Challenges and pathways for matching corporate value-chain biodiversity losses and gains

Journal article

In the context of ambitious global biodiversity goals, the need to compensate for the impact of corporate activities is no longer restricted to direct impacts but extends to the entire value-chain of corporates. This is challenging, considering the substantial uncertainties involved in measuring corporate value-chain biodiversity losses and gains, which render their comparison difficult. Corporates run the risk of taking inadequate action and making compensatory statements that are not supported by equivalent losses and gains, potentially exacerbating loss of biodiversity instead of supporting its recovery and leading to reputational and financial risks. Here, we highlight uncertainties that pertain to the metrics used for biodiversity loss and gain measurements and approaches that can be used to match these metrics. We then suggest a simple framework for corporates to evaluate the risk of making a compensatory claim, based on the level of uncertainty on value-chain biodiversity impacts, to reduce the risk of making inappropriate statements.

Authors: Durand, M; White, TB; Bromwich, T; Zu Ermgassen, SOSE; Martinet, V

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Wiley
• Journal: Conservation Biology
• Article number: e70221
• Publication date: 2026-01-16
• Acceptance date: 2025-10-30
• DOI: 10.1111/cobi.70221
• EISSN: 1523-1739
• ISSN: 0888-8892
• Language: English
• Keywords: biodiversity gains; impacts; corporate; claims; value-chain; compensation; biodiversity credit