Biodiversity Reporting: How Businesses Can Make a Difference
Published: 27 January 2025
Businesses play a crucial role in protecting nature, but only if they measure and share their environmental impact. Dr Evangelos Seretis’s research reveals how better biodiversity reporting can drive real change.
Nature is under pressure. Companies around the world are being asked to demonstrate how their activities impact wildlife and ecosystems, and what measures they are taking to protect them.
Dr Evangelos Seretis, Lecturer in Accounting at the Adam Smith Business School, has studied how businesses report on biodiversity. His research looks at companies that follow the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) guidelines. These are businesses that have made a clear commitment to being transparent about their impact on the natural world.
The study found some good news. Many companies share their policies and broad actions to stop biodiversity loss. But there are also gaps. Detailed information, like data on specific locations or the direct causes of harm, is often missing. This is usually because it is difficult and costly to collect the right data.
Dr Seretis says clearer guidance and real-life examples of good reporting would help. If businesses know what “good” looks like, they can aim higher. Testing how much it costs to set up proper tracking systems would also make it easier for more companies to take part.
Better reporting matters. It helps businesses make smarter choices, and it gives regulators and the public a clear picture of what’s working. Most importantly, it means companies can play a bigger role in protecting the natural world.
For further information, please contact business-school-research@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 27 January 2025