DTA

Corso Ordinario Secondo Livello

CARPENTIERO, ENRICA

etd-03172026-221013

Reporting material Biodiveristy: practices and approaches to communication in corporate reports

Classe Scienze Sociali

SCIENZE ECONOMICHE E MANAGERIALI - SCIENZE ECONOMICHE E MANAGERIALI

relatore Prof. TENUCCI, ANDREA
relatore Dott. PIGATTO, GIACOMO

• Biodiversity
• biodiversity communication
• double materiality
• reporting material biodiversity

23/03/2026;

completa

In recent decades, biodiversity loss has emerged as one of the most critical environmental challenges facing contemporary societies. Within this context, the role of the corporate sector has gained increasing attention. Businesses are deeply embedded within ecological systems: they rely on biodiversity and ecosystem services for the provision of raw materials, the regulation of environmental processes and the stability of supply chains, while simultaneously contributing to biodiversity degradation through their operational activities and value chains. This dual relationship—characterized by both dependence on and impact upon nature—places companies at the centre of the broader sustainability transition. As a consequence, biodiversity is progressively emerging as a strategic issue for corporate governance, risk management and long-term value creation. Despite this growing awareness, however biodiversity has historically received far less attention in corporate reporting practices compared with other environmental issues, particularly climate change. In response to these challenges, the European Union has recently introduced a new regulatory architecture aimed at strengthening corporate transparency on sustainability matters. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) represents a major reform of non-financial reporting in Europe, significantly expanding the scope, standardisation and assurance requirements for sustainability disclosures. Against this evolving regulatory and conceptual background, an important question emerges: how are companies translating biodiversity materiality into actual reporting practices? While the CSRD provides a comprehensive disclosure framework, the extent to which companies are effectively operationalising these requirements remains largely unexplored, particularly in the early stages of implementation. This thesis addresses this issue by analysing how biodiversity is implemented and communicated in corporate sustainability reports once it has been identified as a material topic. Focusing on Italian listed companies subject to the CSRD, seeks to answer the following research question:
‘‘How is ESRS E4 on Biodiversity and Ecosystems implemented and communicated in corporate sustainability reports once materiality has been established?’’
A content analysis has been used and an analytical framework composed of six disclosure dimensions—impacts, dependencies, strategies and governance, indicators, targets and action plans— has been applied to evaluate the depth and coherence of biodiversity communication. By examining both the presence and the quality of disclosures, the study aims to identify patterns of maturity in biodiversity reporting and to assess the extent to which biodiversity considerations are integrated into corporate reporting systems.

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