Preparing and Completing the CDP Questionnaire: Step-by-Step

How to Prepare and Complete the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)?

Environmental data transparency has become a key issue for companies committed to CSR and ESG initiatives. In response to growing stakeholder expectations, the ability to measure, reduce, and communicate greenhouse gas emissions is now a strategic lever. In this context, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) stands out as a global benchmark for environmental reporting. For companies seeking to showcase their climate commitment, completing the CDP questionnaire thoroughly and accurately is essential. To learn more about our CDP support services, explore our offre.

Understanding the CDP Questionnaire and Its Objectives

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a global non-profit initiative that collects and assesses environmental data from companies, cities, and governments. Through its annual questionnaire, it invites organizations to disclose their impact on climate, natural resources, and biodiversity. The goal? To promote transparency, structure environmental strategies, and drive action in the face of climate challenges.

The CDP questionnaire covers several key environmental areas that align closely with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) expectations. Companies are asked to provide clear and well-justified information on:

• Their carbon footprint, through the monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and 3);
• Their water management, particularly risks related to availability, quality, and usage of water resources;
• Their impact on forests, by evaluating supply chains linked to high-risk commodities (such as palm oil, soy, timber, cattle, etc.).

Depending on the environmental challenges a company faces, CDP offers three thematic questionnaires:

• Climate Change: The most common, covering GHG emissions, reduction strategies, governance, and climate scenarios;
• Water Security: For companies whose activities strongly depend on water resources;
• Forest Management: Targeting companies involved in supply chains with significant forest-related impacts.

This questionnaire is fully aligned with an ESG strategy: it helps companies identify environmental risks, steer their transition plans, and meet the growing expectations of investors, customers, and regulators regarding climate transparency. Responding to CDP means building a structured, credible response to the challenges of tomorrow.

Who Is Concerned by the Carbon Disclosure Project?

Not all companies are necessarily invited to respond to the CDP questionnaire. This reporting primarily targets organizations whose activities have a significant environmental impact or whose stakeholders particularly investors are seeking greater transparency.

The Main Organizations Targeted by CDP Include:

• Publicly listed companies, which face increasing expectations regarding non-financial reporting;
• Large multinational corporations, especially those with complex supply chains;
• Suppliers referenced by these major companies, through the CDP Supply Chain program, which allows purchasing organizations to request environmental data from their business partners.

Certain sectors are particularly impacted by the questionnaire due to their direct or indirect environmental footprint. This is especially the case for industries such as:

• Energy (production, distribution, extraction);
• Manufacturing (textiles, electronics, automotive, etc.);
• Agri-food (agricultural production, food processing, retail);
• Finance, which is increasingly involved in managing climate-related risks linked to investment portfolios.

But how does a company know it needs to respond to the CDP?
It’s often investors, major clients, or other stakeholders who initiate the process by submitting an official disclosure request through CDP. This request appears in the system as a “request list” sent to the targeted company.

By responding, organizations demonstrate their environmental commitment and strengthen their credibility with market players. Conversely, ignoring these requests can negatively impact stakeholders’ perception and influence investment or partnership decisions.

Key Steps to Effectively Prepare for the CDP Questionnaire

Filling out the CDP questionnaire is far more than a simple data collection task. It is a strategic exercise that requires anticipation, internal coordination, and methodological rigor. To maximize your chances of success, here are the key steps to follow.

1. Organize a Structured Preparation Phase

Successfully responding to the CDP questionnaire starts with a structured preparation phase. It is essential to set up a dedicated project team, led by a clearly identified coordinator, and involving departments such as sustainability, finance, procurement, environment, and depending on the company's size communication. This cross-functional governance helps streamline information flow and ensures consistency across responses.

The team’s first task is to identify the data required to meet the questionnaire’s expectations: energy consumption, GHG emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and 3), climate governance, risk management, low-carbon strategy, etc. CDP now integrates climate, forests, and water into a unified questionnaire made up of 13 modules, along with unscored sections on biodiversity and plastics.

A retro-planning schedule should then be established, factoring in time for data collection, validation, drafting, and review. Note: the CDP portal typically opens in June, with submission deadlines in October. Anticipating these steps early reduces last-minute back-and-forth and ensures high-quality reporting.

