The Evolution of Biodiversity in Corporate Discourse Evidence from Large Language Model-Assisted Frame Analysis

Nature and biodiversity are declining at unprecedented rates. Corporations in the agrifood, construction, and mining sectors disproportionately affect ecosystems while shaping global supply chains and sustainability governance. This paper examines how the most powerful firms in these sectors articulate the values of nature in their sustainability discourse. The question of values is central: many scholars argue that a values crisis underpins the biodiversity emergency, with economic framings dominating while ecological, intrinsic, and socio-cultural perspectives are marginalized. Such narrowing risks undermining both the legitimacy and effectiveness of biodiversity governance. Recognizing and engaging with value pluralism is therefore viewed as essential for transformative change. Drawing on 2,139 corporate sustainability reports published between 2014 and 2023, and combining large language models with human-coded validation, the analysis shows that economic framings remain dominant in corporate discourse. Yet there are emerging signs of diversification, suggesting a gradual – though still limited – broadening of the valuation corridor. Mining companies display the most pronounced diversification, agrifood firms adopt more ecological framings, while construction remains largely confined to economic rationales. These findings highlight how corporate responses to biodiversity are uneven, shaped by sectoral political-economic dynamics, and raise doubts about the depth of corporate engagement with value pluralism.