CDP Full Corporate Questionnaire
An Overview
Page 3 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Contents
CDP Full Corporate Questionnaire.......................................................................................................................... 1
Version ............................................................................................................................ 2
Contents........................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Overview of the full corporate questionnaire ...................................................................................................... 4
Full corporate questionnaire structure.......................................................................................................... 4
Full and SME questionnaires........................................................................................................................... 5
Environmental issues in CDP’s full corporate questionnaire .................................................... 6
Climate Change .................................................................................................................................................. 6
Forests ................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Water Security .................................................................................................................................................... 7
Plastics................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Biodiversity .......................................................................................................................................................... 8
CDP questionnaire sectors ................................................................................................10
Sector approach............................................................................................................................................... 10
Sector-specific content................................................................................................................................... 11
Connection to other frameworks ........................................................................................21
IFRS S2 (ISSB) climate standard .................................................................................................................. 21
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ............................................................... 21
Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)................................................................. 22
European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) ............................................................................. 22
Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) .................................................................................................. 22
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) ................................................................................................................... 22
Ellen MacArthur Foundation Global Commitment.................................................................................... 23
Preparing your CDP response ............................................................................................24
CDP disclosure cycle 2024 ............................................................................................................................ 24
CDP disclosure support materials ............................................................................................................... 24
Important notes for completing your CDP response ............................................................................... 26
Providing feedback to CDP ............................................................................................................................ 29
Page 4 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Overview of the full corporate questionnaire
CDP’s questionnaires evolve annually to drive corporate ambition further, and support companies and
financial markets to transition in line with a 1.5°C, deforestation-free, water-secure world. CDP collects
environmental data from the world’s largest organizations on behalf of over 700 institutional capital
markets signatories with a combined US$142 trillion in assets, and 330+ major purchasers with over
US$6.4 trillion in procurement spend. Since its launch in 2002, CDP has helped thousands of companies
to measure their environmental impacts, set ambitious targets, and demonstrate progress for key
stakeholders.
In 2024, the CDP corporate questionnaires on climate change, forests, and water security have been
integrated into one corporate questionnaire. Through this questionnaire, organizations can provide data
on multiple environmental issues in a single disclosure, encouraging more holistic and balanced
reporting. The CDP full corporate questionnaire follows the latest science, aligns with new high-quality
disclosure frameworks and standards, and includes incremental changes to the datapoints from CDP’s
previous climate change, forests, and water security questionnaires.
Full corporate questionnaire structure
There are 13 modules in the full corporate questionnaire. Modules 1 to 6, and 13 are integrated, which
means that questions in these modules cover more than one environmental issue area. Conversely,
modules 7-11 relate to ‘Environmental Performance’ and each module is specific to an environmental
issue area. Organizations in the financial services sector will be presented with module 12, which is an
integrated, sector-specific ‘Environmental Performance’ module.
All disclosers will be presented with datapoints on climate change, as well as supplementary datapoints
on plastics and biodiversity. Datapoints on forests and water security will only be presented if a
discloser has been requested or has opted in to reporting on these environmental issues.
The journey through CDP’s full corporate questionnaire includes the following:
Integrated modules
Sector-specific FS module
Integrated modules
Module 1: Introduction
Module 2: Identification, assessment, and
management of dependencies, impacts,
risks, and opportunities
Module 4: Governance
Module 5: Business strategy
Module 6: Environmental performance –
Consolidation approach
Module 7: Environmental
performance – Climate change
Module 8: Environmental
performance – Forests
Module 9: Environmental
performance – Water security
Module 10: Environmental
performance – Plastics
Module 11: Environmental
performance – Biodiversity
Module 12: Environmental performance –
Financial Services approach
Module 13: Further information
& Sign off
Module 3: Disclosure of
risks and opportunities
Page 5 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Full and SME corporate questionnaires
CDP recognizes that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) may have different reporting capabilities
and requirements compared to larger organizations. For this reason, CDP has two corporate
questionnaires: the full questionnaire and the SME questionnaire.
The full corporate questionnaire is suitable for large organizations and includes sector-specific
datapoints. Meanwhile, the SME questionnaire is tailored to the needs of SMEs and contains fewer and
simplified datapoints. Only organizations that meet CDP’s SME eligibility thresholds will have the option
to complete the SME questionnaire.
Note that this document provides an overview of the full corporate questionnaire only. You can find
more information on the SME questionnaire on the CDP website.
Eligibility to complete the SME questionnaire
Organizations with a headcount of less than 500 total employees and annual revenue less than
US$50 million are eligible and recommended to complete the SME questionnaire.
Organizations with a headcount of less than 500 total employees and revenue between
US$50M – US$250M, as well as organizations with a headcount of 500 – 1,000 total employees
and annual revenue less than US$250 million are eligible to complete the SME questionnaire
but are recommended to complete the full corporate questionnaire.
Organizations with a headcount of more than 1,000 total employees or annual revenue of more
than US$250 million are not eligible to complete the SME questionnaire and can only complete
the full corporate questionnaire.
Page 6 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Environmental issues in CDP’s full corporate questionnaire
Addressing the climate crisis cannot be achieved without simultaneously addressing the nature crisis.
Carbon emissions and climate change are only part of the challenge. At least US$44 trillion in economic
value is generated through the exploitation of natural resources every year – and losses to nature
continue at unprecedented rates.
To put protecting climate and nature at the heart of corporate strategy, CDP’s full corporate
questionnaire challenges organizations to take more effective action across a wide spectrum of
environmental issues. It encourages CDP disclosers and data users to assess and manage
environmental dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities as an interrelated challenge.
Note: ‘environmental issues’ refers to an organization’s dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities
related to the environmental issue areas covered in CDP’s corporate questionnaire i.e., climate change,
forests, water, biodiversity and/or plastics.
Climate Change
Improving corporate awareness through measurement and disclosure is essential to the effective
management of climate change risk. CDP’s datapoints on climate change have been evolving over time
in line with the latest climate science and global policy development. The 2015 Paris Agreement was a
tipping point in the global approach to climate change. By agreeing to limit global temperature rises to
well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit warming to under 1.5°C, governments have committed to a
transition to a net-zero carbon economy. This transition will create winners and losers within and across
business sectors, as the manifestation of climate-related opportunities and risks accelerates in both
size and scope. ‘Business as usual’ will not be a good indicator of how companies will perform.
