Aligning corporate responsibility with biodiversity and climate resilience in India

India is experiencing mounting environmental pressures, with ecosystem degradation and climate impacts increasingly affecting agricultural landscapes, communities, and long-term economic stability. At the same time, private sector actors face growing demand to understand and manage nature-related risks through corporate responsibility (e.g., BRSR, TNFD) and sustainable finance. Despite this, there is limited evidence on how corporate strategies can be effectively aligned with biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation priorities, particularly in ways that also support community livelihoods and resilient food systems. This PhD project will explore opportunities to link corporate responsibility with biodiversity-positive, climate-resilient development across India. The research will investigate how companies, farmers, and communities perceive and respond to nature- and climate-related risks, and how private investment can support locally relevant conservation and adaptation outcomes. By integrating perspectives from policy, business, social science, and environmental analysis, the project will provide a comprehensive understanding of the barriers and opportunities for embedding biodiversity and climate considerations into corporate decision-making in India. The project will develop a framework for identifying where private sector investment can generate measurable benefits for both ecosystems and communities. It will focus on assessing priorities across landscapes, understanding social and ecological vulnerabilities, and exploring pathways for aligning corporate responsibility initiatives with national biodiversity and sustainability goals. Through this approach, the candidate will gain experience in environmental risk and vulnerability assessment, stakeholder engagement, and strategic planning, while addressing real-world challenges at the interface of nature, climate, and development. The outcomes of this research will support companies, government agencies, and rural communities to implement strategies that strengthen biodiversity, climate resilience, and human wellbeing. By providing evidence-based guidance on socially and ecologically meaningful investment, the project aims to demonstrate how private finance can play a positive role in sustainable development. Ultimately, this interdisciplinary work will contribute to new approaches for integrating conservation and climate adaptation into business practice, helping India meet its environmental and development priorities in the coming decades.