Scope 1
Direct emissions
Emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company.
Example: fuel combustion in company facilities, owned vehicles, or manufacturing processes.
ESG / CSR
Industries
MEASURE
ACT
COMFORM
Our Guide to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
Level
By Stephanie Safdie, US Copywriter, on 11/30/2022
Updated by Agnès Potier-Murphy, on 06/30/2026
For companies navigating environmental disclosure, few frameworks carry as much weight as CDP. Originally launched as the Carbon Disclosure Project in 2000, CDP now runs the world's largest independent environmental disclosure system, used by over 23,000 companies, investors, and governments across 90 countries to measure, track, and act on climate risk.
Understanding what CDP is, how its scoring works, and what reporting requires is increasingly essential for US businesses operating in global markets. Whether your company has received a disclosure request from an investor or customer, or is considering voluntary CDP sustainability reporting to strengthen its ESG credentials, this guide covers everything you need to know.
In this article, we'll explore:
What the Carbon Disclosure Project is and how CDP disclosure works
How CDP scoring and the A-List ranking system operate
What CDP reporting requires, including Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and water and forests disclosures
How CDP aligns with TCFD, ISSB, CSRD, and other major reporting frameworks
How Greenly supports companies through the CDP reporting process
What is the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)?
CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is a global non-profit that runs the world's largest independent environmental disclosure system. Founded in 2000, it enables companies, cities, and governments to measure and disclose their environmental impact across climate change, water security, and forests. Disclosing organisations receive a score from D– to A, used by investors, banks, and supply chain partners to assess environmental performance and climate risk.
CDP, formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project, is a global non-profit managing an environmental reporting system used by corporations, municipalities, and public authorities worldwide. Over 23,000 companies disclosed through CDP in 2025, collectively representing more than half of global market capitalization. CDP questions are designed to compile data on climate change risks and opportunities, greenhouse gas emissions, water security, and deforestation, covering the environmental issues that investors, banks, and supply chain partners most need to assess.
Sherry Madera
CEO of CDP, January 2026
Key Facts about the CDP
Thousands of entities participate in the project by supplying self reported data and various environmental information through the CDP portal to respond to its annual questionnaires. The questions it contains are designed to compile data on organizational climate change risks and opportunities, carbon emissions, energy efficiency, water use, and deforestation.
When Was the CDP Founded and Key Facts
CDP was founded in 2000. Since then, it has become one the largest sources for global environmental performance data. CDP compiles this data so investors and other stakeholders can easily access key climate information by request.
CDP also scores companies based on their responses to its annual questionnaire. The aim of identifying leaders across different sectors is to incentivize environmental performance improvements. It helps companies promote environmental action, accountability, and transparency in support of a sustainable economy.
CDP is governed as an international non-profit organization consisting of: CDP Worldwide (UK), CDP North America, Inc. (US), and CDP Japan. CDP’s efforts are funded through international governments’ support and philanthropic grants.
The overview cards below will reveal CDP at a glance:
🌍 CDP Offices
CDP has teams across 50 locations worldwide.
📄 Global Disclosures
CDP receives annual disclosures from signatories in 90 countries.
🏢 Corporate Reporting
Over 22,100 companies disclose their environmental impacts.
🏛️ Public Sector
Over 1,000 cities, states and regions disclose through CDP.
💰 Investor Power
Capital Markets Signatories hold over $110tn in assets.
🛒 Supply Chain
Over 270 leading corporate buyers requested approximately 45,000 suppliers to disclose through CDP's Supply Chain program.
🎯 Climate Action
CDP’s platform helps prevent dangerous climate change through transparency and accountability.
📊 Performance Tracking
CDP’s tools help organizations benchmark and improve environmental performance year over year.
What is the Mission of the CDP?
CDP promotes a sustainable economy in a way that protects the planet and its people. It engages investors, companies, cities, and governments to measure their environmental impact, increase corporate awareness, and make it a business norm to prevent dangerous climate change.
Using the data gathered through measurement, these entities have guidance on reducing their environmental footprint.
What Are the Core Values of the CDP?
The core values that CDP operates on include transparency, accountability, gaining knowledge, and making improvements. Ultimately, the CDP can help companies to better understand their financial risks associated with climate change (such as via their climate related financial disclosures) in addition to their general environmental risks and how to improve upon environmental leadership.
The interactive flip cards below (move cursor over card to flip) will reveal more about some of these core values of the CDP:
🔍 Transparency
CDP values transparent reporting so that environmental risks can be openly assessed and addressed.
📋 Accountability
Companies that disclose through CDP take responsibility for their environmental impact and progress.
📚 Gaining Knowledge
CDP disclosures help companies better understand their climate-related financial and environmental risks.
⚙️ Making Improvements
Data from CDP enables organizations to take action and lead in environmental performance.
How Does the CDP Work?
