As corporations have come to recognise their role in shaping the biosphere, there has been an increase in inter-corporate cooperation, whereby corporations come together to address issues of common concern. The rationale for developing a collective approach arises from a realisation that “wicked” problems are beyond the capacity of any one organisation to tackle. At the same time, although inter-corporate collaborations exist in the practice landscape, little is known about their characteristics from an academic perspective. Moreover, these initiatives raise questions in terms of how collective performance might be communicated, thereby creating the possibility for accountability to be discharged. This paper seeks to understand how inter-corporate sustainability initiatives (hereafter ISIs) have been explored in the literature by using a systematic literature review (SLR) of 203 academic papers and explores how these aspects can be integrated to start the process of developing an understanding of potential accountability mechanisms for ISIs. The paper contributes to accounting literature by emphasising the likely relevance of different ISI configurations in designing appropriate accountability approaches. It expands existing discussions around accountability-based accounting systems and highlights the importance of considering a variety of factors, including the governance approach, nature of collaboration, and ISI mechanisms and attributes, in informing accountability measures. The SLR suggests that certain aspects, such as leadership, trust, legitimacy, and outcomes, are critical in understanding ISIs and influence our ability to imagine how accountability could be sought for collective outcomes as well as participant achievements.

With discontent rising in response to insufficient action to address climate, biodiversity, equity, democracy, and peace challenges, activism is prevalent. We explore a history of civil disobedience, direct action and protest related to gender equality, anti-war and anti-nuclear movements, the protection of indigenous rights, nature, and LGBT+ rights, to consider the role of academics amid interlinked climate, biodiversity and peace crises. In the pursuit of a safe and just future, these crises need more activism, in forms that are creative and that challenge norms, that trigger our imagination and appeal to a willingness to act. Science is a trade marked by creativity. Academics can no longer resort to only publishing papers, and clenching fists in pockets. Instead, there is a need to consider how to make best use of academic knowledge and creativity to support diverse activism: in board rooms, with corporate leaders, with politicians, youth organisations, universities, and in the streets. These activities should be grounded in research, but may still risk being regarded as threatening to academic credibility. Academics should be prepared for, and find novel ways to engage with, both tension and animosity.

There is a growing global demand for a more sustainable seafood industry, and pre-competitive initiatives have emerged on multiple continents to meet this demand. Such initiatives could have “cascading effects,” suggesting that their impacts may extend beyond their direct participants to effect broader, industry-wide change. To date, little research has been conducted to determine whether pre-competitive initiatives are triggering such cascading changes, in part as a result of the limitations of existing methods for monitoring and quantifying such impacts. This study represents a methodological advance and presents an empirical analysis of potentially cascading corporate sustainability engagement, using the initiative Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS) and the Japanese seafood industry as a case study. The study first provides an overview of the sustainability reporting landscape within the Japanese seafood industry. It then examines the evidence for the impacts of SeaBOS on Japan’s 17 largest seafood companies, including three SeaBOS member companies (Maruha Nichiro Corporation, Nissui – or Nippon Suisan Kaisha, and Kyokuyo Co. Ltd.). The results illustrate that the Japanese seafood industry is characterized by diverse company profiles, a wide range and scale of factors influencing corporate sustainability, and varying performance on sustainability across companies. Due to the inherent complexity of the seafood industry, determining whether the SeaBOS initiative has triggered cascading effects or industry-level transformation is challenging. However, there are indications of cascading stewardship effects: SeaBOS member companies have been early movers in the Japanese seafood industry, and other companies have followed similar pathways. Further analysis of these cascading effects will require diverse methodological approaches, continuous monitoring, and increased transparency and disclosure from companies.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework marks a significant step toward conserving genetic diversity on a global scale. Sequencing advancements have broadened biodiversity studies by enabling the mapping of species distributions, increasing understanding of ecological interactions, and monitoring genetic diversity. However, these tools are hindered by inequalities and biases, particularly in biodiversity-rich developing countries. To navigate these challenges, we propose strategies using the existing biotechnological toolbox to make biodiversity data more accessible and useful for research and development. This includes increasing funding for database curation, improving metadata standards, addressing inequalities in technological capacity, and supporting holistic capacity-building programmes. Implementing these strategies can unlock new opportunities for biodiversity research aligned with sustainable development principles and can contribute to improved conservation outcomes.

