Financing Corporate Biodiversity Strategies

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ABSTRACT

An important but underexplored phenomenon in the literature on corporate biodiversity is how such efforts are financed. This is critical because biodiversity is often regarded as lacking a clear business or investment case. Drawing on interviews with European stock- listed firms in the energy, materials, and agrifood sectors, complemented by expert perspectives, we examine the biodiversity strategies firms adopt, the financing mechanisms they employ, and the conditions under which these strategies can be scaled. Our findings show that current corporate biodiversity efforts risk becoming locked in the pilot phase. Importantly, the challenge lies less in the overall availability of financing than in its inadequate strategic mobilisation and misalignment with long-term planning. We discuss potential pathways for corporations and financial actors to jointly advance conservation and restoration goals. The study contributes by clarifying why initiatives struggle to scale, offering a systemic perspective on financial tensions, and bridging the literatures on corporate biodiversity and biodiversity finance.

BIOGRAPHY

Sophie Klein (she/her) is a cross-faculty PhD Candidate in Sustainable Business and Finance at Utrecht University, jointly affiliated with the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development and the Faculty of Economics. With professional experience across the corporate sector and international organisations, her research examines how corporations finance sustainable business transformation. She focuses on corporate financial structures, long-term strategic transition planning, and the role of financial intermediaries in enabling sustainability transformations. Alongside her research, Sophie contributes to teaching in master’s courses such as Strategy, Economics and Societal Impact. She actively fosters collaborations between Utrecht University and external stakeholders, and within the Pathways-to-Sustainability Program, she leads the interdisciplinary initiative Financing Biodiversity with Dutch pension funds. Sophie also serves as a board member of the UNGC Young Sustainable Finance Initiative. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economic Geography from the University of Heidelberg and a Master’s degree in Sustainable Business and Innovation from Utrecht University.