- CDP first scores the quality of your emissions data, before ambition: a scopes 1, 2 and significant scope 3 inventory, with traced methodology and factors.
- Several essential criteria bear directly on the footprint: third-party verification, the existence of a transition plan, the pace of the reduction target.
- Verification earns points from the earliest levels, and unlocks the Leadership level (95% of scopes 1-2 and one scope 3 category).
- The transition-plan criterion is accessible: a plan aligned on a temperature pathway, or the commitment to develop one within two years, is enough.
What carbon data does CDP expect?
Six elements, in this order of importance.
- An emissions inventory covering scopes 1 and 2, and the significant categories of scope 3.
- The chosen methodology, the emission factors used and their source, along with a stable reference year.
- The assumptions made on estimated or missing categories, spelled out rather than hidden.
- Reduction targets that are quantified and dated.
- A transition plan that translates these targets into actions, resources and expected reductions.
- Third-party verification of the data, expected to reach the highest levels.
For how CDP works overall, its themes and its calendar, see CDP: definition, role and how it works. For the scoring mechanics, see our CDP score analysis.
How do you prepare your carbon data for CDP?
By working on the data well before you open the questionnaire. The useful sequence:
- Produce a footprint covering scopes 1, 2 and the significant categories of scope 3, with traceable factors. The method is in our article on how to calculate your carbon footprint.
- Document the methodology, the sources and the assumptions, category by category.
- Set a reduction target and build a consistent transition plan.
- Organize collection from your priority suppliers, to solidify scope 3.
- Consider third-party verification, once the inventory is complete and stable.
The point to watch is consistency. Data that is comparable from one year to the next, on an unchanged methodology, is worth more than a brilliant footprint that cannot be reconciled with the previous year.
Do you have to report scope 3 to CDP?
As soon as it is significant, and it is for most companies. CDP publishes a technical note on the relevance of scope 3 categories by sector, updated in April 2026. On the sample studied, scope 3 represents on average 75% of total scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, and climbs to around 90% in capital goods.
The same document adds a nuance that few people pick up: it is not universal. In cement, most emissions remain in scopes 1 and 2. Hence the value of starting from this note rather than a general average: it indicates, sector by sector, which scope 3 categories CDP considers relevant and expects to see you report. An inventory that leaves out a category judged relevant for your sector reads as partial, whatever its quality otherwise.
Scope 3 is also the area where effort pays off most: that is where your reduction opportunities lie, and it is what your customers are looking for when they question you, since your emissions make up their own scope 3.
What are the essential criteria of the climate section?
CDP applies what it calls essential criteria: the specific requirements that unlock access to the next level. They apply at the Awareness, Management, Leadership and A List levels, and all the criteria of a level must be satisfied to progress to the next one. The mechanism is explained in our CDP score analysis.
CDP publishes these criteria and their thresholds every year, in a dedicated document: the CDP Climate Change Scoring Essential Criteria. It lists around thirty of them, coded, some specific to a sector. Three bear directly on your carbon footprint.
Verification of your emissions. No essential criterion applies at the Awareness and Management levels, which does not mean verification is useless there: it earns points through the questions dedicated to it. It does, however, gate access to the Leadership level, where at least 95% of your reported scope 1 and 2 emissions, as well as at least one scope 3 category, must be verified or assured by a third party. Only at the A List level does the threshold rise to 100% of scopes 1 and 2 and at least 70% of reported scope 3 emissions.
The transition plan. The essential criterion is more accessible than people think: it is enough to have a climate transition plan aligned on a temperature pathway, or, failing that, to declare the intention to develop one within two years. The absence of a plan is therefore not a deal-breaker if the commitment is made. The quality of the plan is scored elsewhere in the questionnaire, and its oversight falls under the governance questions.
The reduction target. At the highest levels, a target covering scopes 1 and 2 must represent at least 4.2% absolute reduction per year between the reference year and the target year. That is the pace corresponding to a 1.5°C pathway.
Remember the mechanics: you must satisfy all the essential criteria of a level to reach the next one, whatever the number of points accumulated elsewhere. The thresholds change from one cycle to the next, and the CDP document is authoritative.
Should you have your emissions data verified?
Yes, and you have to distinguish two different levels.
Verification earns points. Questions in the questionnaire are dedicated to it and they are scored: having your emissions verified earns points, including at the Management level, even before aiming for the top of the ranking.
It then unlocks the higher tiers. No essential verification criterion applies at the Awareness and Management levels. At Leadership, it gates progression: at least 95% of your reported scope 1 and 2 emissions and at least one scope 3 category verified by a third party. For the A List, the bar rises to 100% of scopes 1 and 2 and at least 70% of reported scope 3.
Two practical consequences. Verification earns points from the earliest levels, but it does not replace an essential criterion satisfied elsewhere: if your inventory is incomplete, complete it first. And the A List threshold produces a counter-intuitive effect: the broader your reported scope 3, the greater the verification coverage you have to finance.
What does CDP expect from a transition plan?
