How to Successfully Complete Your First CDP Assessment in One Month: The Adenes Case

Adenes: a leading player in risk management

Adenes is a B2B services firm specializing in risk management, with more than 3,800 employees. Recognized for its expertise and professionalism, the group helps clients manage their operational and strategic risks.

As major buyers increasingly factor environmental and climate criteria into their procurement decisions, Adenes chose to pursue CDP certification entirely on its own initiative — with no formal client requirement pushing them to do so. This proactive stance reflects the group's strategic vision: it sees climate transparency as a genuine differentiator in its market.

Launching into CDP with No Track Record and a Very Tight Timeline

When Pablo Dion, CSR Project Manager at Adenes, initiated the CDP process, he faced several major obstacles:

A Complex Questionnaire with No Prior Experience

CDP is widely recognized as one of the most demanding climate reporting questionnaires. With more than 200 potential questions and a sophisticated scoring methodology, it represents a significant challenge for any first-time submission.

Without prior history or familiarity with the platform, the risk was spending weeks on questions with limited impact on the final score.

Only One Month to Deliver

The time constraint was particularly tight. From the moment the decision was made to respond to CDP to the submission deadline, only one month remained. This short timeframe left no room for missteps or wasted effort on secondary questions.

A Lack of Structured Data

Like many companies, Adenes had implemented numerous climate and environmental initiatives. However, these were not necessarily documented or structured in a format aligned with CDP’s expectations.

The team therefore had to simultaneously identify existing actions, gather supporting evidence, and translate everything into the specific language expected by CDP evaluators.

An Opaque Scoring Logic

One of CDP’s key challenges lies in its scoring methodology. Not all questions carry the same weight, and certain responses can have a disproportionate impact on the final score. Without prior expertise, it was difficult to determine where to focus efforts to maximize results.

Ditto: A CDP Copilot to Structure, Prioritize, and Maximize the Score

To address these challenges, Adenes partnered with Ditto, a CSR copilot and official partner of EcoVadis and CDP. Our support was structured around four strategic pillars:

1. Understanding the Scoring Logic to Prioritize Efforts

The first step was to demystify CDP. Rather than letting Pablo get lost in 200+ questions, we helped him understand:

• Which questions had the greatest impact on the final score;
• Which criteria truly contributed to achieving a B rating;
• How CDP’s methodology weights different sections.

This strategic clarity enabled the team to focus on high-impact areas and avoid wasting time on secondary questions.

2. Structuring Responses Based on Existing Actions

One of the key strengths of our support was our ability to leverage what already existed. Adenes had implemented many climate and environmental initiatives, but they had not been designed or documented with CDP in mind.

Unlike companies that build on responses from previous years, Adenes was starting from scratch: no pre-filled questions, more than 200 answers to draft manually. Without support, this would have represented several hundred hours of work.

We worked closely with Pablo to:

• Identify all relevant initiatives already in place;
• Reframe them in the language expected by CDP;
• Collect or create the necessary supporting documentation;
• Structure responses to maximize scoring potential.

3. Optimizing Data Collection and Drafting

Through the Ditto platform, we centralized:

• All documents and data required for the responses;
• Response templates tailored to Adenes’ profile;
• Clear tracking of progress, question by question.

This centralization significantly accelerated the process and prevented information loss or duplicated effort.

4. Supporting the Process Through Submission

Our role went beyond structuring responses. We supported Pablo through to final submission, ensuring that the disclosure accurately reflected Adenes’ level of maturity.

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A B Score on the First Attempt: A Rare and Valuable Outcome

The results exceeded initial expectations. Adenes achieved a B score on its very first CDP assessment—an outcome Pablo is particularly proud of.

A Remarkable First-Time Performance

Achieving a B on a first CDP submission is notable. Most companies begin with a C or D score and improve over time as they refine their methodology. Adenes effectively fast-tracked this learning curve through a structured approach from day one.

Record Timeline: One Month from Decision to Submission

The most impressive aspect was the speed of execution. A first CDP response typically requires 3 to 6 months of work. Adenes completed the entire process in just one month while securing a solid score.

This efficiency was driven by:

• Strategic prioritization of high-impact questions;
• Smart formalization of existing initiatives;
• A proven methodology that avoided unnecessary back-and-forth.

Stronger Positioning in EcoVadis

In line with the initial objective, the CDP process also strengthened Adenes’ EcoVadis profile. The climate initiatives structured within CDP were leveraged in the environmental section of EcoVadis, creating synergies between the two frameworks.