CDP Disclosure
CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is a global non-profit that runs the world's largest environmental disclosure system. Organisations complete annual questionnaires reporting their climate change, water security, and forests data to investors, customers, and cities.
What is CDP Disclosure?
CDP operates the leading global platform for corporate environmental disclosure. Founded in 2000, it acts as an intermediary between organisations that report environmental data and the investors, purchasers, and cities that request it. Over 23,000 companies disclosed through CDP in 2023, representing more than 60% of global market capitalisation.
The CDP Climate Change questionnaire is the most widely used corporate climate disclosure. It covers: governance and board oversight of climate issues; strategy and scenario analysis for climate risks and opportunities; current greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3 with detailed category breakdowns); emission reduction targets and progress; energy consumption and mix; carbon pricing and internal carbon price mechanisms; and engagement with the value chain on climate issues. The questionnaire is aligned with the TCFD framework and the GHG Protocol.
CDP scores companies from A (leadership) through D- (disclosure), based on the completeness, quality, and ambition of their disclosure. Companies that do not respond or fail to provide minimum data receive an F. The scoring methodology rewards: comprehensive measurement of emissions across all scopes; verified data; ambitious targets (especially SBTi-validated); demonstrated emission reductions; board-level governance; and transition planning. An A-list company has demonstrated best-practice environmental leadership.
CDP operates through two main channels. The investor programme sends disclosure requests on behalf of over 700 institutional investors managing more than $130 trillion in assets. The supply chain programme allows large purchasing organisations to request disclosure from their suppliers — an increasingly powerful cascade mechanism for driving carbon transparency through value chains.
For UK companies, CDP disclosure is particularly relevant because: many institutional investors use CDP data in ESG assessments; TCFD-aligned reporting (which CDP supports) is mandatory for large UK companies; and the Carbon Reduction Plan (PPN 06/21) encourages alignment with CDP-style disclosure. Many companies that report under SECR use the same data for their CDP submission, reducing duplication.
CDP data is publicly available (for scored companies), making it a key source of benchmarking data for investors, analysts, and researchers. Companies' CDP scores are widely used in ESG indices, sustainable finance products, and procurement assessments.
Practical Examples
A FTSE 250 company completes the CDP Climate Change questionnaire annually, disclosing its full Scope 1, 2, and 3 inventory, SBTi-validated targets, and a TCFD-aligned strategy section — achieving a B score in 2023.
A major retailer uses CDP Supply Chain to request climate disclosure from its 200 largest suppliers, using the responses to assess supply chain climate risk and identify high-emission procurement categories.
A mid-cap company receives a CDP disclosure request from three of its institutional investors and decides to respond for the first time, using its existing SECR data as the foundation for the Scope 1 and 2 sections.
How Climatise Helps
Climatise produces emissions data structured to align with the CDP Climate Change questionnaire. The platform outputs Scope 1, 2, and 3 figures with the category-level breakdowns CDP requires, making it straightforward to transfer your data into the CDP submission portal.
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