CDP Audit: Preparing and Securing Your Environmental Disclosure

This article explains what a CDP audit is for, when to carry one out, and how to structure it effectively — particularly for SMEs and mid-sized companies facing increasingly high expectations from clients and investors.

Understanding the Role of a CDP Audit

A CDP audit is a methodical, structured review of the data, responses, and supporting evidence used in the CDP questionnaire — carried out before (or after) submission.

There are two types of CDP audit: the internal audit, conducted by the company's own teams, and third-party verification, performed by an accredited organization. This article focuses primarily on the internal audit.

Unlike a regulatory audit, this is not a formal requirement imposed by CDP. It is a strategic lever that enables companies to:

• ensure the reliability of environmental data (GHG emissions, water, forests),
• verify the overall consistency of the questionnaire,
• check alignment with CDP's scoring expectations,
• reduce the risk of under-scoring due to methodological or formatting errors.

A CDP audit typically covers:

• greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and 3),
• climate governance,
• environmental policies and action plans,
• the analysis of Impacts, Risks, and Opportunities (IRO),
• consistency between strategy, indicators, and actions.

Key Steps for Conducting a Thorough CDP Audit

1. Review of Impacts, Risks, and Opportunities (IRO)

The audit begins with a structured assessment of the company's environmental impacts and climate-related risks.

This step checks that:

• risks and opportunities are properly identified,
• their prioritization is consistent with actual business activities,
• CDP responses accurately reflect this analysis.

A poorly framed IRO undermines the entire CDP submission: if underdeveloped at the C (Awareness) level, it can block access to Management (B) and Leadership (A), while also weakening the quality of responses on risk management and climate strategy.

2. Data Collection and Consolidation Review

The audit then involves a comprehensive review of all data used in the questionnaire:

• GHG data (calculation methods, scope, assumptions),
• reduction targets and trajectories,
• environmental policies,
• performance indicators (KPIs),
• value chain data (Scope 3).

Emissions must be calculated using recognized methodologies (e.g., the GHG Protocol) and all assumptions must be clearly documented.

3. Quality Control and Internal Validation

A cross-functional review phase is essential, involving teams from:

• environment / CSR,
• finance,
• operations,
• senior management or strategy.

This step makes it possible to:

• identify inconsistencies across sections,
• avoid contradictions in figures,
• strengthen the overall coherence of the submission.

Consistency and terminology errors are among the most common causes of lost points in CDP scoring.

To gauge the expected level of formalism, drawing on well-constructed CDP response examples can serve as a useful reference during the review process.

4. Final Score-Oriented Review

Before submission, the CDP audit should include a scoring-focused read-through:

• use of CDP's expected vocabulary and framing,
• clarity and precision of responses,
• alignment between governance, targets, actions, and results,
• level of formalism appropriate to the target score.

To calibrate this review effectively, it helps to have a clear understanding of how the CDP score is calculated and which criteria are actually evaluated.

For companies aiming for B or A, demonstrating method and governance is often more decisive than the volume of information provided.

Tools and Resources for a Secure CDP Audit

A CDP audit is most effective when data, policies, and responses are structured, consistent, and traceable.

Without necessarily multiplying tools, certain solutions significantly streamline preparation and review.

Structuring Your CDP Audit with Ditto

Platforms like Ditto centralize everything needed for a CDP submission while making the audit and quality control process easier.

In practice, Ditto helps you:

• structure responses in line with CDP's scoring logic,
• centralize policies, indicators, and action plans in one place,
• facilitate a thorough review before submission,
• maintain consistency from one year to the next,
• reuse data across other frameworks (EcoVadis, CSRD).

Ditto is not designed to replace internal analysis or validation — but to secure formalism, reduce the risk of errors, and save time on preparation, particularly during an audit or expert review.

When Should You Run a CDP Audit?

A CDP audit is particularly valuable in the following situations:

• first-time CDP participation, to avoid structural errors from the outset;
• a score improvement goal (e.g., C → B or B → A);
• client or investor expectations around data reliability;
• preparation for CSRD / ESRS, to ensure consistency of environmental data.

For small and mid-sized companies, a targeted audit often leads to a better score without significantly increasing the workload.

CDP Audit and ESG Governance

The CDP audit fits naturally into a continuous improvement cycle:

1. audit and critical review,
2. gap identification,
3. prioritized action plan,
4. indicator tracking,
5. updated submission.

Integrated into ESG governance, it enables:

• greater consistency across frameworks (CDP, EcoVadis, ISO, CSRD),
• progressive maturity development,
• stronger credibility with stakeholders.

CDP Audit — Key Takeaways