To help combat climate change and simplify the ESG reporting process, the CDP publishes an annual questionnaire since early 2000. The main focus of the questionnaire is climate change, along with questions focused on water and forests. CDP is an international non-profit organisation that helps companies, financial markets, regions, states and cities to monitor their environmental performance.
The CDP score is a key indicator for investors, enabling them to assess a company's environmental credibility. Today, the CDP has the most comprehensive environmental database in the world.
This article retraces the history of CDP, the rise of its influence, the gradual addition of major companies, the evolution of the CDP rating system, and finally, the challenges and consequences for companies. To find out more about CDP, read our dedicated article.
Initially, the CDP had convinced 35 investors to request companies to report their carbon footprint data, with the aim of facilitating strategic decisions through greater transparency. Subsequently, in 2010, CDP added a section dedicated to water resource management. Furthermore in 2012, the organisation changed its name from Carbon Disclosure Project to CDP. In a similar vein, it also included a theme on the impact of deforestation in its survey. Later, CDP improved its system by replacing the “Climate Performance Band” and “Climate Disclosure Score” sections with the “Level of Engagement Score”.
CDP revises its questionnaire every year to keep pace with changes in environmental regulations worldwide. In its current structure, the questionnaire comprises 15 modules, four of which deal with environmental issues. Recently, the CDP has introduced minor modifications to the 2025 questionnaire to make it clearer and more useful. The questionnaire for SMEs does not change much this year. In addition to climate, forests and water security, sections on plastics and biodiversity have also been added. The latter two sections do not receive a score yet, but companies are encouraged to report their data.
The CDP aligns itself with various regulations, such as the PCAF (Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials), to simplify the reporting of financed emissions. The partnership with PCAF focuses on financial institutions to help them achieve carbon neutrality. In addition, EFRAG and CDP have published a correspondence report highlighting a high degree of interoperability between the CDP questionnaire and the European Sustainability Reporting Standard E1 (ESRS E1). This alignment enables companies to centralize their data more efficiently.
Over the past 25 years, CDP has succeeded in encouraging a growing number of companies to disclose their environmental data. According to the “2023 Climate Transition Plan Disclosure” report, 25% of companies already have a transition plan aligned with the 1.5°C target, and 44% have disclosed the data needed to assess credible plans. On the other hand, of those companies that do not yet have a plan, 36% say they will adopt one within the next two years.
According to the report, the most advanced sectors in terms of disclosure are power generation (32%), financial services (30%) and infrastructure (24%). By contrast, the worst-performing sectors include fossil fuels, hotels, transport and clothing.
In 2024, over 23,000 companies took part in the reporting exercise - an increase of 24% on 2023.
The rating methodology assesses the disclosed environmental data, as well as its alignment with each company's transition plan. Companies submit their data in the form of answers to the CDP questionnaire. Each question is directly linked to one or more key indicators. The 4 rating categories used by CDP are: “Disclosure”, “Awareness”, ‘Management’ and “Leadership”.
In the 2024 report, the CDP has introduced several methodological changes:
To improve efficiency and better align its practices with global sustainability standards, CDP has introduced new digital tools. Since 2023-2024, questionnaires on climate change, water security and forests have been integrated into one. A new platform has also been launched to facilitate the submission of responses, with a separate module dedicated to SMEs. The SME questionnaire has been adapted in terms of size and level of detail.
The CDP's alignment with a number of ESG-related frameworks, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), ESRS, ISSB and TCFD, demonstrates that, although focused on climate change, the CDP is capable of effectively supporting ESG objectives in their entirety. In an ever-changing landscape, the CDP questionnaire integrates these frameworks and standards under a single, unified umbrella, promoting greater interoperability.
The CDP is recognized as an international benchmark for environmental transparency. The credibility of its rating system gives it strategic value with market players and investors. CDP reporting gives companies the opportunity to reinforce their eco-responsible image, assess their climate strategy and better guide their sustainability actions.
Increasingly stringent and evolving reporting criteria makes it difficult to produce reports that can be deemed sufficient. Example: The proportion of companies linking management incentives to climate performance has fallen from 82% to just 8%, as it is now required to demonstrate an explicit link with climate transition objectives.
Lack of internal capacity and appropriate systems, limiting ability to meet new reporting requirements.
CDP has established itself as a key player in the global environmental reporting landscape. Thanks to its growing alignment with recognized ESG frameworks, it offers companies a structured, interoperable platform adapted to emerging regulatory requirements. Over the years, the number of participating companies has grown considerably, illustrating a collective awareness of climate and sustainability issues. The evolution of questionnaires and the simplification of tools for SMEs bear witness to CDP's determination to make reporting more accessible, while reinforcing its methodological rigor.
Ultimately, reporting via the CDP contributes not only to the fight against climate change (ODD 13), but also to the achievement of other Sustainable Development Goals, by supporting companies in a more responsible, transparent and forward-looking approach.
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