Mitigating Biodiversity Risks to Achieve Sustainable Development in Supply Chains: A Socioecological Systems Theory Perspective

Biodiversity has been the subject of limited research in the sustainable supply chain management literature. In particular, studies about how firms overcome biodiversity risks that harm environmental sustainability within supply chains are rather mute and scant. The study fills this gap in the literature. It does so by revealing the best practices that supply chain firms deploy to mitigate biodiversity risks. The study deploys 48 semi‐structured interviews with managers based in triadic firms. Overall, six manufacturing, five supplying, and five distributing firms participated in the study, using a multiple case study approach, within the pharmaceutical industry. The results provide some unique insights into specific practices that firms deploy to mitigate biodiversity risks within supply chains. For example, firms engage in sustainable sourcing practices, robust monitoring and risk assessment, restoring the ecosystem, developing new policies and frameworks, being accountable through reporting, streamlining circular economy practices, and finally, capacity building to address biodiversity risks. Findings also highlight the specific conditions/circumstances in which each strategy operates at its utmost potential. From a theoretical perspective, the study contributes to the sustainable supply chain literature by extending Socioecological Systems (SES) theory to a biodiversity‐dependent and under‐theorized sector. In terms of societal implications, the study supports progress toward the UN SDGs, particularly SDG 13 on climate action and SDG 15 on life on land. It also contributes to public health and policymaking by offering governance and planning insights for regulators, while promoting biodiversity stewardship as essential to sustainable supply chain ecosystems.