In its first two decades, CDP’s climate change datapoints focused on raising ambition and providing
data to improve governance and decision-making. But time is fast running out to prevent catastrophic
climate change, and an irreversible loss of nature and habitats. There is now an urgent need to ensure
that stated intentions are accompanied by concrete plans, with transition metrics, and evidence of
progress against agreed targets. Accountability is needed to raise the bar to align with halving
emissions, shifting towards nature positivity by 2030, and achieving net-zero emissions and full nature
recovery by 2050.
In line with CDP’s 2021-2025 strategy, climate change questions and their scoring will be evolving to
further encourage and support organizations to set targets and create tangible climate transition plans,
as well as to measure their performance against them. For this reason, from 2024 onwards, all
organizations disclosing via CDP will be requested to report climate-related data.
Nonetheless, carbon emissions are only one part of the challenge. The climate and nature crises need
to be addressed simultaneously, including by conserving, protecting, and restoring ecosystems,
adopting more sustainable forestry and water use practices, and ensuring a circular economy.
Forests
Deforestation and forest degradation account for approximately 15% of the world's greenhouse gas
emissions. Stopping deforestation and the conversion of other natural ecosystems is vital to
significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the loss of natural capital. Global demand for
agricultural commodities is the primary driver of deforestation and ecosystem conversion, as timber is
extracted unsustainably, and land is cleared for agricultural production. This represents major risks to
businesses, as agricultural commodities associated with high levels of deforestation are the building
blocks of millions of products traded globally, and thus feature in the value chains of many
organizations.
Page 7 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
CDP’s forests questions focus on how organizations produce and source four key commodities: timber,
cattle products, soy, and palm oil. In addition, organizations may report on how they produce and source
rubber, cocoa, and coffee. Eliminating deforestation and conversion of other ecosystems linked to the
production and sourcing of these commodities is critical to meet near-term climate and nature targets
as well as complying with emerging regulatory requirements.
CDP’s forests-related datapoints provide data users and disclosers with important information about
how organizations are progressing towards key targets of eliminating deforestation and conversion.
Organizations can disclose comprehensively on the proportion of their commodity volumes that are
deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) through standardized metrics developed by the
Accountability Framework initiative (AFi). These metrics are contextualized and complimented by
datapoints on sourcing areas and traceability, methods used to progress volumes to DCF, engagement
with supplier and smallholders, restoration and conservation projects, and adoption of landscape
approaches to achieve sustainable land use at scale.
Water Security
Through transparency and accountability, the CDP questionnaire drives organizations and financial
markets to decouple growth from depletion of freshwater resources and allocate capital towards a
water secure economy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, the CDP
questionnaire collects information for capital markets actors, customers, and policy makers on an
organization’s management, governance, and use of water resources. The water security program has
grown significantly since it was established in 2010, in terms of the numbers of organizations
disclosing water-related data, the value of associated assets, and the number of investors and
customers requesting the data. CDP now holds the world’s largest corporate water dataset, with more
organizations reporting on water than ever before.
CDP water security datapoints provide data users and disclosers with an insight on current and future
water-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities. They also present a journey to water
stewardship and water security by assisting organizations to progress the maturity of their water
management and corporate reporting, as well as enabling benchmarking against leading practice.
Collecting and disclosing information on management and governance of water-related dependencies,
impacts, risks, and opportunities, as well as the integration of water into long term strategic objectives,
provides data for decision making and catalyzes corporate action.
Water accounting
To progress water security for all and to minimize water-related risks, organizations must eliminate any
detrimental impact on water ecosystems and resources. Risk exposure occurs as water flows into and
out of an organization’s boundaries, so CDP collects information to determine how well an organization
understands this flow. Organizations are encouraged to account for all their interaction with water, and
to minimize that interaction (e.g., through reduced withdrawals, efficiency improvements, or by
changing their business activities). This means that CDP seeks more nuanced information than
volumetric reductions in freshwater removal or consumption. Most important is that organizations have
robust monitoring and accounting in place for all aspects of their corporate hydrology, and that they
demonstrate an understanding of their dependencies and impacts on water.
Measurements of withdrawal, discharge, and consumption take place as water crosses the reporting
boundary of an organization, at either the corporate level or facility level. This makes the concept of the
reporting boundary at the corporate and facility level central to your CDP response.
You can find more information on water accounting in CDP’s Technical Note on Water Accounting.
Plastics
Plastic pollution and waste harms our ecosystems, economies, and communities. It threatens the
function of the world’s terrestrial, ocean and freshwater ecosystems, which serve as sanctuaries for
biodiversity, vital food sources and major carbon sinks. Despite the globally accepted scale of the
Page 8 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
problem and extent of its impacts, many organizations are yet to have a strong understanding of how
they contribute to the plastics crisis and their exposure to commercial, legal, and reputational risks
across their value chains.
Note that all disclosers responding to CDP’s full corporate questionnaire will be presented with
datapoints on plastics. However, these will be unscored in 2024, and therefore will not impact an
organization’s CDP score. This is in recognition that many organizations are in the early stages of
developing their action, accountability, and reporting on plastics.
On behalf of its data users (capital markets signatories, purchasing companies, and others), CDP is
requesting organizations to report on whether they are currently taking actions to:
reduce plastic usage;
reduce or eliminate virgin content in plastics;
eliminate problematic and unnecessary plastics;
transition to reuse systems;
reduce microplastic emissions; and
increase circularity.
This provides decision makers with clear, comprehensive, and comparable data on the production,
commercialization, usage, and end-of-life management of plastics across the global economy. CDP’s
datapoints on plastics are informed by existing plastics disclosure frameworks, standards, and
guidelines including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN Environment Programme’s Global
Commitment framework, WWF ReSource Tracker, ESRS and GRI 306: Waste.
As strategies for reducing plastic dependency and increasing circularity mature, CDP will review the
data that organizations are able to provide and collect feedback from our stakeholders on what is most
relevant to driving action and informing decision making.
Biodiversity
In line with its 2021-2025 strategy, CDP has begun to broaden the environmental issues covered in its
questionnaire, with the inclusion of questions on organizations’ approach to addressing and
maintaining biodiversity. These datapoints are material to all sectors and geographies, and responses
will inform future biodiversity metrics, ensuring the relevance and usefulness of biodiversity corporate
reporting to both financial institutions and policy makers.