The CDP works by having companies and other entities either supply their information to the platform by request from an authority, or as a self-selected company on their own behalf.
The following types of requesting authorities may ask for companies to report: investor signatories, supply chain members, members of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, bank members, and members of the RE100 initiative.
The drop down sections below will reveal why the CDP asks for each of these pieces of information:
CDP gathers data requested by investor signatories to help them assess climate-related risks and opportunities in their portfolios. This enables more informed decision-making and encourages corporate transparency and action.
Supply chain members use CDP data to evaluate the environmental performance of their suppliers. This helps reduce risks and emissions across the value chain, supporting more sustainable procurement practices.
CDP collects data for NZAM members to support their efforts in aligning portfolios with a net-zero emissions pathway. The disclosures provide insight into company transition plans and emissions targets.
Bank members rely on CDP data to assess climate-related credit and reputational risks. Transparent disclosures support banks in evaluating financed emissions and meeting regulatory expectations.
CDP asks about RE100 membership to track and promote corporate commitments to 100% renewable electricity. This information highlights environmental leadership and progress on clean energy transitions.
What Are the Deadlines for CDP Reporting in 2026?
CDP's annual disclosure cycle runs from spring through autumn each year. The questionnaire opens in April, the response window runs through summer, and scores are published the following January.
CDP’s questionnaire is scored by CDP-accredited partners who follow established data quality checks and quality assurance procedures to ensure fairness.
The methodology offers a higher score to companies that achieve low-impact operations, ongoing improvement, and transparent disclosure, though its exact methodology changes each year.
2026 Deadlines for CDP
Key deadlines for the CDP in 2026 are as follows:
📄
Week of April 20
Questionnaire and guidance released.
📊
Week of April 27
Scoring methodology published and requesters can start submitting company lists.
📤
Week of June 15
Response window officially opens — companies can begin uploading your disclosures.
✅
Week of September 14
Scoring deadline — responses submitted by this date will be scored.
🕐
Week of October 26
Final deadline for unscored responses and amendments. Late submissions accepted, but not scored.
Note: Responses submitted after the scoring deadline but before October 26 will still be used in CDP's data analytics — they simply won't receive a score for that cycle.
What CDP Scoring Scale Does CDP Use?
CDP scores companies on a scale from D– to A, across four progressive levels of environmental maturity. Companies that fail to respond at all are marked as "Did not disclose" — effectively an F. The highest-performing companies are recognised on CDP's A-List, published publicly each January.
Scores are assessed separately for each environmental issue: Climate Change, Forests, and Water Security. Sector-specific weightings apply, which means that companies in high-impact industries are evaluated against more demanding benchmarks.
| Score | Level | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| A / A– | Leadership | Best-practice performance: ambitious strategies, verified emissions data, sector-leading action |
| B / B– | Management | Evidence of action and processes to manage environmental issues |
| C / C– | Awareness | Understanding of environmental issues and impacts, but not yet acting at scale |
| D / D– | Disclosure | Basic reporting completed — data submitted but limited evidence of awareness or action |
| F | Did not disclose | No response submitted, or insufficient information to score |
To progress from one level to the next, companies must meet a minimum score threshold and satisfy Essential Criteria — absolute requirements that, if unmet, cap the final score regardless of performance elsewhere.
The methodology is updated annually to reflect evolving international standards, which is why CDP scores from different years are not always directly comparable.
What Information Has to Be Disclosed?
The CDP requires information regarding various business operations to be disclosed. Companies self-report data using the CDP questionnaire, responding to questions that address issues material to their business activities.
Climate Questionnaire
The climate change questionnaire requests measurement on GHG emissions across Scopes 1, 2, and 3, energy use, and internal carbon pricing, all of which pertain to climate-related risks.
CDP's climate questionnaire aligns with major international reporting frameworks including the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the ISSB climate standard (IFRS S2), and the GHG Protocol, making a single CDP disclosure useful across multiple reporting obligations, including forward-looking projections for financial impacts from climate risks to business assets and operations.
What Are Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emissions in CDP Reporting?
CDP's climate questionnaire follows the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, the most widely used framework for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions. Companies are required to disclose emissions across three categories, each reflecting a different level of a business's carbon footprint.
Scope 3 emissions — the indirect emissions across a company's entire value chain — typically represent the largest share of a business's total carbon footprint. While Scope 3 disclosure is required in the questionnaire, third-party verification of at least one Scope 3 category only becomes mandatory for companies aiming for Leadership or A-List scoring.
Scope 2
Indirect energy emissions
Emissions from purchased electricity, heat, or steam.
Example: electricity used to power office buildings or data centers.
Scope 3
Value chain emissions
All other indirect emissions across the upstream and downstream value chain.
Example: business travel, supply chain activity, product use by customers, and end-of-life disposal.
