The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
What is the CDP?
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a not-for-profit charity established in 2000 to facilitate environmental disclosure. They aim to focus investors, companies, cities and governments to build a sustainable economy by measuring and acting upon their environmental impacts.
There are three questionnaires available for companies under the CDP’s global disclosure system: climate change, forests, and water security.
Working with clients on the CDP:
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Supporting training and awareness about the CDP’s relevant questionnaires for biodiversity, so that you can better understand what they would involve and how you build a constituency for taking them forward
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Mapping and understanding potential biodiversity risks in your value chain and assessing their materiality
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Quantifying your biodiversity footprint, using metrics and tools appropriate for your sector and the nature and scale of your activities
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Preparation and/or independent review of responses to be submitted to CDP in line with annual reporting
We have led clients on their CDP reporting journeys spanning a wide variety of sectors:
Corporates
- Fashion & textiles
- Agriculture
- Infrastructure
- Technology and media
- ... and more
Financial Institutions
- Development banks
- Commercial banks
- Asset owners
- Asset management
- Impact investors
Your CDP journey: how we can help
The table below illustrates how we can help your business leverage the opportunities available at each stage of the CDP journey through our three-phase approach, with examples of relevant services.
| Assessment | Strategy | Implement & disclose | ||
| What you get: |
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| Example service: | e.g. Nature Disclosure Readiness | e.g. Footprinting services | e.g. Impact investment or Strategy services | e.g. On the ground support |
CDP FAQs
Is CDP disclosure mandatory?
Disclosure using the CDP’s system is currently voluntary, but it can be used to comply with other mandatory environmental reporting regulations. For example, the CDP’s climate change questionnaire is fully aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) requirements and can be used to comply with climate reporting mandates.
How does the CDP evaluate submissions?
Questionnaires that are submitted to the CDP are scored by accredited scoring partners, yielding a grade between A and D-. Companies receiving an ‘A’ score are considered to be implementing current best practice for transparency and performance. The scoring criteria are described in detail in the CDP’s publicly available scoring methodology documentation.
Do companies have to make a new CDP submission every year?
The CDP works on an annual disclosure cycle and questionnaires are updated each year. Companies therefore have to make a new CDP submission every year. However, continuing to disclose each year is typically a smaller undertaking than the initial disclosure because much of the core requirements for each questionnaire are carried over from previous years.