Note that all disclosers responding to CDP’s full corporate questionnaire will be presented with
datapoints on biodiversity. However, these will be unscored in 2024, and therefore will not impact an
organization’s CDP score.
CDP’s datapoints on biodiversity are aligned with the IUCN’s “Guidelines for planning and monitoring
corporate biodiversity performance” and allow organizations to demonstrate how they:
understand their dependencies, impacts, risks and/or opportunities on biodiversity and identify
where they should concentrate their efforts;
think about their ambitions to mitigate any negative impact on biodiversity and their goals,
objectives, and key strategies;
decide on what indicators and metrics to use to measure the success of their strategies; and
monitor and disclose their success.
The introduction of biodiversity datapoints reflects a growing recognition of the significant risks of
biodiversity loss. In part, these risks stem from the role that biodiversity plays in climate change and
other nature challenges. As highlighted by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on
Page 9 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), there are close relationships between biodiversity and GHG emissions, resilience, and
adaptations to the threat of climate change. However, biodiversity loss also represents a real risk in its
own right: biodiversity underpins all of the ecosystem services society ultimately depends on and, unlike
climate change, biodiversity losses are irreversible.
According to the World Economic Forum, at least US$44 trillion of economic value generation – over
half the world’s total GDP – is moderately or highly dependent on biodiversity and its services and, as
a result, exposed to risks from biodiversity loss. The UK Treasury reports that biodiversity losses
threaten to undermine the global economy.
Therefore, it is essential for organizations across all sectors of the economy to demonstrate their
awareness of biodiversity-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities in their value chain,
and what actions they are taking to mitigate or eliminate any negative effects.
Page 10 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
CDP questionnaire sectors
Sector approach
Organizations in high-impact sectors will be presented with questions specific to that sector in addition
to the general questions. CDP requests additional datapoints from organizations in high-impact sectors
relating to climate change, forests, water security, plastics, and biodiversity.
The sector-specific questions allocated to organizations are defined by CDP's Activity Classification
System (CDP-ACS). This system categorizes organizations by focusing on the activities from which
they derive revenue and associating these with potential effects on their organization regarding climate
change, deforestation, and water security.
An organization may be allocated up to four questionnaire sectors (including ‘General’). However, if an
organization is eligible for CDP scoring, they will only be scored on their primary questionnaire sector.
Note that since the full corporate questionnaire includes sector-specific questions, some question
numbers may not be consecutive, as not all questions are applicable to every organization.
Page 11 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Sector-specific content
The table below provides sector descriptions and outlines the key sector-specific content for each high-impact sector in CDP’s full corporate questionnaire per
environmental issue area.
Questionnaire
sector
Introduction
Sector-specific content
Climate change
Water security
Agricultural
commodities (AC)
Activities in the agricultural commodities sector include crop farming, fish
& animal farming, and other types of agricultural production, such as for
cotton, sugar, and tea. Other activities can relate to producing raw
materials (crops and/or livestock) that will be used as ingredients in the
manufacturing and packaging of consumer goods by the food, beverage
and tobacco sector. This includes the small-scale production of non-timber
forest products (e.g. rubber, nuts, seeds, etc.).
The agricultural commodities sector is fundamentally dependent on natural
resources, and thus directly affected by climate change. It also accounts
for almost 70% of the world’s water consumption, impacting on and
impacted by water security. With increasingly unpredictable weather
patterns and increasing demand, the agricultural commodities sector is at
high risk.
Regarding climate change, emissions are associated with the entire
agricultural commodities value chain, therefore a whole value chain
approach is advised; including consideration of emissions resulting from
the consumption of products. Water quality is also an important issue for
this sector: excessive or poor application of fertilizers and pesticides can
lead to nitrate and phosphorus run-offs, polluting waterways and
contaminating groundwater.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Agriculture, Food, and Forest
Products group.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Land management practices with
climate change
mitigation/adaptation benefits;
Biogenic carbon pertaining to direct
operations;
Commodity-specific emissions
intensity data related to the activities
performed by your organization; and
Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions
breakdowns by relevant business
activity.
Water-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Production or sourcing of
agricultural products in
areas of water stress; and
Water intensity of
produced or sourced
agricultural products.
Capital goods
(CG)
The capital goods sector provides products and services to key high
emitting end markets, such as power generation, construction,
transportation, and industry.
It is not an emissions intensive sector from direct emissions (Scope 1) or
indirect emissions from energy use (Scope 2). However, indirect emissions
in the value chain (Scope 3) are key for the sector, with the majority related
to the use of sold products and services. Capital goods producers must
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Life cycle emissions assessment of
products and services;
Year-on-year Scope 3 emissions
performance;
No water-related sector-
specific datapoints.
Page 12 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
therefore be able to understand their indirect emissions profile and manage
their product-related climate change risks if they are to ensure future
competitive success and be prepared for any product-related regulation.
Investment in research and development of energy efficient low-carbon
products with scope for system-wide change will be also key for the capital
goods sector’s transition to a low-carbon future.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Materials and Buildings group.
Efficiency metrics for products
and/or services; and
Investments in low-carbon R&D.
Cement (CE)
Activities in the cement sector encompass those associated with concrete
production: from limestone quarrying to concrete end-of-life.
Producing cement is an energy intensive process, with most of the GHG
emissions for cement production originating from the combustion of fossil
fuels for the required heating of key ingredients to about 1450°C in massive
cement kilns. In addition, significant CO2 emissions are released as
process emissions during production. Increasing energy efficiency, fuel
switching, reducing clinker content, and moving to more efficient dry
process kilns with pre-calciner and pre-heating technologies are examples
of ways the cement industry can reduce its emissions.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Materials and Buildings group.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Emissions intensities of key industry
products;
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions
breakdowns by sector production
activities;
Energy consumption and generation
breakdowns; and
Investments in low-carbon R&D.
No water-related sector-
specific datapoints.
Chemicals (CH)
The chemicals sector is diverse, creating a variety of products such as
commodity chemicals, specialty chemicals, life science products, and
consumer care products.
Most emissions in this sector originate from either fossil fuel combustion
during the production process, or as process chemical emissions. Process
redesign, increased heat production efficiency through cogeneration, and
fuel-switching are examples of ways the chemicals sector can cut
emissions. Depending on feedstocks used, this sector may have significant
upstream emissions, thus feedstock switching from fossil to bio-based
fuels may also reduce significant emissions.