2. Collect and Consolidate Environmental Data

Once the questionnaire requirements have been identified, the next step is to centralize data from the relevant departments: carbon footprint, energy consumption, CSR policies, procurement data, etc. Efficient data collection requires a clear allocation of responsibilities and smooth coordination between teams.

CDP recommends using the GHG Protocol principles to guide the process:

• Relevance: gather data that supports decision-making;,
• Completeness: cover all relevant scopes and impact sources;
• Consistency: apply uniform methodologies;
• Transparency: clearly document methods, assumptions, and limitations;
• Accuracy: ensure precision and avoid inconsistencies.

Using dedicated tools (ESG reporting software, management platforms, external audits) can enhance data quality by streamlining consolidation and verification.

3. Draft Clear and Strategic Responses

Responding to CDP is not just about completing a form it’s about demonstrating a credible, structured environmental strategy backed by tangible actions. Each response must be carefully written in clear language while showcasing the company’s actual efforts.

Some best practices include:

• Justify your actions: support answers with concrete examples, figures, or internal case studies;
• Structure your responses: use a logical flow context, action, outcome;
• Ensure overall consistency: across modules, figures, and narrative;
• Avoid omissions: leaving fields blank is treated as non-response and penalized.

Some sections of the questionnaire are sector-specific: it’s crucial to tailor your answers to your industry’s realities (energy, agri-food, finance, etc.) to reflect your operational challenges accurately.

Internal Preparation Phase

The internal preparation phase plays a key role in the success of CDP reporting. Beyond organizing the project, it should foster a culture of environmental data management within the company.

This begins with raising awareness among internal stakeholders. It’s not just about collecting numbers it’s about helping teams understand the bigger picture: Why is this data needed? How will it be used? This mindset encourages lasting engagement and smoother interdepartmental collaboration. It is also recommended to map data sources and identify potential bottlenecks early (e.g., lack of tracked metrics, non-consolidated data, insufficient tools). A pre-diagnostic assessment can be helpful to evaluate the company’s current maturity level and prioritize actions before the CDP portal opens.

Finally, internal preparation should include a continuous review process: intermediate validation of data, cross-checks with financial or non-financial documents, and trial runs on the CDP portal. This helps detect issues in advance, ensures a smoother submission process, and significantly improves the overall quality of responses.

Environmental Data Collection and Consolidation

Once the project team is in place and the data needs are identified, the next key step is to collect, consolidate, and validate the environmental data required to respond to the CDP questionnaire.

This begins with defining data collection methodologies. Using recognized frameworks such as the GHG Protocol for greenhouse gas emissions is strongly recommended. These methodologies ensure traceability of calculations and year-over-year comparability.

In terms of tools, many companies rely on:

• ESG platforms or dedicated reporting software,
• Internal dashboards (often linked to energy accounting systems),
• Or specialized service providers for carbon footprint assessments or climate risk mapping.

However, data quality and availability can present challenges. Some data are scattered across different departments, others are not yet systematically tracked (notably Scope 3 emissions), or rely on unreliable estimates. These gaps must be identified and documented. CDP also recommends providing justification for any approximation or missing data in the designated fields.

To ensure the reliability and accuracy of the information, several best practices can be implemented:

• Formalize calculation methods and the scope covered,
• Involve business data owners in the verification process,
• Automate data collection as much as possible to reduce human er
• Document all assumptions or methodological choices to ensure year-over-year consistency.

High-quality data is not just an accurate figure: it is contextualized, traceable, and aligned with the questionnaire’s requirements. This level of rigor is essential to achieve a strong score and enhance the credibility of the overall approach.

Answering the CDP Questionnaire: Best Practices and Pitfalls to Avoid

Filling out the CDP questionnaire is a strategic step. It is not merely a compliance exercise, but a way to demonstrate environmental maturity. The quality of the responses has a direct impact on the company’s score, credibility, and ability to convince stakeholders.

1. A Modular and Technical Structure:

   The 2024 CDP questionnaire is organized into 13 modules, some of which are integrated (e.g., governance, strategy, risk management, data consolidation), while others are specific to environmental issues (climate, forests, water, biodiversity, plastics). Certain companies are also required to complete sector-specific modules depending on their industry (e.g., finance, agri-food, energy).

