The concept of ecological compensation (EC) assumes that ecological values are substitutable across spatial units. EC is increasingly recognised in Sweden as a novel policy instrument for land-use planning, however, it suffers from inconsistency in application and outcome. For example, there are no legal provisions to require EC for urban development or new roads and railways. This study shows that there are many context dependent variables affecting the performance of EC in Sweden, which can partly be explained by authorities’ lacking experience in administrating these questions, and by the absence of a standardised structure for handling the full EC process. These shortcomings together with an inadequate legislation may cause EC to result in “license-to-trash” and fails to guarantee no net loss of ecological values. The performance of EC in Sweden was assessed through two case studies: the Sigtuna trading estate and the Aitik mine expansions. Implementation procedures and compensation designs were investigated by analysis of written documents and semi-structured interviews. The data was structured in an analytical framework, displaying similarities and context dependent disparities. The results suggest that, for the Aitik-case, licence-to-trash is a risk if compensation schemes are reviewed by the regulatory authorities during the processing of the application. The Sigtuna case suggests, opposed to earlier findings, that the Plan and Building Act can be utilised for EC if the compensation measures are regulated in a development agreement between the municipality and the landowner/developer. Both cases suggest that additionality can be met by appropriate institutional design, whereas no net loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services hardly can be achieved within the existing Swedish legal framework. To improve the performance of EC, structures for handling the process from quantification of social and ecological values, to monitoring of compensation outcomes must be implemented in all development projects affecting nature.

Biodiversity loss has been stated as one of the greatest risks for the future society according to the World Economic Forum (2018, p. 5). A million species is risking extinction due to current societies’ practices according to a report published during the conduction of this study(Brondizio et al., 2019, p. 3). This situation of biodiversity has led an increasing amount of countries to enforce legislation which requires companies that work with land development to comply with no net loss goal. In Sweden, no such legislation existed with regards to biodiversity. Against this background, a group of seven companies in Sweden voluntarily chose to strive toward the goal of biodiversity net gain. According to BNG strategy, a company does not only avoid, minimise, restore and offset to reach the point where zero net loss of biodiversity is achieved, but goes farther to create a net gain. As it is not sufficient for companies to stop emissions in order to halt the loss of biodiversity, BNG practices can help mend and even reverse the negative impacts until a gain of biodiversity is attained. A greater understanding of the opportunities that companies can benefit from implementing BNG helps spread this practice across industries. No previous research within the business literature explains companies’ voluntary initiatives to embrace BNG. Therefore, this explorative study suggested the research question of what the drivers are encouraging companies to voluntarily work towards achieving biodiversity-net-gain in Sweden. Due to the lack of previous research about companies’ drivers to engage with BNG, our theoretical framework was found based on the drivers from business case for sustainability and CSR approaches as a factor to generate change. To be able to answer the research question, it was necessary to establish what BNG is and how it has developed from the concept of ecosystem services. Having an interpretivistic standpoint, this study was completed according to an inductive and deductive approach. This was in order to facilitate the exploratory nature that our qualitative and comparative study. We conducted a multiple-case study through semi-structured interviews with seven large companies in the context of Sweden. These businesses are considered as the most ambitious in working towards BNG’s goal. The findings from the primary data was complemented by secondary data about the companies, the status of current legislation in Sweden and the sustainability status in Sweden. As a result of this thesis, we found that cost and cost reduction, risk and risk reduction, sales and profit margin, reputation and brand value, attractiveness as employer, innovative capabilities, stakeholders and health and well-being of future society to all be drivers for BNG. By applying our theoretical framework in the Swedish context, the seven companies were identified to engage in a proactive corporate biodiversity behaviour. Business cases for biodiversity were identified in some of the companies.

