Measuring the Impact on Environmental Science and Governance (ESG) and Adoption of Biodiversity Conservation in Brazil Agribusiness

Brazilian agribusiness is critical to global commodity supply and biodiversity outcomes, yet 
empirical evidence remains limited on whether ESG adoption improves biodiversity performance. 
This study examines the effect of ESG adoption on biodiversity performance in Brazilian 
agribusiness and tests whether traceability and monitoring capability mediates this relationship. 
Survey data were collected from 500 agribusiness organizations (May-September 2025) and 
analyzed using  PLS-SEM using SmartPLS software. The measurement model showed [adequate 
reliability and convergent validity. ESG adoption has a significant positive effect on Biodiversity 
Performance (β = 0.36, p < .001) and significantly predicts Traceability and Monitoring capability 
(β = 0.69, p < .001). Traceability and Monitoring also has a significant positive effect on 
Biodiversity Performance (β = 0.45, p < .001). Mediation analysis indicates a significant indirect 
effect of ESG adoption on biodiversity performance through Traceability and Monitoring (β = 
0.31, p < .001), while the direct effect remains significant, indicating partial mediation. The model 
explains a substantial proportion of variance in Traceability and Monitoring (R² = 0.47) and 
Biodiversity Performance (R² = 0.54), with predictive relevance confirmed (Q² = 0.29; 0.33). 
These findings suggest ESG contributes most strongly to biodiversity outcomes when 
operationalized through robust traceability and monitoring systems that enable verification, 
compliance, and corrective action across supply chains.