Furthermore, chemical production is frequently water intensive. Water is
used primarily for cooling purposes, but also as a raw material in cleaning
and transport, as a solvent, and as part of final products. Feedstocks,
wastes, or products, and hazardous substances in this sector may pose
particular water pollution risks and a significant threat to water
ecosystems.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions
breakdowns by sector production
activities;
Scope 3 category 1 emissions by
feedstock;
Energy consumption and generation
breakdowns;
Feedstock consumption;
Emissions intensities of key industry
products;
Production and capacity of key
industry products; and
Investments in low-carbon R&D.
Water-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Water intensity metrics
Page 13 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Materials and Buildings group.
Coal (CO)
Activities in the coal sector include coal extraction, coal-based fuel
production, and coal-based energy generation.
Coal combustion contributes the largest share of the anthropogenic
greenhouse gas increase in the atmosphere and dominates power
generation globally (IEA, 2017: Tracking Clean Energy Progress). The coal
sector faces increasing regulatory and market pressures in its downstream
use, including competition from natural gas and renewables. As such,
direct and use-phase emissions are strategic risks for coal companies.
Coal mining also depends on and produces large volumes of water, and the
resulting tailings dams are a key environmental risk for this sector requiring
strong management procedures. Tailings dam failures and toxic spills can
lead to long-lasting impacts on human health and downstream riverine
ecosystems. Additionally, coal is one of the most-water intensive methods
of generating electricity.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Energy group.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Specific methane reduction targets,
and flaring and methane leak
detection and reduction;
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions
breakdown by sector production
activities;
Additional metrics for the coal
industry on coal reserves and
production; and
Investments in low-carbon R&D.
Water-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Location of and
management procedures
for tailings dams; and
Details on water intensity
metrics for mining and
processing.
Construction (CN)
The construction sector is complex, with different types of companies
operating at different points in the value chain; spanning across design,
materials manufacturing, construction and life cycle maintenance.
Although it is important to draw distinct lines of responsibility for CO2
emissions within the buildings value chain, all of the actors in this sector
need to align their actions if we are to achieve the Paris Agreement goals,
for which the reduction of building-related emissions will play a critical role.
Buildings are currently responsible for 39% of global GHG emissions. The
sizeable part of these emissions is attributable not only to the construction
process itself, but also to materials manufacturing (embodied emissions)
and to operational emissions during the use stage of buildings. With the
present global building floor area set to more than double by 2060, there
will be increased demand for construction materials for new buildings,
extensions, renovations and infrastructure; creating significant and
immediate carbon emissions before a project’s completion.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Materials and Buildings group.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Assessment of buildings’ life cycle
emissions and embodied carbon
emissions data;
Net zero carbon buildings; and
Investments in low-carbon R&D.
No water-related sector-
specific datapoints.
Page 14 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Electric utilities
(EU)
Activities in the electric utilities sector include electricity generation,
transmission, distribution, and retailing.
Climate change is a strategic issue for the electric utilities sector, as power
generation is the single largest emitter of CO2, accounting for around 25%
of global emissions (IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report.
Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). With the increasing
commercialization of renewable energy sources and the advent of
decentralized power production, the electric utilities sector has the
potential to undergo a key transition to low-carbon energy sources (IIGCC,
2016: Investor Expectations of Electric Utility Companies: Looking down
the line at carbon asset risk).
Additionally, this sector is heavily dependent on water for cooling; and for
electricity generation itself in the case of hydropower. For this reason,
plants are often located near bodies of water and organizations rely on
access to these resources for the success of their business. Electricity
generation in particular indicates the highest exposure to water-related
dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities. The most pressing issues
for the sector relate to the impacts of business activities on the
hydrological cycle and thermal pollution. Specific forms of water pollution
for some fuel types also expose organizations to risks, such as radiation or
hydrocarbon contamination. Robust assessment procedures relating to
water are critical, given the long-term nature of investments in the sector.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Energy group.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Methane emissions reduction;
Scope 1 emissions breakdown by
sector production activities;
Power generation capacity;
Global transmission and distribution
business;
CAPEX plans for power generation
and products and services; and
Investments in low-carbon R&D.
Water-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Organizations are asked
to disclose their
nameplate capacity by
primary power generation
source;
Questions specific for
hydropower operations on
whether they monitor, the
fulfillment of
environmental flows and
the sediment loadings;
and
Water intensity metrics.
Note: Only organizations with
electricity generation activities
will be presented with these
sector-specific questions.
Food, beverage &
tobacco (FB)
This sector can include a broad range of activities from the production of
agricultural products to food retail, and, amongst others, the processing of
raw commodities into ingredients, the manufacturing of packaged
consumer or industrial food, beverage, or tobacco products (including
packaging processes), and the trade and distribution of food products.
Organizations in this sector may also produce their own raw materials, or
source them from the agricultural commodities sector.
This sector inherits climate-related risks from the agricultural activities in
its value chain, including physical risks such as changing weather patterns,
and regulatory risks relating to farm management practices. In addition,
they face other climate-related risks associated with the processing,
manufacture and packaging of food, drinks, and tobacco products, such as
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Land management practices with
climate change
mitigation/adaptation benefits;
Biogenic carbon pertaining to direct
operations;
Commodity-specific emissions
intensity data related to the activities
performed by your organization; and
Water-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Production or sourcing of
agricultural products in
areas of water stress; and
Water intensity of
produced or sourced
agricultural products.
Page 15 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
CO
2
emissions from machinery, storage facilities and transportation.
Focusing on the whole value chain to address these risks is highly
important for organizations in this sector.
The agricultural and manufacturing value chains for this sector are also
considered high impact for water. Agricultural production and food
processing are the most significant activities in terms of water-related
dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities. Water availability, water
quality, and water pollution due to chemical use and management of
animal wastes are issues that can affect significantly an organization’s
performance.
Note that the manufacturing of personal care and household goods using
agricultural commodities is excluded from CDP’s framing of this sector.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Agriculture, Food, and Forest
Products group.
Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions
breakdowns by relevant business
activity.
Metals & mining
(MM)
This sector represents the first stage of the life cycle of a huge range of
manufactured products, from nuclear reactors to hand cream.