   Each module includes various types of questions: multiple-choice, quantitative, and especially qualitative, where companies must explain their initiatives, action plans, performance indicators, or risk analyses. These responses are typically assessed based on criteria such as completeness, clarity, consistency, and level of ambition.

2. Des réponses qualitatives avant tout :

   To maximize its score and the added value of its approach, a company must:

   • Justify its choices thoroughly, explaining the rationale behind each action: why a specific target was set, how it was defined, what resources are being deployed, and what results have been achieved;
     
     
   • Support its answers with concrete examples, such as implemented projects, monitored indicators, and measured outcomes (e.g., emissions reductions, supplier engagement, green investments);
     
     
   • Provide context based on its industry, business activities, or geographical footprint.
     
     

   CDP rewards responses that are personalized, well-structured, and grounded in the company’s reality rather than vague or generic statements.

3. Common Pitfalls to Avoid : 

   Several recurring mistakes can negatively impact a company’s score:

   • Inconsistencies across modules, especially between quantitative data and narratives (e.g., ambitious targets without a clear action plan);
     
     
   • Blank fields or incomplete responses, which are often treated as non-responses;
     
     
   • Unsourced or vague data, lacking explanations on methodology or scope;
     
     
   • Overly technical or jargon-heavy responses, which may be difficult for external reviewers to interpret.

Finally, it is essential to review the entire questionnaire before submission to ensure the overall consistency of the message and the logical flow of the information provided.

Showcasing the Value of CDP Reporting Results

Once the questionnaire is submitted, CDP assigns each company a score ranging from A to D-, assessing the quality, transparency, and ambition of its environmental approach. This score is not merely a formal assessment it sends a strong signal to investors, partners, clients, and regulators.

Understanding and Interpreting the CDP Score:

The CDP scoring framework is structured around four levels of maturity:

• D/D- : The company has started to disclose its environmental impacts
• C/C- : The company has a better understanding of its environmental impacts and has implemented management processes.
• B/B- : The company demonstrates concrete actions to mitigate its environmental impacts.
• A/A- : The company has an integrated, ambitious, and well-documented environmental strategy aligned with international best practices.

Each module and subtopic of the questionnaire is scored individually and then aggregated using a standardized methodology. Scores are updated annually, enabling companies to benchmark themselves against their peers, highlight strengths, and identify areas for improvement.

Leveraging the CDP Score as a Strategic Asset

A strong CDP score can become a key strategic asset within a broader CSR approach:

• It enhances the company’s credibility with stakeholders, especially ESG-conscious investors;
• It supports non-financial reporting, reference documents, and corporate communications;
• It serves as a foundation for steering climate transition plans and setting ambitious, measurable targets.

Some companies even incorporate their CDP score into variable compensation policies or use it as a supplier evaluation criterion within their supply chain.

Les bénéfices d’un reporting transparent :

Responding to the CDP—even without aiming for the top score in the first year—allows companies to:

• Structure their environmental governance and identify key levers for action;
• Gain visibility among ESG investors and analysts;
• Enhance their reputation with the general public, media, and institutional clients;
• Stand out in the market with a credible, evidence-based climate strategy;
• Build trust across their ecosystem, particularly in times of regulatory uncertainty or transition.

CDP reporting is more than just a score. It is a strategic decision-making tool, an internal management framework, and an external engagement lever. For truly committed companies, it also represents an opportunity to demonstrate sustainability leadership.

At ClimateSeed, we support companies at every stage of their CDP journey — from gap analysis to final submission. Whether you're aiming to improve your score or simply looking to better structure your reporting, feel free to reach out: our experts are here to guide you.  

Conclusion :

Too often seen as an administrative burden, the CDP questionnaire is in fact much more than a simple compliance exercise. It represents a major strategic opportunity for companies seeking to structure their environmental approach, position themselves as responsible actors, and meet the growing expectations of their stakeholders. By relying on a rigorous, internationally recognized framework, CDP enables organizations to accurately assess their impacts, prioritize actions, and showcase their commitments. More than that, it fosters a dynamic of continuous improvement by aligning climate ambition, internal governance, and market transparency. Preparing and completing the questionnaire is therefore a concrete step toward sustainable performance one that is measured not only in figures, but also in resilience, credibility, and influence.