Exploring how Environmental, Social, and Governance frameworks can address biodiversity loss

What is it about?

Exploring how Environmental, Social, and Governance frameworks can address biodiversity loss. Discussing pragmatic extinction accounting practices that integrate ecocentric perspectives. The ecocentric perspective addresses the root causes of biodiversity loss. Showcasing how the improved ESG frameworks could empower companies to confront extinction. Underscoring intermediate ecology perspective that integrates an ecocentric perspective.

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Photo by S N Pattenden on Unsplash

Photo by S N Pattenden on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Traditional Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics have primarily focused on promoting sustainable finance, positive screening, and sustainability reporting. However, recent research highlights the urgency for greater accountability and action to counter species extinction. This article explores the potential of ESG frameworks in guiding corporate and managerial decision-making to address biodiversity loss. As the current ESG indicators exhibit an anthropocentric bias, limiting their effectiveness for protecting biodiversity, this article aims to strategically integrate pragmatic extinction accounting with an ecocentric (deep ecology) perspective. This perspective addresses the root causes of biodiversity loss and offers support to species that are perceived as economically, socially, or culturally unimportant. We present our findings as a call to all stakeholders—business and policy decision-makers, conservationists, and environmental organizations—to formulate robust, inclusive, and ecologically sensitive strategies incorporating deep ecological perspectives. The findings of this study include recommendations for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). This study provides an important contribution to stakeholder theory that supports non-human stakeholders. Besides, this paper showcases how the improved ESG framework could empower companies to confront extinction risks in a more proactive and accelerated manner.

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