Emissions from this sector occur at mining sites during the combustion of
fossil fuels and the processing of materials necessary to transform the
Earth’s elements into useable industry materials. Metals and mining
organizations can reduce emissions through increased recycling, increased
purchases of renewable and low-carbon electricity, and through generation
at production sites, which may be particularly significant in remote mines
not connected to a power grid. Fuel switching and energy efficiency
improvements are needed at metal processing facilities.
Metals and mining organizations also depend on large volumes of water,
and the resulting tailings dams are a key environmental risk for this sector
requiring strong management procedures. Tailings dam failures and toxic
spills can lead to long-lasting impacts on human health and downstream
riverine ecosystems.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Materials and Buildings group.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions
breakdowns by sector production
activities;
Energy consumption and generation
breakdowns;
Production and capacity of key
commodities; and
Investments in low-carbon R&D.
Water-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Details on water intensity
metrics for mining and
processing; and
Location of and
management procedures
for tailings dams.
Oil & gas (OG)
The main activities of the oil and gas sector are the exploration and
development, production, refining, and the manufacturing and distribution
of petrochemicals.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Water-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Page 16 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Climate change is a strategic risk for the oil & gas sector; its operational
and use phase emissions collectively account for half of global CO2
emissions (IIGCC, 2016: Investor Expectations of Oil and Gas Companies:
Transition to a lower carbon future).
Water is also critical to the oil & gas sector. The extraction of hydrocarbons
produces large volumes of water. Smart, safe management of this
produced water is both a business opportunity and a regulatory necessity
(in that water contaminated with hydrocarbons must be properly treated).
In newer exploration and production such as hydraulic fracturing and oil
sands, water is often an essential input for the recovery of the resource.
Downstream operations such as refining and petrochemicals require water
for cooling.
This CDP sector aligns line with the TCFD’s Energy group.
Specific methane reduction targets,
and flaring and methane leak
detection and reduction;
Scope 1 emissions intensities by
hydrocarbon category;
Emissions breakdowns by oil and
gas business divisions, associated
activities, emissions categories, and
methane emissions;
Hydrocarbon reserves, production,
refining, and transportation figures;
Low-carbon investments and capital
flexibility; and
Transfers & sequestration of CO2
emissions.
Total water withdrawals,
discharges and
consumption by business
division (upstream,
downstream and
chemicals); and
Water intensity metrics
Paper & forestry
(PF)
Activities in the paper and forestry sector include the production and/or
sourcing of timber and timber-based products. Note that non-timber forest
products (NTFPs; e.g. rubber, nuts, seeds, etc.) are excluded, as the
production and/or sourcing of these products is generally done at a smaller
scale and consumed in local markets. (Organizations that produce or
source NTFPs are included in our agricultural commodities sector.)
Risks associated with the paper and forestry sector extend across the
whole value chain and arise from a variety of sources. For example,
unsustainable forest management activities, such as illegal logging,
burning or other practices can cause deforestation/forest degradation.
Another potential issue is the sourcing of timber-based products for the
manufacture of wooden goods, paper, and packaging. The use of wood as
biofuel for facility energy use, downstream and upstream transportation
and distribution, and the waste management of plantation/machinery
residues are also all risk factors for the paper and forestry sector. Focusing
on the whole value chain to address these risks is highly important for
organizations in this sector.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Agriculture, Food and Forest
Products group.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Land management practices with
climate change
mitigation/adaptation benefits;
Biogenic carbon pertaining to direct
operations;
Commodity-specific emissions
intensity data related to the activities
performed by your organization; and
Scope 1 and 3 emissions
breakdowns by relevant business
activity.
No water-related sector-
specific datapoints.
Real Estate (RE)
The real estate sector is complex, with different types of companies
operating at different points in the value chain; spanning across finance,
design, construction and life cycle maintenance.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
No water-related sector-
specific datapoints.
Page 17 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Although it is important to draw distinct lines of responsibility for CO2
emissions within the buildings value chain, all of the actors in this sector
need to align their actions if we are to achieve the Paris Agreement goals,
for which the reduction of building-related emissions will play a critical role.
Buildings are currently responsible for 39% of global GHG emissions. The
sizeable part of these emissions is attributable not only to the use of built
assets – operational emissions (Scopes 1 and 2), but also to their
construction – embodied emissions (Scope 3). With the present global
building floor area set to more than double by 2060, there will be increased
demand for construction materials for new buildings, extensions,
renovations and infrastructure; creating significant and immediate carbon
emissions before a project’s completion.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Materials and Buildings group.
Assessment of buildings’ life cycle
emissions and embodied carbon
emissions data;
Net zero carbon buildings; and
Investments in low-carbon R&D.
Steel (ST)
The activities in this sector encompass those associated with the steel
production chain: from quarrying to furnace operations.
Steel production is a highly energy-intensive process as it transforms iron
ore to steel. This transformation requires significant amounts of heat and
coking coal, an emissions-intensive product. Production efficiency is
closely tied to furnace type, so replacing less efficient furnaces with
electric arc furnaces can greatly reduce emissions. However, electric arc
furnaces rely on recycled steel for production, and therefore cannot be
utilized without the more emissions-intensive production routes such as
the blast furnace to transform the iron ore. Attention to feedstocks,
implementing various techniques throughout the production process,
installing technologies at plants, and switching to less emissions-intensive
fuels will lower production emissions in the steel industry. In addition,
recycling steel has, and will continue to, significantly reduce emissions.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Materials and Buildings group.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Best available technique
implementation;
Emissions intensities of steel plants;
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions
breakdowns by sector production
activities;
Energy consumption and generation
breakdowns;
Feedstock consumption;
Consumption, production, and
capacity figures by steel plant;
Production and capacity of key
industry products; and
Investments in low-carbon R&D.
No water-related sector-
specific datapoints.
Transport OEMs
(TO)
Transport activity is responsible for almost a quarter of global energy-
related emissions, with total energy use for transport having doubled in the
last 35 years. The transport value chain includes activities such as original
equipment, vehicle parts and engine manufacturers, and service operators.
CDP’s original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) transport sector includes
industrial producers of transportation vehicles across five transport
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions
breakdowns by sector production
activities;
No water-related sector-
specific datapoints.
