Assessing Biodiversity and Threatened Species Disclosure among Top Saudi Companies

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate how much information is disclosed by leading Saudi companies regarding their practices related to biodiversity and conservation of species, as well as identify the individual reporting items that demonstrate the highest and lowest levels of disclosure across Saudi companies. The study’s sample comprised the 14 leading companies, which together represented 88% of the Saudi stock market’s overall value. The annual reports and sustainability reports for 2021, 2022, and 2023, as well as the company websites, were the content analyzed to identify any mentions or discussions related to biodiversity and the conservation of endangered species. The study found that while a small percentage (7.1%) of Saudi companies exhibited high levels of biodiversity disclosure, over half (57.2%) fell into the low disclosure category. Though a sizable portion (21.4%) showed moderate disclosure efforts, a concerning 14.3% exhibited no disclosure at all. Regarding the individual items, the items of biodiversity that were not disclosed were 52.8%, demonstrating the absence of accounting disclosure for most areas of biodiversity. While 23.5% is a poor disclosure, 19.6% is a medium disclosure, and 4.1% is a strong disclosure.