CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) is one of the world’s leading frameworks to assess, benchmark, and improve the environmental performance of companies, cities, and institutions.
Used by investors, buyers, and regulators, CDP goes far beyond a simple questionnaire: it helps structure environmental transparency, climate risk management, and organizations’ transition strategies.
What is CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project)?
CDP is an international non-profit organization, founded in 2000, whose mission is to encourage organizations to measure, manage, and disclose their environmental impacts.
It operates through standardized annual questionnaires to assess practices related to climate, water, forests—and, more recently, other environmental topics.
What does “CDP” stand for?
Originally, CDP stood for Carbon Disclosure Project, reflecting its initial focus on environmental impacts linked to greenhouse gas emissions.
Today, while the acronym remains, CDP covers a much broader scope than carbon alone.
What is CDP used for, and why was it created?
CDP was created to meet a clear need from investors: access to comparable, reliable, harmonized climate-related environmental data to better assess climate risks and opportunities.
Its main goals are to:
- Promote environmental transparency
- Help organizations understand their impacts, risks, and dependencies
- Guide capital allocation toward more resilient organizations
- Accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy
Who is CDP for?
Large companies
Large companies are the primary CDP respondents, often invited—or required—by investors, customers, or financial partners.
CDP then becomes a key tool for strategic steering, ESG reporting, and investor dialogue.
SMEs and mid-sized companies
SMEs and mid-sized companies may also be requested to disclose, especially when they sit within the value chains of global players.
For them, CDP is often an opportunity to structure their approach and anticipate future requirements.
Investors and financial institutions
Investors use CDP scores to:
- Assess environmental risks related to climate and other issues
- Benchmark companies
- Inform capital allocation decisions
Cities and public organizations
Cities, regions, and public organizations can also respond to CDP to measure and manage their environmental impacts.
What topics does CDP assess?
CDP structures its disclosures around distinct thematic questionnaires.
CDP Climate Change
The Climate Change questionnaire is the most widely used.
It typically covers:
- GHG emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and 3)
- Climate strategy
- Climate-related risks and opportunities
- Reduction targets
- Governance and integration into overall strategy
CDP Water Security
This questionnaire assesses:
- Water resource management
- Risks related to scarcity or pollution
- Impacts on aquatic ecosystems
CDP Forests
This questionnaire mainly applies to sectors linked to agricultural and forest commodities and aims to tackle deforestation.
CDP topics — summary table
How does CDP work?
CDP follows a simple flow:
- An organization is invited by investors, customers, or partners to respond to one or more questionnaires, or chooses to disclose voluntarily
- It collects, structures, and submits environmental data
- CDP reviews responses using a standardized methodology
- A score is assigned, reflecting environmental maturity
CDP 2026: what’s changing compared with 2025?
With worsening climate impacts, growing resource insecurity, and accelerating biodiversity loss, CDP is evolving its questionnaire from 2026 onward.
The stated goal is clear: strengthen the link between disclosed data and real-world action.
For 2026, CDP has announced several major directions:
- Deeper alignment with global standards, to improve consistency across CDP, CSRD, ISSB, and other ESG frameworks
- A progressive expansion of “nature” coverage, including stronger attention to ecosystems—including ocean-related topics
- More usable, decision-ready data, helping organizations and stakeholders better identify risks, resilience levers, and Earth-positive opportunities
How does a CDP disclosure work in practice?
The CDP timeline
CDP disclosure follows an annual cycle:
- Questionnaire opens on June 15
- Response window runs until September 14
- Scores are published toward the end of the year (early December)
Data to prepare
A disclosure typically requires:
- GHG emissions data
- Climate risk analyses
- Environmental KPIs
- Policies, strategies, and action plans
Internal teams involved
CDP responses usually involve:
- CSR / ESG teams
- Finance teams
- HSE, Procurement, Operations
- Executive leadership for strategic validation
How is the CDP score calculated?
The scoring approach
CDP assesses organizations using a progression-based approach: it evaluates not only performance, but also the quality and maturity of the process.
What CDP looks at
Key criteria typically include:
- Data transparency
- Understanding of risks and impacts
- Implementation of concrete actions
- Integration into overall strategy
What are CDP score levels?
CDP assigns scores from A to D, with an F in some cases:
- A – Leadership: integrated strategy and advanced actions
- B – Management: structured management of issues
- C – Awareness / Knowledge: impacts understood, limited mature action
- D – Disclosure: transparency without real environmental management
- F: insufficient or unusable data
CDP scores and maturity — summary table
Why is CDP strategic for companies?
ESG credibility and reputation
A strong CDP score boosts environmental credibility and transparency with stakeholders.
Investor relations
CDP is widely used by institutional investors, making it a key lever for investor dialogue.
Market access and tenders
More and more tenders include CDP as a selection criterion.
Is CDP mandatory?
CDP is not a regulatory requirement in itself.
However, it is strongly aligned with emerging regulation and can help address requirements linked to:
- CSRD
- ISSB / IFRS S2
- Climate reporting expectations
How does CDP compare with other ESG frameworks?
CDP vs CSRD
- CDP is a voluntary questionnaire
- CSRD is a European regulatory requirement
- CDP data can support disclosures for material environmental ESRS topics
CDP vs GRI
- GRI is a broad ESG reporting framework
- CDP focuses primarily on environmental and climate topics
CDP vs TCFD
- CDP largely incorporates TCFD recommendations
- It can be seen as an operational translation of TCFD via a structured questionnaire
How to improve your CDP score
To make progress:
- Build a clear environmental management strategy
- Set quantified targets
- Implement and track action plans
- Improve data quality and traceability
- Document and explain methodological choices
Should you get support for CDP?
Preparing a CDP disclosure can be complex and time-consuming, especially for a first submission.
Support can help you:
- Structure and validate data
- Secure the methodology
- Align CDP with CSRD and other ESG frameworks
- Save time and improve the score
Avoid confusion: other meanings of “CDP”
CDP as Customer Data Platform
In marketing, CDP can also mean Customer Data Platform, unrelated to sustainability.
CDP in IT and networking
CDP is also used in networking (Cisco Discovery Protocol).
FAQ: CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project)
Is CDP recognized by investors and banks?
Yes. It is widely used by institutional investors.
What internal data do you need to answer CDP?
Mostly environmental data, plus strategic and governance information.
Is the CDP score public?
It can be made public depending on the organization’s choice.
Can a low CDP score impact a company?
Yes—especially for reputation and investor relations.
How long does it take to prepare a CDP disclosure?
From several weeks to several months, depending on maturity.
CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) — Key takeaways
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