A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 14 December 2016. / The interaction between business and biodiversity has seen growing importance
in corporate management; impacting policy, practices and strategy. This study
examines South African companies’ assimilation of recommended biodiversity
management practices, as communicated through their annual reporting and
official websites. A selection of nine South African companies in the forestry, sugar
and mining sectors were studied with regards to their reporting on biodiversity
management practices. The research aimed to understand the extent of structured
approach to biodiversity management, and explore potential sectorial differences.
The study found a wide acceptance of the UN Global Compact Principles,
the GRI reporting guidelines and the King Code of good governance principles.
However, the companies did not demonstrate a consistent governance structure
for biodiversity management. The study revealed one mining company with a
stronger biodiversity governance structure making the use of various dedicated
policies and standards. Furthermore, the study identified few sector specific
differences. Though the forestry sector demonstrated good practice with its
emphasis on biodiversity in its supply chain management.
The study did not reveal a particular uptake of emerging biodiversity
concepts such as No Net Loss, payment for ecosystem services or agroforestry,
however the companies had adopted several sustainability and governance
recommendations and standards. The study did not identify the existence, nor the
use, of dedicated biodiversity certification programmes or South African developed
cross-sector biodiversity certification programmes.
The finance sector is in a good position to positively influence corporate
biodiversity management practices. However, the study results give an impression
that there is untapped potential in the finance sector to further drive the biodiversity
management agenda in South Africa.
Keywords: Corporate Biodiversity Management, Biodiversity Management
Framework, Biodiversity Best Practices, / LG2017
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/23571 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Kristiansen, Guro Hagen |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Online resource (ix, 110 pages), application/pdf, application/pdf |
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