Le territoire est le support d’interactions entre les êtres vivants et leur espace de vie. Parmi ces interactions, il est aujourd’hui reconnu que les activités anthropiques sont une cause déterminante de l’érosion de la biodiversité. Dans ce contexte, la séquence « Eviter-Réduire-Compenser» (ERC) est un instrument réglementaire visant l’absence de perte nette de biodiversité (no net loss) en aménagement du territoire. Or, il semblerait qu’elle ne permette pas de remédier à la perte chronique de biodiversité. Au-delà de ses limites pratiques et théoriques, parmi les causes de cette inefficacité on peut mentionner : la focalisation sur la « compensation » et sur l’échelle « projet » ou encore la convergence des études vers la problématique des grands projets d’aménagement. Ainsi, en partant de questions issues du terrain, en adoptant une posture à l’interface entre recherche et action, et en choisissant une démarche pluridisciplinaire, cette thèse repose sur l’hypothèse que les difficultés actuelles sont liées à des défis scalaires et qu’un changement d’échelle spatiale, temporelle et fonctionnelle est nécessaire pour permettre à l’instrument de prétendre à son objectif. A travers une analyse qualitative et quantitative de l’application de la séquence ERC dans le cadre de petits projets d’aménagement, nous identifions une série de limites associées à l’échelle « projet ». Cela nous amène à analyser, tout d’abord théoriquement puis empiriquement grâce à l’étude de collectivités territoriales responsables de la planification de l’aménagement, les implications d’un changement d’échelle vers une mise en œuvre de la séquence ERC à l’échelle territoriale et stratégique de la planification. Enfin, nous conduisons une réflexion sur l’élaboration d’une démarche méthodologique d’anticipation de la séquence ERC dès la planification, appliquée au cas concret de Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole.In fine, ces recherches nous permettent d’apporter des compléments de réponse à la question des fins effectives de l’instrument : éviter ou plutôt légitimer la perte de biodiversité ? Nos propositions et perspectives pour les praticiens et les chercheurs vont dans le sens d’une mise en œuvre de la séquence ERC plus en phase avec son objectif de no net loss. / Territory provides the support for interactions between humans avec their living environment. Among these interactions, it is well known that anthropic activities are a major cause of biodiversity erosion. In this respect, the mitigation hierarchy (avoidance, reduction and offsetting impacts) is a regulatory tool whose objective is to achieve a “no net loss” of biodiversity following urban development. However, the efficiency of the tool is questioned because of its practical and theoretical limits, and the recurring focus on biodiversity offsets and on the “project” scale, or the convergence of studies on large development projects.Based on questions arising from practical action and by adopting a multi-disciplinary approach and posture at the knowledge-action interface, this thesis hypothesizes that the current lack of efficiency is the result of a problem of scale and that a temporal, spatial and functional switch in scale could help the mitigation hierarchy to reach its objectives. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis of the mitigation hierarchy implementation for small-scale development projects, we identify a set of limits associated with studies done at scale of individual projects. These findings illustrate the need to upscale towards a territorial and strategic approach to the implementation of the mitigation hierarchy. Finally, we initiate a reflexion on the development of a methodological framework to anticipate the mitigation hierarchy implementation at the urban planning stage, and we test it on the Montpellier metropolitan territory.Finally, these research studies provide new answers to the question of the effective purpose of the tool: is its aim to avoid or legitimise biodiversity loss? Our propositions and perspectives for practitioners and scientists are in line with a mitigation hierarchy implementation that is more likely to reach no net loss objectives.

