J. was funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (grant no. 2021.0343).Collections
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