Marine biotechnology is a rapidly growing sector of the ocean economy, but efforts to assess its value, and that of the genetic resources that enable it, remain contentious. Through a comprehensive literature review, we identified 67 distinct valuations of marine genetic resources. We analysed these using the IPBES Values Assessment typology and found a predominance of behaviour-based valuations using economic value indicators to assess monetary benefits from marine drug discovery.

Covering two-thirds of the ocean and half of the planet's surface, the high seas are increasingly the focus of commercial activity and conservation ambitions. Contrary to narratives of a lawless frontier, they are governed by a dense network of sectoral institutions for shipping, fisheries, and other industries, although these collectively deal with conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in a fragmented and uneven manner. These gaps were the subject of nearly 20 years of negotiation, resulting in the adoption of the Agreement on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in June 2023. The Agreement was designed to address access and benefit sharing associated with marine genetic resources; the establishment of area-based management tools such as marine protected areas, Environmental Impact Assessments, and capacity building; and the transfer of marine technology. Achieving coherence across public and private governance mechanisms will be a significant challenge as human activity increases on the high seas, but it is key to achieving ocean sustainability goals.

Marine bioprospecting, which involves the exploration of genetic and biochemical material from marine organisms, can be used towards addressing a broad range of public and environmental health applications such as disease treatment, diagnostics and bioremediation. Marine genetic resources are important reservoirs for such bioprospecting efforts; however, the extent to which they are used commercially for natural product discovery and the marine sources from which they are derived are not well understood. Here we introduce a comprehensive database of marine genes referenced in patent filings, the Marine Bioprospecting Patent database. It includes 92,550 protein-coding sequences associated with 4,779 patent filings, identified by analysing all relevant records from genetic sequence databases. Three companies alone—BASF, IFF and DuPont—included sequences from 949 species (more than half of referenced species with identified marine origin). Microbial life in the deep sea, a vast and remote biome predominantly beyond national jurisdiction, is already attracting substantial economic interest; the top ten patent holders have all filed marine gene patents referencing sequences from deep-sea life. Our findings provide an updated understanding of the marine bioprospecting landscape, contribute to the sustainable use of marine biodiversity and underscore the need for policymakers to ensure stewardship of deep-sea ecosystems.

Transnational companies have substantive impacts on nature: a hallmark of living in the Anthropocene. Understanding these impacts through company provision of information is a precursor to holding them accountable for nature outcomes. The effect of increasing disclosures (of varying quality) is predicated on 'information governance', an approach that uses disclosure requirements to drive company behaviour. However, its efficacy is not guaranteed. We argue that three conditions are required before disclosures have the possibility to shape nature outcomes, namely: (1) radical traceability that links company actions to outcomes in particular settings; (2) developing organizational routines, tools and approaches that translate strategic intent to on-the-ground behaviour; and (3) mobilizing and aligning financial actors with corporate nature ambitions. While disclosure is key to each of these conditions, its limits must be taken into account and it must be nested in governance approaches that shape action, not just reporting.This article is part of the theme issue 'Bringing nature into decision-making'.

A new international agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) was adopted and subsequently opened for signature in September 2023. Yet on average, recent multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) have taken over four years to move from signature to entry into force, while ocean-focused MEAs have taken nearly twice as long. Rapid ratification of the BBNJ Agreement is crucial for multiple reasons, not least to achieve the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework target for 30% of the marine environment to be protected by 2030. It is also vital to fulfill the Agreement’s stated ambition to contribute to a just and equitable future for humankind, considering today’s unprecedented expansion of commercial activities into the ocean.

A central barrier to effective governance and accountability in fisheries is the limited transparency of corporate ownership. Transshipment—the transfer of catches, fuel, parts, or crew between fishing and cargo vessels known as reefers—is often criticized for its opacity and poor governance. Better insight into the beneficial ownership of vessels involved in transshipment and their operational patterns could lead to more effective management. Our study presents a publicly accessible database of reefers’ owners, operators, and flags. We identified 569 individual reefers and found that Russian and Chinese owners control 26 and 20% of the global reefer fleet, respectively. Results also show that 65% of all reefer vessels fly the flags of Russia, Panama, or China. This high level of consolidation suggests considerable leverage for enhancing transparency and governance. Our findings highlight the potential for reforming existing transshipment practices through collaboration among owners, flag states, fishery regulators, and scientists.