Water and Forests Disclosures
Since 2024, CDP has consolidated its climate, water, and forests questionnaires into a single integrated disclosure. The sections below reflect the distinct disclosure requirements within that integrated framework.
🌡️ Climate Change
🔧 Focused on forward-looking risks to assets, operations, and financial impacts
📄 Aligns with the TCFD framework for investor-grade reporting
📋 Extra questions for: agriculture, energy, finance, materials, and transport
🎯 Prioritizes emissions reduction plans and climate governance
💧 Water Security
🌀 Evaluates business exposure to water risks and dependencies
💦 Includes water usage, stress mapping, and pollution disclosures
🌊 Extra questions for: agriculture, energy, chemicals, metals, and mining
📌 Encourages setting targets for freshwater use and discharge
🌳 Forests
🪵 Tracks commodities linked to deforestation including palm oil, timber, soy, cattle, cocoa, coffee, and rubber
📦 Requests data on sourcing policies, traceability, and certification
🪪 Extra questions for: agriculture and mining sectors
🌐 Supports forest-positive supply chains and risk mitigation
Additional Sections in Each Questionnaire
All companies are required to respond to climate change questions. Forests and water security questions are only presented to companies that have received a specific request for those disclosures or have opted in. In each section of the questionnaire, certain sectors have additional questions due to their stronger impacts:
- Climate change: agriculture, energy, financial services, materials, and transport
- Water security: agriculture, energy, chemicals, metals, and mining
- Forests: agriculture and mining
Is There a Fee for CDP Disclosure?
CDP funds its operations in part from fees collected from disclosing companies. Companies responding to Capital Markets requests, Self-Selected Companies choosing to disclose voluntarily, and companies reporting for recognition through key initiatives are required to pay an annual admin fee. These initiatives include:
Fees vary by region — including the UK, Western Europe, Japan, Brazil, Latin America, India, and all other countries — and increased by approximately 5% globally in 2026. Three fee tiers are available: Essential, Standard, and Enhanced, with the Enhanced tier offering additional data access and reporting benefits.
CDP Fee exemptions
Companies will not be subject to fees under certain circumstances.
- Companies headquartered outside Europe and North America that have not reported to CDP in the last three years are exempt when responding to an investor, RE100, or NZAM request.
- Companies whose disclosure request comes from a Supply Chain member or bank rather than a Capital Markets Signatory are exempt.
Voluntary Disclosures: Can Your Company Disclose to the CDP Without a Request?
CDP encourages companies to self-report their environmental impact data via its different questionnaires. This type of disclosure is what CDP refers to as a self-selected company (SSC).
SSCs are subject to an administrative fee, which varies by fee type and region. Like a company reporting by request, an SSC agrees to make its questionnaire responses available to investors who participate in CDP and receive a score. The same scoring methodology and rules for other companies applies to SSCs. SSCs that meet CDP's eligibility thresholds based on revenue and headcount can also choose to respond to the simplified SME questionnaire rather than the full corporate questionnaire.
Apart from investors, self-selected company responses are only visible to supply chain members, banks, and other stakeholders if the SSC submits a public response. These companies can proceed by contacting CDP’s Help Center.
Why Should Your Company Report to CDP?
One of CDP's most practical strengths for companies managing multiple reporting obligations is its alignment with the major international sustainability frameworks. A single CDP disclosure feeds data into several frameworks simultaneously, significantly reducing the reporting burden.
ISSB (IFRS S2)
CDP has aligned its climate questionnaire with IFRS S2, the International Sustainability Standards Board's climate standard, since 2024. IFRS S2 is built directly on the four pillars of the now-disbanded TCFD: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. This means companies already disclosing through CDP are well positioned to meet ISSB requirements as jurisdictions adopt them. Jurisdictions accounting for nearly 60% of global GDP are currently taking steps to incorporate ISSB standards into their regulatory frameworks.
CSRD and ESRS
For companies with EU reporting obligations, CDP's questionnaire maps to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), particularly ESRS E1 on climate. Companies disclosing through CDP can reuse much of their CDP data when preparing CSRD reports, avoiding duplication of effort across two major frameworks.
GHG Protocol
CDP's emissions reporting requirements are built on the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, the most widely used emissions accounting methodology globally. Companies that have already measured their Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions using the GHG Protocol will find the CDP questionnaire's emissions modules directly compatible.
TNFD
CDP has aligned with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations, supporting companies that need to disclose nature-related dependencies and risks alongside climate data.
For a detailed breakdown of how CDP maps to each framework, CDP publishes granular correspondence mapping documents on its framework alignment page.
The VSME standard is no longer just a voluntary framework, it's quickly becoming the benchmark large companies are required to use when requesting ESG data from their suppliers. Understanding it, and reporting against it well, puts your business in a stronger position with every client, bank, and investor that asks.
