Biodiversity actions, investor reactions: The stock market impact of biodiversity initiatives
(2026)- Abstract
- Using a unique dataset that defines sustainability initiatives as concrete firm-level sustainability actions, this study examines firms’ biodiversity-related initiatives, their links to underlying biodiversity risks, and whether financial markets value them. We find that biodiversity-related initiatives are concentrated in community engagement activities, such as marketing campaigns and donations. Firms with larger biodiversity footprints are more likely to undertake initiatives, particularly capacity-building actions like adopting standards. Environmental controversies strongly predict initiative adoption, while biodiversity dependency shows no systematic relationship, suggesting that corporate biodiversity action is driven primarily by... (More)
- Using a unique dataset that defines sustainability initiatives as concrete firm-level sustainability actions, this study examines firms’ biodiversity-related initiatives, their links to underlying biodiversity risks, and whether financial markets value them. We find that biodiversity-related initiatives are concentrated in community engagement activities, such as marketing campaigns and donations. Firms with larger biodiversity footprints are more likely to undertake initiatives, particularly capacity-building actions like adopting standards. Environmental controversies strongly predict initiative adoption, while biodiversity dependency shows no systematic relationship, suggesting that corporate biodiversity action is driven primarily by reputational concerns rather than reliance on ecosystem services. In standard panel regressions, biodiversity initiatives are not significantly related to stock returns. However, a stacked difference-in-differences design exploiting the staggered introduction of biodiversity-related taxes and fees across countries reveals positive market responses. These effects are concentrated in innovation- and capacity-building actions and are consistent with short-term repricing following shifts in investor attention or preferences. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/f86ad361-9a52-480e-81c0-efc448e424bf
- author
- Asgharian, Hossein LU ; Dzieliński, Michał ; Liu, Lu and Jonsson, Sara
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-02-03
- type
- Working paper/Preprint
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Corporate biodiversity initiatives, Biodiversity risk, Biodiversity footprint, Biodiversity dependency, Environmental controversies, Stock returns, Investor preference, G12, G30, Q57
- pages
- 56 pages
- publisher
- SSRN
- project
- Knut Wicksell Centre for Financial Studies
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- f86ad361-9a52-480e-81c0-efc448e424bf
- alternative location
- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5199342
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-02 10:44:59
- date last changed
- 2026-06-02 15:35:49
@misc{f86ad361-9a52-480e-81c0-efc448e424bf,
abstract = {{Using a unique dataset that defines sustainability initiatives as concrete firm-level sustainability actions, this study examines firms’ biodiversity-related initiatives, their links to underlying biodiversity risks, and whether financial markets value them. We find that biodiversity-related initiatives are concentrated in community engagement activities, such as marketing campaigns and donations. Firms with larger biodiversity footprints are more likely to undertake initiatives, particularly capacity-building actions like adopting standards. Environmental controversies strongly predict initiative adoption, while biodiversity dependency shows no systematic relationship, suggesting that corporate biodiversity action is driven primarily by reputational concerns rather than reliance on ecosystem services. In standard panel regressions, biodiversity initiatives are not significantly related to stock returns. However, a stacked difference-in-differences design exploiting the staggered introduction of biodiversity-related taxes and fees across countries reveals positive market responses. These effects are concentrated in innovation- and capacity-building actions and are consistent with short-term repricing following shifts in investor attention or preferences.}},
author = {{Asgharian, Hossein and Dzieliński, Michał and Liu, Lu and Jonsson, Sara}},
keywords = {{Corporate biodiversity initiatives; Biodiversity risk; Biodiversity footprint; Biodiversity dependency; Environmental controversies; Stock returns; Investor preference; G12; G30; Q57}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{02}},
note = {{Preprint}},
publisher = {{SSRN}},
title = {{Biodiversity actions, investor reactions: The stock market impact of biodiversity initiatives}},
url = {{https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5199342}},
year = {{2026}},
}