Face à l’érosion mondiale de la biodiversité causée par les activités humaines, la compensation écologique, et plus largement la séquence « Eviter Réduire Compenser » (ERC), s’est développée depuis les années 1970, avec l’ambition de concilier développement au niveau des projets d’aménagement et préservation de la biodiversité. L’objectif de cette séquence est d’atteindre « zéro perte nette » (No net Loss, NNL) de biodiversité. Un des enjeux clé pour y arriver consiste à démontrer l’équivalence écologique entre les gains apportés par la compensation et les pertes occasionnées par les impacts. Malgré les avancées règlementaires, le cadre français n’inclut pas de méthode à suivre pour déterminer l’équivalence et aucune n’est unanimement reconnue. Cela amène à des pratiques hétérogènes et une difficulté d’atteindre le NNL. Dans ce contexte, ces travaux de thèse visent à développer un cadre méthodologique standardisé (CMS) d’évaluation de l’équivalence, combinant à la fois opérationnalité, bases scientifiques et exhaustivité (prise en compte des quatre dimensions de l’équivalence : écologique, spatiale, temporelle et les incertitudes). Dans un premier temps, 13 méthodes utilisées à l’étranger sont analysées afin d’identifier des éléments structurant pour le développement du CMS adapté au contexte français. La construction du CMS est décomposée en trois étapes. La première consiste à sélectionner un lot organisé d’indicateurs sur lesquels baser l’évaluation de l’équivalence, permettant de répondre aux exigences règlementaires et reflétant la complexité de la biodiversité : évaluation à deux échelles spatiales (sur le site et dans un périmètre élargi) et à trois niveaux d’enjeu (général, habitat ou espèce). La deuxième étape porte sur la prédiction de l’évolution dans le temps des valeurs initiales des indicateurs, sous l’effet des impacts et de la compensation, en prenant en compte les incertitudes associées. La troisième étape conduit à la détermination de règles de calcul des pertes et des gains aboutissant à l’évaluation globale de l’équivalence. Le CMS ainsi construit est ensuite testé sur deux sites d’étude afin d’en démontrer la plus-value et d’en éprouver les limites. Des perspectives d’amélioration du CMS, et plus largement de l’évaluation de l’équivalence sont dégagées. En dernier lieu, l’ensemble de ces éléments nous permettent de questionner l’efficacité de la compensation écologique pour lutter contre l’érosion de la biodiversité. / In light of the global erosion of biodiversity caused by human activities, biodiversity offsets and, more broadly the Mitigation Hierarchy, are increasingly used since the 1970s, with the ambition of reconciling economic development and biodiversity conservation. Its objective is to achieve "No Net Loss" (NNL) of biodiversity. One of the key issues to achieve this goal is to demonstrate ecological equivalence between the gains from offsets and the losses caused by impacts. Despite regulatory improvements, the French law does not include a method for assessing equivalence, and no method is unanimously recognized. This leads to heterogeneous practices and difficulties in reaching the NNL objective. In this context, this thesis aims to develop a standardized methodological framework (SMF) for assessing equivalence, which combines operationality, scientific basis and comprehensiveness (taking into account the four dimensions of equivalence: ecological, spatial, temporal and uncertainties). First, 13 methods used abroad are analysed in order to identify structural elements for the development of a SMF adapted to the French context. The construction is decomposed into three steps. The first consists in selecting an organized set of indicators, on which equivalence assessment should be based in order to meet legislative requirements and reflect the complexity of biodiversity. The assessment is to be done at two spatial scales (on-site and within an expanded perimeter) and at three levels reflecting general or specific issues (habitat or species). The second step regards the prediction of the values of the indicators over time, consequently to the impacts and offsets, taking into account the implied uncertainties. The third step leads us to establish rules for calculating losses and gains, as well as for the overall assessment of equivalence. Finally, this SMF is tested on two study sites in order to demonstrate the added value and to identify its limits. Prospects for improving the SMF, and more broadly the evaluation of equivalence, are then suggested. Finally, all these elements make it possible to question the effectiveness of offsets in order to tackle biodiversity erosion.

Förlust av biologisk mångfald och tillhörande ekosystemtjänster klassas idag som en av de allvarligaste globala miljöutmaningarna mänskligheten står inför. Till följd av den globala urbaniseringen ökar efterfrågan på fastigheter, där städer växer till sig genom förtätning och utglesning. Utfallet blir en latent samhällsekonomisk kostnad i form av förlust av bostadsnära natur och urbana ekosystemtjänster. Ekologisk kompensation är ett framträdande koncept som tillämpas för att motverka förlust av biologisk mångfald. I denna studie har möjligheterna med ekologisk kompensation i samband med fastighetsutveckling i Sverige analyserats. Resultaten visar att incitament för frivilliga investeringar i ekologisk kompensation kan komma att öka i samband med förändringarna av EU:s taxonomiförordning och adopteringen av miljöcertifieringar. Vidare påvisas sambandet mellan ökade bostadsvärden och ekosystemtjänster. De största utmaningarna som stagnerar normalisering av ekologisk kompensation förefaller att grunda sig i avsaknaden av intern målsättning, skepticism och brister i samverkan med svenska kommuner. / Biodiversity loss and deprivation of ecosystem services are one of the most significant global environmental challenges that humanity faces today. As a consequence of global urbanization, the demand for housing and real estate in urban areas grow through urban densification and urban sprawl. This results in a latent societal cost which manifests itself through loss of greenspace and urban ecosystem services. Ecological compensation is a prominent tool that can be utilized to counteract losses of natural capital. In this study the possibilities of ecological compensation in the context of real estate development in Sweden has been analyzed. The results convey that incentives for voluntary investments in ecological compensation may increase due to the amendments of the EU Taxonomy as well as the adaptation of environmental certifications. Furthermore, correlations between property values and ecosystem services have been elucidated. Moreover, the biggest challenges that seem to impede normalization of ecological compensation underlie in perceptual factors, the lack of internal goal-setting and the shortcomings of collaboration with the Swedish municipalities.