Speak to Greenly about building a VSME report that works for your business today and scales with future requirements.
How Can Your Company Disclose Through CDP?
Companies disclose through the CDP Portal, where their dashboard shows which organisations have requested their disclosure and which questionnaire modules apply to them. First-time disclosers need to register for a CDP account before accessing the portal.
-
1. Receive a Request or Register Voluntarily 📝
Companies either receive a disclosure request from an investor, supply chain member, or bank, or choose to register as a Self-Selected Company (SSC).
-
2. Access the CDP Portal 💻
Once registered, companies access their dashboard at the CDP Portal, where assigned questionnaires and requesting authorities are displayed.
-
3. Email Notification ✉️
CDP notifies companies by email when a new disclosure request has been received, including a direct link to the portal.
-
4. First-Time Registration 🆕
New disclosers must create a CDP account and designate a Submission Lead — the team member responsible for completing payment and submitting the final response.
-
5. Add Contributors 👥
Additional team members can be added as Contributors, giving them access to complete questionnaire sections without submission rights.
-
6. Set Up and Begin Disclosure 📤
The Submission Lead completes the questionnaire setup, selecting relevant environmental issues, before the team begins responding to assigned modules.
What Resources Are Available to Help in the Disclosure Process?
CDP provides extensive guidance to support companies through every stage of disclosure. Questionnaires, scoring methodologies, sector-specific guidance, term glossaries, and sample responses are all available through the CDP Portal and updated each cycle.
If you want to get a strong support in your CDP reporting, get in touch with Greenly's team by clicking here.
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For companies looking for hands-on support beyond CDP's own resources, Greenly's team of sustainability experts can guide you through the full CDP reporting process — from emissions measurement to questionnaire submission.
Note : It is important for organizations to review the scoring materials including the introductory overview, methodologies, and scoring categories and weights.
One-on-One CDP Assistance
CDP offers Reporting Services support for companies that want structured guidance through the disclosure process, including Score Feedback Calls and Gap Analysis Calls, both available to all disclosing companies in 2026. CDP's global network of Accredited Solutions Providers (ASPs) also offers hands-on support across emissions measurement, questionnaire preparation, and score improvement.
Greenly is a CDP Accredited Solutions Provider. If your company is looking for support that goes beyond CDP reporting to cover TCFD, CSRD, SBTi, and broader carbon accounting, get in touch with our team.
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Is CDP reporting mandatory?
CDP reporting is voluntary for most companies. However, companies that receive a formal disclosure request from an investor, supply chain member, or bank through the CDP platform are expected to respond. In practice, non-disclosure is increasingly difficult to justify for US companies: 75% of S&P 500 companies already disclose and investors actively use CDP scores to inform decisions.
What does a CDP A score mean?
A CDP A score represents the Leadership level, the highest band in CDP's D– to A scoring scale. Companies achieving an A score demonstrate best-practice environmental performance, including verified Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions data, a credible climate transition plan, and board-level governance of climate risk. A-List companies are publicly recognized by CDP each January.
How much does CDP disclosure cost?
CDP charges an annual admin fee for companies disclosing voluntarily or responding to Capital Markets requests. Fees vary by region and increased by approximately 5% globally in 2026. Three fee tiers are available: Essential, Standard, and Enhanced, with the Enhanced tier offering additional data access and reporting benefits. Companies responding to Supply Chain or bank requests are exempt.
What is the difference between CDP and CSRD?
CDP is a voluntary global disclosure system that any company worldwide can choose to adopt. The CSRD is a mandatory EU directive applying to large companies and, from 2026, those with over 1,000 employees and €450 million in turnover. CDP's questionnaire aligns closely with ESRS, meaning companies already disclosing through CDP are well positioned to meet CSRD requirements without starting from scratch.
Do small and medium-sized businesses need to report to CDP?
SMEs are not required to report to CDP, but many choose to or are asked to by larger clients through CDP's Supply Chain program. CDP offers a dedicated SME questionnaire with fewer, simplified data points. In 2026, SMEs can achieve an A score for the first time, making the SME questionnaire a meaningful disclosure route for smaller businesses with sustainability ambitions.
What happens if a company doesn't respond to a CDP request?
Companies that fail to respond to a formal CDP disclosure request receive an F score, marked as "Did not disclose", which is publicly visible. This can signal poor environmental governance to investors, customers, and regulators. Companies that respond but miss the scoring deadline can still submit before the final October deadline, though their response will not receive a score for that cycle.
How Greenly Helps with CDP Reporting
As a CDP Accredited Solutions Provider, Greenly supports companies through every stage of the disclosure process, from measuring Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions to completing the CDP questionnaire and improving your score year on year. Our platform is built to make carbon accounting straightforward, and our sustainability experts are on hand to guide you through the specific requirements of each CDP cycle. Book a free demo to see how we can support your next disclosure.
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