Page 18 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
modes: Aviation, Light Duty Vehicles (LDV), Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDV),
Shipping, and Rail; and two transport subjects: freight and passengers.
This CDP sector aligns with the TCFD’s Transportation group.
Activity-based emissions intensities
in Scope 3 category 11: use of sold
products;
Efficiency metrics for products
and/or services;
Implementation metrics for low-
carbon transportation technologies;
and
Investments in low-carbon R&D.
Note that businesses classified as
Transport-OEMs Engine Part
Manufacturers will only be asked to
provide details on investments in low-
carbon R&D.
Transport
services (TS)
Transport activity is responsible for almost a quarter of global energy-
related emissions, with total energy use for transport having doubled in the
last 35 years. The transport value chain includes activities such as original
equipment, vehicle parts and engine manufacturers, and service operators.
CDP’s transport services sector includes operators of vehicles transporting
goods and/or passengers across 5 modes: Aviation, Light Duty Vehicles
(LDV), Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDV), Shipping, and Rail. Between passenger
and freight transport, the key difference with relevance to the CDP
questionnaire is the specific metrics that measure efficiency either by
passenger or by metric ton of goods transported.
This CDP sector (TS) aligns with the TCFD’s Transportation group.
Climate-related sector-specific
datapoints include:
Activity-based accounting of
emissions intensities in Scope 1,
Scope 2 and Scope 3 category 4:
Upstream emissions from
transportation;
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions
breakdowns by sector production
activities;
Data coverage and input factors to
calculate emissions intensity of
transport movements per
technology;
Efficiency metrics for products
and/or services; and
Implementation metrics for low-
carbon transportation technologies;
and
Investments in low-carbon R&D.
No water-related sector-
specific datapoints.
Page 19 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Financial Services (FS)
Activities in the financial services sector include banking, investing (asset management and/or asset
ownership), and insurance underwriting. Most of a financial institution’s climate and nature-related
dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities are likely to stem from the financial activities it
undertakes, which are intertwined with the subsequent environmental impacts of that financing. For
financial institutions to be catalysts of the transition, they must understand the commercial risks and
opportunities that they face, along with the environmental impact, and how to act on them.
The recommendations of the TCFD, TNFD, and other key frameworks highlight the important role of the
financial sector as preparers of environmental disclosures. Disclosure by this sector enables capital
markets actors, central banks, regulators/supervisors, and other relevant stakeholders to better
understand both organisational and systemic exposures to environmental risks and opportunities, as
well as how they impact climate change, forests, and water security through activities such as lending,
financial intermediary, investment and/or insurance underwriting.
Organizations in the financial services sector should respond to the CDP questionnaire in the context
of these financing activities, in addition to operational activities where appropriate. They will be
presented with sector-specific questions and modifications to general questions, as well as sector-
specific guidance that clarifies the type of information that banks, asset managers, asset owners, and
insurance companies should consider in their response.
CDP’s financial services questions focus on the following topics:
Identifying, assessing, and managing environmental dependencies, impacts, risks, and
opportunities related to portfolio activities;
Environmental issues covered by the organization’s policy frameworks;
Engagement with clients and investees on environmental topics;
Shareholder voting on environmental issues;
Products and services offered to clients;
Measuring the impact of portfolio activities on the environment;
Financed emissions, in line with the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) Global
GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry, and additional portfolio
impact metrics;
Portfolio targets related to climate change and other environmental issues.
Organizations with mining projects
The full corporate questionnaire contains additional questions and datapoints on biodiversity for
organizations with mining projects. These datapoints are unscored in 2024. These additional questions
provide information to data users about an organization’s awareness of and management of its
dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities related to its involvement in mining projects.
Specifically, “mining projects” refers to the extraction of all types of raw materials such as bauxite,
precious metals, non-ferrous metals (e.g. nickel, zinc, lead, lithium), iron ore, diamonds, coal (thermal
coal, metallurgical coal). Activities relating to the exploration of an area of interest for a mining project,
development to establish permanent access to the ore body and carry out commercial production, and
closure of a mine are also considered to be stages of a mining project.
CDP’s biodiversity questions for organizations with mining projects focus on the following topics:
Organizational activities;
Process for identifying, assessing, and managing dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities;
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA);
Risk disclosure;
Exclusions;
Areas important for biodiversity;
Land resourced and land disturbed;
Page 20 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM);
Biodiversity action plan;
Impacts on biodiversity;
Strategic business plan;
Biodiversity-related targets;
Mitigation hierarchy;
Additional conservation actions;
Closure and rehabilitation;
Engagement activities.
The option to respond to these is presented to organizations with the following CDP-ACS activities:
Coal extraction & processing, Other non-ferrous metals, Iron & steel, Precious metals, Aluminum, Metal
processing, Copper, Iron ore mining, Precious metals & minerals mining, Bauxite mining, Other non-
ferrous ore mining, Other non-metallic minerals.
Page 21 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Connection to other frameworks
To support the development of datapoints that are both valuable for organizations and provide
capital markets actors, policy makers, and other data users with meaningful information, CDP
works with a range of leading environmental organizations and standard setters. Through this,
CDP aims to contribute to the harmonization of standards and frameworks which plays an
important role in enhancing data quality and comparability.
Some of the standards and frameworks referenced in CDP’s full questionnaire include:
Accountability Framework initiative (AFi);
CEO Water Mandate;
Ellen MacArthur Foundation Global Commitment;
European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)
Global Reporting Initiative Standard (GRI);
IFRS S2 (ISSB) climate standard;
RE100;
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD);
Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
Connections of CDP datapoints to the above frameworks can be viewed in the disclosure portal for
each question.
Furthermore, mapping documents for specific standards and frameworks are also available in
the CDP guidance tool. For additional guidance on standards and frameworks specific to the
Financial Services sector, refer to CDP’s Technical Note: Financial Services Transition Plans and
Net-Zero Commitments.
You can find information below on key standards and frameworks that are referenced in CDP’s
full corporate questionnaire.
IFRS S2 (ISSB) climate standard
CDP is ISSB’s key global climate disclosure partner with 23,000 companies already disclosing in 2023.
The ISSB’s climate standard is the foundational baseline for CDP’s climate disclosure. The 2024 CDP
questionnaire is aligned with IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (IFRS S2). Together with the disclosed
dataset, the questionnaire provides an effective tool to support companies on their path to ISSB
compliance.
