CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) explained – Goals, Score & Reporting

The new 2025 CDP questionnaire is live - this article outlines what the updates mean for industrial companies, how the questionnaire is structured, what’s changing in 2025, and why participating in CDP disclosure is worthwhile.

What is the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)?

The CDP Disclosure Cycle refers to the annual environmental reporting process of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). CDP is an international non-profit organization founded in 2000. It enables companies, cities, and governments to disclose their environmental performance and receive ratings that reflect their sustainability efforts.

Every year, CDP sends detailed questionnaires to thousands of companies globally, including all publicly listed companies in Germany. A large portion of these requests is part of the CDP Supplier Request, usually initiated by customers who use the data primarily for Scope 3 climate reporting. However, companies can also choose to disclose voluntarily.

Through its standardized environmental performance questionnaire, CDP fosters global transparency, accountability, and concrete sustainability actions. Its methodology is based on a scoring system from A to F, fostering key environmental themes such as climate change, water security, plastics, biodiversity, and forest protection. These scores serve as indicators of corporate environmental responsibility, helping investors and consumers make more informed decisions and contributing to more sustainable global development.

CDP within the ESG reporting landscape

CDP is one of several major global frameworks for environmental and ESG disclosure. Other important standards include the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

An official mapping between CDP questions and the climate-related data points in the ESRS E1 standard under the CSRD also exists, facilitating alignment with European regulatory frameworks.

How CDP-Reporting works: Score, Rating and Methodology

CDP’s assessment methodology is based on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and translates them into annual disclosure questions. Companies are rated on a scale from A (Leader) to D (Disclosure). An “A” score signals best practice in transparent disclosure and active environmental management, while a company that fails to respond receives an F (Failure to disclose). Scoring is done at the question level and then aggregated.

Each question allows companies to earn points across different scoring levels: Disclosure, Awareness, Management, and Leadership. For example, companies earn Disclosure points simply for stating whether they offer monetary incentives for environmental topics. Awareness points are granted for planned incentives, Management points for implemented incentives, and Leadership points if these incentives exceed 10% of total remuneration.

Source: CDP Full Corporate Scoring Methodology 2025 – Climate Change (PDF)

It is not uncommon to receive a C or D rating in the first year. After two to three years, companies can increase their level of ambition—for instance, by developing a climate transition plan—to reach the next level.

In 2023, more than 400 companies and 120 cities worldwide received an A score and were added to the annual CDP A List. These organizations must make their responses public and demonstrate climate-related incentive structures within their leadership.

Participation involves answering an extensive questionnaire. This includes information on company structure, governance processes, strategic goals, carbon accounting, energy consumption, and—if applicable—external verification. CDP applies a “comply or explain” principle: if certain emissions cannot be reported, a clear explanation must be provided. CDP does not offer calculation tools; companies are responsible for calculating their emissions independently. This approach ensures high relevance and contextual accuracy.

Scoring supports companies and their stakeholders in making progress on climate risks, deforestation, and water security visible and comparable. Third-party verification can enhance credibility and comparability even further.

More information: CDP Scoring Introduction 2025 (PDF)

Who is CDP relevant for?

According to CDP, over 24,800 companies disclosed their environmental data in 2024. This creates transparency and comparability on a global scale. The primary objective of CDP's Climate Change report is to understand the causes and effects of emissions to support targeted reduction strategies across industries, institutions, and governments.

CDP scores are commonly used by investors to assess the environmental performance of potential investments. Disclosure is often formally requested by capital providers, banks, insurers, and major clients along the value chain. Customers also use the rating to manage supplier expectations. Companies without a formal request can participate voluntarily.

The CDP distinguishes between two formats: The Full Corporate Questionnaire is aimed at large companies with a comprehensive environmental impact. Since 2024, it has combined all previous individual questionnaires on climate, forests and water into one integrated system. A second group of companies for which the CDP may be relevant includes small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). They can use the SME Corporate Questionnaire - a simplified version with a reduced scope and clear structure. Both formats can be individually expanded, for example with optional information on plastics or biodiversity.

Participating in CDP can offer economic benefits. Companies that implement climate action often see long-term cost reductions—especially in energy consumption and resource use—making CDP reporting a financially attractive investment.

Status quo of CDP in 2024

With the 2024 Corporate Questionnaire, CDP combined its climate, forest, and water sections into a unified system. This new approach better aligns with TCFD and GHG Protocol principles and removes topic silos.

Since last year, CDP also provides a digital platform for submitting responses.

CDP 2025: Key changes to the questionnaire

The 2025 questionnaire retains its modular structure but includes several technical and linguistic refinements for better usability. A full overview of changes can be found in this official document.

Module 1 – Introduction

Currency fields are now mandatory. New guidance clarifies differences between CDP reporting boundaries and financial reporting structures. Minor adjustments also apply to value chains.

Module 4 – Governance

Duplicate answers were removed. Governance mechanisms and relevance filters for financial institutions were clarified.

Module 5 – Strategy

Clarified requirements for scenario timeframes, emission units, and stakeholder definitions.

Module 7 – Climate Performance

Terminology has been streamlined. Verification documents can now be uploaded multiple times. Some questions have been aligned with standards such as ICVCM.

Module 8 – Forests

New logic for branching, multi-select certification options, and added traceability support.

Module 9 – Water

Updated guidance for basins, water targets, and risk assessments. WWF Water Risk Filter is more prominently integrated.

Module 10 – Plastics

Definitions such as “recycled content” and “plastic production” have been refined. Question logic was improved, especially for packaging-related disclosures.

Module 11 – Biodiversity

Updated guidance includes WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter for location-based analysis.

SME Questionnaire updates

SME modules were clarified in several areas, including currency disclosures, transition plans, emissions units, and risk assessments. Logic was simplified and terminology standardized.

Timeline for the 2025 disclosure cycle

• March 31, 2025: Final questionnaire and guidance released
• April 28, 2025: Scoring methodology published
• June 9, 2025: Deadline for investor and customer disclosure requests
• June 16, 2025: CDP portal officially opens
• September 15, 2025: Deadline for scored submissions
• November 17, 2025: Final deadline for unscored submissions and changes

How Tanso supports companies with the CDP rating

Tanso helps companies efficiently map ESG data to CDP requirements. For example, by integrating CCF into ESRS and leveraging the official mapping between CDP and ESRS data points.