Evaluating Biodiversity Assessments in a Business Context A Comparative Analysis of Data Requirements, Limitations and Applicability

Sammanfattning

Biodiversity loss is one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time,largely driven by land use and land use change in sectors like forestry. As regulatoryframeworks increasingly require companies to assess and disclose their biodiversityimpacts, the need for practical and data-compatible assessment methods grows. Thisthesis evaluates the practical feasibility of two LCA-based biodiversity assessmentmethods, GLAM (Global Guidance for Life Cycle Impact Assessment) and BioMAPS(Biodiversity Multi-Scale Assessments of Product Systems), in a business contextwithin the forestry sector. Through a comparative analysis of data requirements anda qualitative study including interviews with supply chain actors, the study mapsdata availability, governance structures, and traceability across the tissue productsupply chain. The findings show that GLAM is readily applicable given current datapractices, as its requirements (land occupation area, geographic location, land useclassification, and management intensity) largely align with data already collectedfor LCA and certification purposes. The spatially explicit version of BioMAPSoffers greater ecological detail by incorporating management parameters such asdeadwood volume, tree age, and biomass density, and assesses three spatial scales,but its implementation is constrained by limited data transferability along thesupply chain. A key finding is that relevant biodiversity data often exists withinupstream actors but becomes fragmented, aggregated, or inaccessible as materialsmove through industrial processes, such as pulp production. The study identifies atrade-off between ecological detail and practical applicability. While the spatiallyexplicit version BioMAPS better captures biodiversity complexity in forestry systems,GLAM represents the more feasible option on short term. Both methods are expectedto benefit from increasing data availability driven by EU Deforestation Regulationcompliance requirements.