Integrering av hänsyn till biologisk mångfald i livsmedelsföretag: Betydelsen av värdeorienteringar, ledarskap och organisatoriska förutsättningar

Sammanfattning

Biodiversity is vital for ecosystem services underpinning food production and societal well-being, yet agriculture and food systems also contribute to its decline. Companies therefore play a central role, both as contributors to the problem and as agents of change, particularly in the context of increasing EU sustainability reporting and compliance requirements. The region of Scania in southern Sweden demonstrates a clear link between agriculture, biodiversity, and sustainable economic development; however, the integration of biodiversity into corporate strategies and management remains limited. There is an urgent need to deepen the understanding of enablers and barriers to corporate engagement with biodiversity, particularly in relation to organizational values and leadership, in order to support more effective and integrated approaches to biodiversity-related challenges. This study investigates how organizational value orientations and leadership styles influence the work with biodiversity in Scanian food companies. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with sustainability managers and company representatives from food companies in the region. The findings show that companies are primarily engaged in biodiversity through voluntary initiatives, knowledge development and close collaboration with suppliers, which is often supported by financial incentives rather than mandatory requirements. Engagement is further driven by customer demands and regulatory pressure, particularly the CSRD, which shapes biodiversity work through the information exchange and requirements across the value chain. Key challenges include a lack of clear metrics, difficulties in quantifying impacts, and varying prioritization of biodiversity compared to climate issues. Moreover, the findings indicate that biodiversity is more integrated when supported by strong, engaged leadership and organizational values characterized by care for both nature and people, particularly as expressed by sustainability managers and company representatives at both strategic (leadership) and operational levels.