The alignment of CDP’s 2024 questionnaire with IFRS S2 will make life easier for companies and
critically accelerate the rapid global uptake of IFRS S2. By disclosing through CDP from June to
September 2024, companies will disclose data directly to their stakeholders and subsequently the wider
global market, including IFRS S2-aligned climate data.
Where CDP questions are related to requirements of IFRS S2, this is referenced under the ‘Connection
to other frameworks’ section of each question. The mapping table also provides a summary of these
connections between CDP questions and sections of IFRS S2.
Please note that the CDP questionnaire, though aligned with IFRS S2, should not be interpreted as
strictly fulfilling IFRS S2 requirements. Some CDP questions that align with IFRS S2 also ask for
disclosures that go beyond IFRS S2 requirements. The CDP questionnaire and mapping table should
therefore not be taken as alternative text to the IFRS S2 or as modifying IFRS S2 requirements.
Compliance with IFRS S2 requires application of IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of
Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures in full. IFRS S1
includes the conceptual foundations and general requirements of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosures
Standards.
Page 22 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
Established by the Financial Stability Board, the TCFD has moved the climate disclosure agenda
forward by emphasizing the link between climate-related risk and financial stability. The Task Force
has recommended that both organizations and capital markets actors disclose information on climate
change. For example, this includes whether organizations are conducting scenario analysis in line with
a 1.5°C pathway and then setting out how climate-related issues affect their strategy and financial
planning.
This amplifies the longstanding call from CDP’s capital markets signatories for organizations to
disclose comprehensive, comparable environmental data in their mainstream reports, driving climate-
related risk management further into the boardroom. CDP’s climate change datapoints have been
aligned with the TCFD recommendations since 2018, prompting organizations to disclose data on how
climate-related issues are addressed in their governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and
targets. Whilst TCFD adoption remains relevant across the global economy, the taskforce has
disbanded, and its responsibilities have folded into the IFRS Foundation from 2024.
Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)
TNFD’s disclosure recommendations and LEAP framework represent the most comprehensive guide
for organizations looking to assess and respond to their full range of environmental interactions and
serves as an ambitious guide to best practice on environmental assessment and disclosure. In October
2023, CDP announced its intention to align with the TNFD framework. This will ensure that capital
markets actors, purchasers, and policymakers can access nature-related information in a consistent,
comparable, standardized format.
Incorporation of TNFD’s disclosure recommendations into CDP’s disclosure framework will occur in a
phased approach. CDP already has partial alignment – particularly where TNFD parallels the TCFD –
as the TNFD framework is rooted in the TCFD recommendations with which CDP is already aligned,
including datapoints on governance, strategy, risk, and opportunity disclosure.
European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)
The ESRS will be legally binding under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The
CSRD requires all large companies and all listed companies (with some exceptions) to disclose
information on ESG risks and opportunities, and on the impact of their activities. 50,000 companies are
in scope, including an estimated 10,000 non-EU companies; the applicability of the ESRS to companies’
entire value chains means this regulation will have a vast global reach.
CDP is assessing alignment of the CDP questionnaire with the ESRS from an environmental
perspective.
Accountability Framework initiative (AFi)
CDP is part of AFi’s collaborative effort to help companies fulfill commitments for responsible
agriculture and forestry supply chains. The Accountability Framework provides a set of principles and
guidelines designed to establish common definitions, norms, and best practices to help companies set,
implement, monitor, and report on ethical supply chain commitments as outlined in AFi’s “Core
Principles“ and “Common Methodology”.
CDP has been working in collaboration with AFi to ensure further alignment, so that organizations
disclosing to CDP will also be reporting on the core principles set out in the initiative.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
CDP’s water security datapoints and reporting guidance cover some of the key requirements of
“GRI 303: Water and Effluents 2018”. Organizations using the GRI standards for their corporate
Page 23 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
reporting will find it useful to refer to the “Framework Alignment” tags to see the linkages
between the information required for the GRI 303 standard and that requested for CDP’s
Corporate Questionnaire.
CDP is in the process of assessing the GRI standards with respect to CDP's climate change datapoints,
but the high degree of alignment between GRI 305 and IFRS S2 is likely to be well reflected in the CDP
questionnaire. The ongoing mapping of CDP's key transition plan indicators against GRI 2, GRI 201 and
the draft climate change exposure standard also indicates a high degree of alignment.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation Global Commitment
Launched in October 2018 by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) and the UN Environment
Programme, the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment unites businesses, governments, and
other organizations from around the world behind a common vision of a circular economy for plastics,
in which it never becomes waste or pollution. EMF focuses on the production, commercialization and
usage of plastic packaging, which CDP largely captures through our plastics datapoints. CDP is
partnering with EMF to develop plastics datapoints that align with future developments of the EMF
Global Commitment, aiming to allow organizations in the near future to report against the Global
Commitment by disclosing to CDP's full corporate questionnaire.
Page 24 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Preparing your CDP response
In this section, you can find information on the support materials and options available to organizations,
as well as important notes for completing your disclosure. Review these notes carefully as you prepare
your response, even if you have responded to a CDP questionnaire in previous years.
CDP disclosure cycle 2024
For the latest information on the timeline, please refer to the CDP website.
16 April
CDP Portal opens for requesters
30 April
2024 questionnaires available via CDP website
14 May
CDP Portal opens for disclosers/Requesters can submit lists
4 June
2024 reporting window opens
18 September
Scoring deadline for corporate disclosers
2 October
2024 reporting window closes
CDP disclosure support materials
CDP provides a variety of support materials to help organizations disclosing to our questionnaires.
Before completing the full corporate questionnaire, we strongly recommend you read the Reporting
Guidance, Scoring Introduction, and Scoring Methodology. Also refer to CDP’s Technical Notes and
other guidance materials accessible from CDP’s guidance tool after signing in to the website, and see
the Frequently Asked Questions. If you have any questions that are not answered in the reporting
guidance and the additional resources noted below, please contact your local CDP contact or visit the
CDP Help Center.
Reporting guidance
The reporting guidance includes the following:
Module-level guidance: this guidance provides an overview of general and sector-specific content
for the module, as well as important disclosure notes.
Section-level guidance: for certain modules and sections, this guidance provides an overview of the
section’s content.
