A decade of biodiversity conservation: insights into corporate social responsibility in an emerging market context

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to investigate whether Brazilian companies have increased their reporting on biodiversity within the past decade and whether reporting practices are linked to the government's stance on environmental protection, media coverage and industry biodiversity risk.Design/methodology/approachUsing content analysis and ordinary least squares regression models, the authors examine sustainability reports from Brazilian listed and non-listed companies from 2010 to 2020.FindingsThis study’s empirical analysis indicates that companies have decreased their reporting on biodiversity over the decade. Findings suggest that biodiversity reporting is associated with the level of scrutiny from external constituents, such as industry biodiversity and the president's own public policy agenda and partially by media coverage.Originality/valueThe literature seems to lack an understanding of how political factors may drive social and environmental reporting practices, especially biodiversity reporting. This study addresses this issue by examining the relationship between the government's stance on environmental protection. By focusing on biodiversity reporting in an emerging country like Brazil, this study also generates insights into a highly impactful yet under-researched context.