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A Decade of Biodiversity Reporting in the EU Energy Sector: From Voluntary Frameworks to CSRD Compliance

Sabaliauskas, Eigirdas LU (2025) In IIIEE Master Thesis IMEM02 20251
The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
Abstract
Biological diversity faces a global crisis with increasing extinction rates and the loss of variety within species and across ecosystems. Increasingly, large companies are committing to address their impacts on biodiversity, but research shows that corporate reporting remains inconsistent, shallow, and difficult to compare. While biodiversity-related disclosures have largely been driven by various initiatives and voluntary reporting, the European Union (EU) recently introduced the Corporate Social Responsibility Directive (CSRD), requiring companies to disclose biodiversity-related information, starting year 2025, for the previous financial year using the newly developed European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). However, it... (More)
Biological diversity faces a global crisis with increasing extinction rates and the loss of variety within species and across ecosystems. Increasingly, large companies are committing to address their impacts on biodiversity, but research shows that corporate reporting remains inconsistent, shallow, and difficult to compare. While biodiversity-related disclosures have largely been driven by various initiatives and voluntary reporting, the European Union (EU) recently introduced the Corporate Social Responsibility Directive (CSRD), requiring companies to disclose biodiversity-related information, starting year 2025, for the previous financial year using the newly developed European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). However, it remains unclear whether this shift from voluntary to mandatory reporting has led to more comprehensive and meaningful biodiversity disclosures. This matters because reliable data is essential for the accountability of businesses and steering financial capital to reduce adverse biodiversity impacts. I aim to discover 1) how biodiversity disclosures have evolved over the last ten years, 2) whether earlier engagement with voluntary frameworks increased the capabilities of companies, and 3) to what extent increased reporting on biodiversity indicators can be attributed to ESRS. To answer this, I conduct a longitudinal analysis of 15 EU energy corporations across four reporting years (2014, 2018, 2023, 2024), using a ten-indicator framework and testing a large language model (LLM) for possible automation in other studies. Findings reveal that disclosures improved in 2024 after ESRS took effect and replaced voluntary standards. However, companies that disclosed voluntarily for years outperformed their peers in ESRS reporting. Non-mandatory topics such as quantifying land use change or tracking species at risk remained underreported, and disclosures often lacked detail on how company actions affect biodiversity outcomes. LLM coding has proven feasible for such evaluation with 91.4% accuracy. Policymakers should prioritise topics for mandatory disclosures that are outcome-oriented, science-based, and spatially explicit, as well as sector-specific. Future research should evaluate the longer-term effects of ESRS implementation, leveraging LLM for a large sample, and conduct a cross-sector evaluation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Sabaliauskas, Eigirdas LU
supervisor
organization
course
IMEM02 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
biodiversity disclosures, environmental policy, CSRD, European Sustainability Reporting Standards, energy sector, large language models
publication/series
IIIEE Master Thesis
report number
2025:34
ISSN
1401-9191
language
English
id
9209887
date added to LUP
2025-08-19 09:35:58
date last changed
2025-08-19 09:35:58
@misc{9209887,
  abstract     = {{Biological diversity faces a global crisis with increasing extinction rates and the loss of variety within species and across ecosystems. Increasingly, large companies are committing to address their impacts on biodiversity, but research shows that corporate reporting remains inconsistent, shallow, and difficult to compare. While biodiversity-related disclosures have largely been driven by various initiatives and voluntary reporting, the European Union (EU) recently introduced the Corporate Social Responsibility Directive (CSRD), requiring companies to disclose biodiversity-related information, starting year 2025, for the previous financial year using the newly developed European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). However, it remains unclear whether this shift from voluntary to mandatory reporting has led to more comprehensive and meaningful biodiversity disclosures. This matters because reliable data is essential for the accountability of businesses and steering financial capital to reduce adverse biodiversity impacts. I aim to discover 1) how biodiversity disclosures have evolved over the last ten years, 2) whether earlier engagement with voluntary frameworks increased the capabilities of companies, and 3) to what extent increased reporting on biodiversity indicators can be attributed to ESRS. To answer this, I conduct a longitudinal analysis of 15 EU energy corporations across four reporting years (2014, 2018, 2023, 2024), using a ten-indicator framework and testing a large language model (LLM) for possible automation in other studies. Findings reveal that disclosures improved in 2024 after ESRS took effect and replaced voluntary standards. However, companies that disclosed voluntarily for years outperformed their peers in ESRS reporting. Non-mandatory topics such as quantifying land use change or tracking species at risk remained underreported, and disclosures often lacked detail on how company actions affect biodiversity outcomes. LLM coding has proven feasible for such evaluation with 91.4% accuracy. Policymakers should prioritise topics for mandatory disclosures that are outcome-oriented, science-based, and spatially explicit, as well as sector-specific. Future research should evaluate the longer-term effects of ESRS implementation, leveraging LLM for a large sample, and conduct a cross-sector evaluation.}},
  author       = {{Sabaliauskas, Eigirdas}},
  issn         = {{1401-9191}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{IIIEE Master Thesis}},
  title        = {{A Decade of Biodiversity Reporting in the EU Energy Sector: From Voluntary Frameworks to CSRD Compliance}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}