When exploiting an area, important ecosystem services can be lost, and an ecosystem service analysis gives a clear picture of how a plurality of values are affected. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the detailed development plans for two properties in Laholm municipality will affect the ecosystem services, and what compensation measures that may be implemented. A qualitative method was used where literature search, interviews, question answers, observation and ESTER 2.0 were included. The results suggest that that the supporting ecosystem services on both properties and the cultural ecosystem services on one of the properties will be negatively affected by the exploitation. However, the cultural ecosystem services on one of the properties will be positively affected. Laholm municipality does not actively work with the mitigation hierarchy and compensation measures. Possible compensation measures to create could be ponds and meadow patches, planting of flowering trees and placement of benches and picnic tables. A collaboration with Båstad municipality would further be beneficial for protecting the landscape and promoting biological diversity across municipal borders. / Vid exploatering av ett område kan viktiga ekosystemtjänster gå förlorade och med hjälp av en ekosystemtjänstanalys får man en tydlig bild över de många olika värden som påverkas. Syftet med studien är att ta reda på hur detaljplanerna för två fastigheter i Laholms kommun kommer påverka ekosystemtjänsterna, samt undersöka möjliga kompensationsåtgärder. I studien användes en kvalitativ metod där litteratursökning, intervjuer, frågesvar, observation och ESTER 2.0 inkluderades. Resultatet visar att de stödjande ekosystemtjänsterna på båda fastigheterna och de kulturella ekosystemtjänsterna på en av fastigheterna kommer påverkas negativt av exploateringen. Däremot kommer de kulturella ekosystemtjänsterna på en av fastigheterna påverkas positivt. Skadelindringshierarkin och kompensationsåtgärder är inget Laholms kommun arbetar aktivt med. Möjliga kompensationsåtgärder att skapa skulle kunna vara dammar och ängsplättar, plantering av blommande träd samt utplacering av bänkar och picknickbord. En samverkan med Båstad kommun hade vidare varit fördelaktigt för att skydda landskapsbilden och främja en biologisk mångfald över kommungränserna.

Sustainable Destination Development implies reaching the 17 SDGs at a destination level. Climate crisis is arguably the primary challenge faced by destinations today. It is now commonly accepted that the crisis is primarily caused due to the burning of fossil fuels while converting it into energy. Therefore, decarbonization of the energy sector appears to be a viable way to eliminate the crisis. This ensued the installation of unprecedented amounts of renewable energy facilities in the last two decades, especially in Europe. As such onshore wind power is at the forefront of this trend and is projected to be the primary renewable source of electricity in Europe in foreseeable future. However, substituting fossil fuels by the renewable energy sources such as onshore wind power requires vast land areas, and as argued by many, may undermine biodiversity conservation – an equally urgent matter to be addressed by destinations. This is because land-use change is identified as the foremost cause of the biodiversity loss globally. Thus, this study was aimed to elucidate the ‘green-green paradox’ (i.e., jeopardizing biodiversity while combating climate crisis) using a qualitative research methodology. The main research questions were intended to reveal current best practices of dealing with the challenge, identify main barriers, and suggest solutions for a better practice in the future. Data was collected through semi-structured expert interviews, and the results were reported using thematic analysis. The study found that the current best practise of addressing the biodiversity challenge is via the Mitigation Hierarchy framework – a regulatory tool intended at safeguarding biodiversity while developing infrastructure projects. Simultaneously, the weak implementation of the hierarchy in practice was identified as the primary barrier for harmonious wind power – biodiversity relationship. The huge knowledge gap in understanding the depth of impacts, lack of uniform methodologies to measure and account for them, and the lack of collaboration and communication between stakeholders were identified as the main factors that impede operationalization of the framework. A need for more stricter and better implemented regulations was an important emergent theme throughout the results that was deemed to potentially be the defining factor in addressing the mentioned impediments.

