AKU: An African Journal of Contemporary Research

This study examines the emergence of nature-positive business models and their implications for corporate sustainability within global value chains. Grounded in the natural resource-based view and global value chain theory, the study investigates how biodiversity integration influences supply chain sustainability and firm value across diverse industries. Adopting a quantitative research design, the study utilizes firm-level panel data drawn from multinational corporations engaged in global production networks. Biodiversity integration is operationalized through corporate disclosures on ecosystem conservation, habitat restoration, and nature-positive investments. Supply chain sustainability is measured using indicators of environmental compliance, resource efficiency, and supplier sustainability practices, while firm value is captured through market-based and accounting performance metrics. The analysis employs fixed effects and system Generalized Method of Moments estimators to address endogeneity and cross-sectional heterogeneity. The findings reveal that biodiversity integration has a positive and significant effect on supply chain sustainability, enhancing environmental performance across upstream and downstream activities. Furthermore, firms that adopt nature-positive business models experience improved firm value, suggesting that biodiversity-oriented strategies contribute to long-term competitive advantage. The results also indicate that sustainable supply chain practices partially mediate the relationship between biodiversity integration and firm value. The study contributes to the growing literature on corporate sustainability by empirically linking biodiversity considerations to economic performance within global value chains. It underscores the strategic importance of embedding nature-positive practices into business models to achieve both ecological and financial objectives.

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