Communicating nature's risk

Purpose: The rapid loss of biodiversity and the degradation of the natural environment is increasingly amplifying nature-related risks, which are becoming increasingly financially material to companies; however, the incorporation of these risks into Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting is disparate and immature. Beyond the prevailing climate-centred lens in ESG research, we conduct a systematic review of 956 peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2025 to analyze how the concepts of biodiversity and nature-related risks are framed, quantified, and integrated within ESG reporting. Design/methodology/approach: With PRISMA-guided selection, bibliographic coupling analysis, and thematic analysis based on keyword co-occurrence, this study attempts to map the intellectual structure and track the interdisciplinary development of the field. Findings: It offers reflections on four cross-cutting themes: accountability and innovation in the era of AI, biodiversity loss and climate change as systemic risks, the barriers to and benefits of incorporating biodiversity into ESG performance measures, and opportunities for policy-driven resilience through sustainable governance. Based on these findings, we propose a new ‘Antecedents–Decisions–Outcomes’ (ADO) framework to explain the drivers and strategic responses of biodiversity integration into ESG reporting. Originality/value: This study adds to ESG theory by elevating biodiversity as a financially material and governance-relevant risk.

Biodiversity · biodiversity loss · Climate change · corporate accountability · ESG reporting · financial disclosure · financial materiality · nature-related risks · organizational relationships · Resilience · sustainable governance · Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting · Governance, Compliance, and Sustainability · Sustainable Finance and Green Bonds