Alors que nous faisons face à une crise biologique majeure, acteurs institutionnel et ONGs exhortent les entreprises à s’engager pour enrayer cette érosion écologique. L’objectif de la thèse est d’analyser, évaluer et faire évoluer la contribution potentielle des entreprises à la conservation de la biodiversité dans le cadre de leur responsabilité sociétale (RSE).Un cadre d’analyse est développé pour évaluer la prise en charge par une entreprise de ses responsabilités écologiques en termes de moyens – les initiatives RSE a priori favorables à la biodiversité mises en œuvre – et de résultats – la compatibilité des activités de l’entreprise avec la conservation de la biodiversité. Après avoir caractérisé les initiatives RSE à partir de l’étude d’engagements d’entreprises endossés comme contributions à la Stratégie nationale pour la biodiversité, une méthode est proposée pour détecter si les activités d’une entreprise sont écologiquement non-durables. Le postulat est que le respect des capacités de charge des écosystèmes est un prérequis à la conservation effective de la biodiversité. Cette méthode, adaptée de l’évaluation environnementale absolue de la durabilité, est appliquée, dans le cadre de deux projets de recherche-intervention, au portfolio alimentaire du Groupe Casino et au cycle de vie de deux installations de stockage de déchets dangereux de SARP Industries. Des orientations stratégiques visant à éviter-réduire-compenser les pressions non durables sont proposées. Soulignant l’importance de renforcer la prise en charge des pressions étendues, cette thèse ouvre plus largement des perspectives pour les secteurs d’activité et les politiques publiques. / As we are experiencing a major biological crisis, institutional actors and NGOs are calling on businesses to engage efforts aiming at halting biodiversity loss. The objective of the thesis is to analyze and evaluate the potential contribution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to biodiversity conservation.A framework is developed to analyze to which extent a company takes in charge its ecological responsibilities. After characterizing CSR initiatives based on the case study of business commitments to contribute to the French National Biodiversity Strategy, a method is proposed to test whether business activities exert unsustainable pressures on ecosystems. It is assumed that compatibility with ecosystems’ carrying capacities is a prerequisite for effective biodiversity conservation. This method, adapted from the “absolute environmental sustainability assessment” (AESA) approach, is applied in the context of research-intervention projects to the food portfolio of the mass-market retailer Groupe Casino and to the life cycle of two facilities of SARP Industrie specialized in the disposal and storage of hazardous waste. The comparison of the company’s environmental footprints with the ecological constraints is used to draw a comprehensive strategy based on the mitigation hierarchy. As our results highlight the opportunity to strengthen the management of extended pressures through CSR, possible implications for sectors and public policies are discussed.

L’installation des énergies marines renouvelables s’effectue dans le respect des législations environnementales françaises. La séquence Eviter-Réduire-Compenser (ERC) est ainsi appliquée pour aboutir à une non-perte nette de biodiversité. L’objectif de la thèse est de questionner l’efficacité de cette séquence, et plus particulièrement celle de la compensation écologique, en tant qu’instrument d’internalisation et de lutte contre l’érosion de la biodiversité marine. Une approche empirique qualitative a ainsi été mise en oeuvre pour (i) identifier les facteurs écologiques et sociétaux ainsi que leurs caractéristiques théoriques qui doivent permettre à la compensation d’atteindre l’objectif de non-perte nette de biodiversité ; et (ii) contrôler si ces conditions sont vérifiées en pratique dans le cas de l’éolien en mer en Europe et en France. L’analyse met en avant les enjeux juridiques, institutionnels, méthodologiques et sociétaux à relever pour permettre à la compensation écologique d’atteindre son objectif. Sur la base de ce constat, une évaluation multicritères est proposée afin de renforcer les étapes d’évitement et de réduction pour finalement mieux définir les besoins de compensation écologique en mer. L’analyse met par ailleurs en évidence un glissement d’une compensation basée sur une équivalence écologique stricte à une compensation fondée sur une équivalence écologique relâchée. Les actions de compensation tendent à être plus généralistes et/ou davantage dirigées vers les services écosystémiques que sur les composantes des écosystèmes. Associées aux mesures d’accompagnement, elles peuvent contribuer à faciliter l’acceptabilité sociale d’un projet d’aménagement. / The installation