The Biodiversity Commitments of Earth’s Keystone Corporations: Current Limitations, Untapped Potential, and Future Directions

Over the past 50 years, large transnational "keystone" corporations have concentrated power and gained significant influence over the world's resource reserves, production and trade. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework emphasizes the crucial role of businesses in setting and disclosing targets to mitigate their impact on nature. In this study, we identified 180 keystone corporations from highly concentrated sectors with significant environmental impacts and assessed their biodiversity commitments. Our findings reveal that while 79% of firms have made some form of biodiversity pledge, only 13% have reported sufficiently detailed, transparent and specific commitments (“robust commitments”) to allow others to assess if the targets have been met – a key prerequisite of accountability. We discuss future directions and underscore the urgent need for companies, governments, and civil society – including the research community – to work collaboratively to develop, implement, and monitor credible corporate strategies that drive meaningful action for nature.