Less than you would imagine, under the essential criterion. It is enough to have a climate transition plan aligned on a temperature pathway, or to declare the intention to develop one within two years. In other words, a company that does not yet have a plan but commits to producing one is not blocked on that ground.
This does not mean the plan does not count. Its quality is scored in the questionnaire, and oversight of the subject is assessed by the governance questions: who, in the organization, holds responsibility for implementing the transition plan. A target without a plan remains an intention, and CDP reads it as such. The construction of the document, its components and its monitoring are covered in our article on the transition plan.
Supplier engagement, the blind spot of scope 3
It is what determines the credibility of your scope 3, and it is measurable. According to BCG and CDP in June 2024, companies that engage their suppliers on climate are nearly 7 times more likely to have a scope 3 target and a 1.5°C-aligned transition plan. In other words, the collection campaign you run with your suppliers does not only serve to tick boxes: it is correlated with the rest of the file.
The same report shows how much ground is left open: only 15% of companies reporting to CDP had set a reduction target on their scope 3. It is the least-managed area, and therefore the one where a serious file stands out fastest.
For the improvement approach as a whole, beyond carbon alone, see our 7 steps to get a good CDP score.
If you are also subject to the French regulatory footprint, part of your answer already exists. We detail what overlaps and what is missing in our article on CDP, carbon footprint and BEGES.
Prepare your carbon data with Ditto
CDP rewards structured and traceable data, not good intentions. Ditto centralizes your carbon footprint into a single source, covers scopes 1, 2 and 3, keeps a record of the factors and their versions, and links your targets to a transition plan tracked from year to year. This is exactly the material the questionnaire calls for. A dedicated coach spots the gaps that weaken your file and structures the collection campaigns with your priority suppliers. Ditto is a CDP Accredited Solutions Provider; the support therefore draws on a recognized practice of the framework. What moves a score forward is solid data and a methodology held steady over time.
Tighten up your carbon data before CDP
A Ditto expert reviews your inventory, your scope 3 and what your file is missing.
What CDP expects on carbon: key takeaways
| Element | What CDP expects |
|---|---|
| Boundary | Scopes 1, 2 and the scope 3 categories CDP judges relevant for your sector |
| Traceability | Methodology, factors, sources, stable reference year |
| Assumptions | Estimated categories spelled out, not hidden |
| Targets | Quantified and dated reduction; at least 4.2% absolute reduction per year on scopes 1 and 2 for the high levels |
| Transition plan | A plan aligned on a temperature pathway, or the commitment to produce one within two years |
| Verification | Earns points from Management; gates Leadership (95% of scopes 1-2 and one scope 3 category), then 100% and 70% of scope 3 for the A List |
| Essential criteria | Satisfying all of them at a level unlocks access to the next |
| Consistency | Data comparable from one year to the next |
Frequently asked questions
What carbon data do you have to provide to CDP?
An inventory covering scopes 1, 2 and the significant categories of scope 3, the methodology and emission factors used with their sources, a stable reference year, the assumptions made on estimated categories, quantified reduction targets and a transition plan. Third-party verification comes afterward.
Do you have to report scope 3 to CDP?
As soon as it is significant, which is the case for most companies. CDP's technical note on the relevance of scope 3 categories by sector (April 2026) places scope 3 at 75% on average of total scopes 1, 2 and 3, and up to around 90% for capital goods, with exceptions such as cement. Above all, it indicates, sector by sector, the categories CDP expects to see you report.
Do you have to have your carbon footprint verified for CDP?
It is encouraged at two levels. Verification earns points from the earliest tiers, through the questions dedicated to it. And it becomes an essential criterion at the Leadership level: at least 95% of reported scopes 1 and 2 and at least one scope 3 category verified by a third party, then 100% of scopes 1 and 2 and at least 70% of reported scope 3 for the A List. It does not, however, replace a complete inventory: start with the boundary.
What are CDP's essential criteria on climate?
They are the specific requirements that unlock access to the next level. They apply at the Awareness, Management, Leadership and A List levels: all the criteria of a level must be satisfied to reach the next. On the carbon side, they cover verification of emissions, the existence of a transition plan aligned on a temperature pathway or the commitment to produce one within two years, and the pace of the reduction target (at least 4.2% absolute annual reduction on scopes 1 and 2 for the high levels). Be careful not to confuse them: an element can earn points without being an essential criterion, as is the case for verification below Leadership. CDP publishes these thresholds every year and revises them; its document is authoritative.
Is the transition plan mandatory for CDP?
Not in the strict sense. The essential criterion is satisfied if you have a transition plan aligned on a temperature pathway, or if you declare the intention to develop one within two years. Not having a plan therefore does not block your progress, provided you make the commitment. The quality of the plan and the associated governance are scored elsewhere in the questionnaire.
Is a carbon footprint enough to respond to CDP?
No. It is an important base for getting a good score, but CDP also assesses your governance, your climate risks, your targets, your transition plan and your supplier engagement. The footprint answers part of the questions, your climate approach the rest.