of marine renewable energies is carried out in compliance with French environmental legislation. The mitigation hierarchy is thus applied to achieve an objective of no net loss of biodiversity. This thesis aims at questioning the effectiveness of the mitigation hierarchy and more specifically biodiversity offsetting as an internalization instrument to halt the erosion of marine biodiversity. We use a qualitative empirical approach to (i) identify the ecological and societal factors as well as their theoretical characteristics that are supposed to enable the offsets achieving the objective of no net loss of biodiversity; and (ii) control whether these conditions are verified in practice for the case of offshore wind farms in Europe and France. The analysis highlights the legal, institutional, methodological and societal issues to be addressed in order to enable biodiversity offsetting to achieve the no net loss priority. On the basis of this observation, a multi-criteria assessment is carried out to reinforce the avoidance and reduction steps of the mitigation hierarchy in order to better define offsetting needs. Ultimately, the analysis shows a shift in biodiversity offsetting based on a strict ecological equivalence to a biodiversity offsetting based on a released ecological equivalence. Offsetting actions tend to be more generalist and / or more directed to ecosystem services than to ecosystem components. Associated with accompanying measures, offsetting actions can help to increase the social acceptability of a development project.

La compensation écologique, envisagée dans le respect de la séquence éviter-réduire-compenser les impacts, cherche à apporter des réponses à la crise actuelle d’érosion de la biodiversité. L’objectif de la thèse est de comprendre quels sont les enjeux organisationnels et institutionnels de la mise en œuvre du principe de compensation écologique pour les impacts sur les écosystèmes aquatiques marins et continentaux en Europe et aux Etats-Unis. La thèse mobilise le cadre théorique de l’économie néo-institutionnelle. Les organisations de type hiérarchique (compensation au cas par cas) ont pour principales limites d’avoir une efficacité écologique discutable et de ne pas permettre le suivi et le contrôle des mesures compensatoires ce qui conduit souvent à ce que la compensation ne soit pas ou peu mise en œuvre. Aux Etats-Unis, les banques de compensation consistent en une réponse anticipée et mutualisée aux dommages à l’environnement. Il s’agit d’une forme organisationnelle alternative hybride fortement régulée à mi-chemin entre la hiérarchie et le marché. Cependant, les acteurs ont des stratégies collectives et individuelles qui engendrent des négociations ayant des conséquences sur les enjeux de développement économique et de maintien des objectifs de conservation de la biodiversité. Le système des banques de compensation crée un double phénomène de redistribution des coûts de transaction et de diminution de ceux-ci mais il semble que l’évolution de l’ensemble du cadre d’application de la compensation écologique américain permet aujourd’hui une complémentarité institutionnelle entre ces deux formes organisationnelles plutôt qu’une disparition des formes hiérarchiques. / Biodiversity offset, as the last step of the mitigation hierarchy (avoid/reduce/offset), aims to address the current biodiversity loss crisis. The main goal of this PhD, which relies on the new institutional economics approach as a theoretical framework, is to understand the organizational and institutional issues of implementing biodiversity offsets policies for impacts on continental and offshore wetlands in Europe and the United-States. Hierarchical organizations (i.e. permittee responsible mitigation) often lead to little to no implementation of biodiversity offsets because the ecological effectiveness of case-by-case compensatory measures is unproven and the monitoring and control of numerous measures are difficult. In the United-States, the mitigation banking system aims to compensate for multiple small impacts on wetlands by carrying out restoration projects on fewer but larger wetland areas in order to reach the goal of no net loss of biodiversity. This hybrid organizational form is highly regulated and therefore stands halfway between hierarchical and market organizations. However, actors have individual and collective strategies that generate negotiations with consequences on economic development and biodiversity conservation stakes. The mitigation banking system leads to a decrease of transaction costs and a change of the actors bearing them. It seems that the evolution of the whole framework of biodiversity offsets policy implementation in the United-States leans toward an institutional complementarity between these two organizational forms rather than a disappearance of hierarchical organizations.