Question-level guidance: at the question level, guidance is separated into the following elements to
provide clarity around questions, terminology, and reporting requirements:
• Rationale: provides reasoning behind the inclusion of each question;
• Ambition: outlines the activities, actions, and behaviors that CDP recognizes
organizations should be taking and demonstrating through their disclosure;
• Connections to other frameworks: notes how each question links to relevant standards
and frameworks;
• Requested content: offers guidance on how to respond to the requested datapoints;
• Example responses: for certain questions, this provides an example of a response that
would include all information requested; and
• Explanation of terms: provides detailed definitions for specific terminology;
• Additional information: for certain questions, this provides further contextual information
and sources related to the topics pertinent to a given question.
Glossary: this contains a subset of ‘Explanation of terms’.
Webinars and workshops
CDP hosts live webinars and workshops designed to aid you with environmental reporting.
Visit the workshops and webinars pages of CDP's website for more details.
Page 25 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
CDP Reporter Services
The CDP Reporter Services program offers tailored support, enhanced data access and thought
leadership on managing and reporting environmental risk to your business. Access the tools you need
to move from disclosure to leadership on integrating climate, forests management, and water security
into your wider business strategy. For year-round, personalized disclosure support from a dedicated
CDP account manager, a gap analysis of your previous response, final review before submission and
analytics tools to evaluate yourself against peers and understand best practice,
contact reporterservices@cdp.net.
Visit the Reporter Services page of CDP's website for more information.
CDP’s Accredited Solutions Providers
CDP partners with leading environmental service providers that can support organizations throughout
all stages of the measurement, reporting and management of their climate and sustainability data and
impacts. All CDP accredited solutions providers have met specific accreditation criteria. Providers’
expertise covers a wide range of environmental topics, including but not limited to renewable energy
procurement, sustainability strategy, verification, collection, monitoring, and reporting of sustainability,
CSR, and environmental data through integrated sustainability software applications, transition
planning and emissions reduction initiatives. CDP-accredited forests & land and water consultancy
solutions providers support organizations looking to engage with and improve their forest and land,
and water management.
Visit the accredited solutions provider directory to search for the provider best able to support you, or
contact partnerships@cdp.net to find out more.
Page 26 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Important notes for completing your CDP response
Personal data
It is important that you do not include the name of any individual or any other personal data in your
response. For questions that ask for the positions of staff, out of respect for personal data privacy we
are asking only for the position and not for the individual’s name or any other information relating to
them.
Principles of true and fair reporting
CDP promotes relevant widely accepted reporting principles as adopted by the Greenhouse Gas
Protocol to guide organization’s disclosure and to ensure a true and fair account of their environmental
data.
These principles are as follows:
• Relevance: Ensure the GHG emissions, commodity, and water use inventory appropriately
reflect actual emissions, commodity use, and water use, and serve the decision-making needs
of data users – both internal and external to the organization.
• Completeness: Account for and report on all GHG emission sources, water activities, and
activities with the potential for deforestation risk within the chosen inventory boundary.
Disclose and justify any specific exclusions.
• Consistency: Use consistent methodologies to allow for meaningful comparisons of an
organization’s environmental performance over time. Ensure there is no conflicting information
in your responses, both within a question and across the questionnaire.
• Transparency: Address all relevant issues in a factual and coherent manner, based on a clear
audit trail. Disclose any relevant assumptions and make appropriate references to the
accounting and calculation methodologies and data sources used. Transparently document
any changes to the data, inventory boundary, methods, or any other relevant factors in the time
series.
• Accuracy: Ensure the quantification of GHG emissions, commodity use, and water use is
sufficiently accurate to enable users to make decisions with reasonable assurance as to the
integrity of the reported information.
Information is considered relevant if it contains the detail that users, both internal and external to the
organization, need for their decision-making. When considering what to disclose, identify and report
information that is likely to be of use and benefit to the audience requesting it (in this case the capital
markets community and other data users).
Acronyms
Avoid using bespoke internal acronyms unless required for your organization’s response, in which case
you should provide their meaning to enable correct analysis and scoring.
Blank responses
Leaving a response blank is interpreted as non-disclosure. For numeric fields, values of zero (0) imply
a measurement has been made, and the value is zero (0).
For numeric fields where no measurement has been made, leave the field blank and provide an
explanation in an open text field for that same question, e.g. “Please explain” columns. If there is no
open text field for the question, you may provide an explanation in the 'Further information' field in the
CDP Portal at the end of your disclosure. See CDP’s 2024 Scoring Methodology for more details.
‘Comment’ columns
Some questions include a column labelled as “Comment”. Information provided in these columns will
not be scored.
Page 27 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Character limits
The character limits noted in the reporting guidance and in the CDP Portal include spaces.
Context and geographic scale
Environmental issues such as deforestation, water security, and biodiversity loss present significant
local challenges. Therefore, they need to be understood and managed at a local level rather than the
corporate level only. For example, it is good practice to consider dependencies, impacts, risks, and
opportunities at least at the country/area level, and specifically at the river basin level when it comes
to water-related issues.
Capital markets actors and other CDP data users are increasingly interested in this type of granularity
when it comes to assessing the nature-related issues within their portfolios. Specifically, data users
wish to assess an organization’s access to granular and location-specific data needed for a robust
assessment and management of nature-related issues across all its operations and locations.
Regarding water security in particular, CDP invites organizations to report their risks at the river basin
level and several questions include a column so that organizations can indicate the location associated
with their data. An organization will not have a comprehensive understanding of its risk exposure and
the most appropriate response unless it is able to take account of local basin context and conditions.
River basin level assessment is particularly relevant to a water stewardship approach to securing water
resources as collaboration with other basin users and external stakeholders is central to understanding
and managing risk.
Copy forward
The ‘copy forward’ functionality will be available in the CDP Portal for organizations that disclosed to
CDP in previous reporting years for certain datapoints. This functionality auto-populates your most
recent answers into your questionnaire where applicable.
Please review the auto-populated answers carefully. It is your responsibility to ensure your answers are
updated for the accuracy and completeness of your response.
Data accuracy
CDP recognizes that there may be uncertainty linked to data – this can arise from data gaps,
assumptions, metering/measurement constraints including equipment accuracy etc. CDP allows
estimated data to be submitted. However, an emphasis is placed on reporting transparently and this
means that an organization should always provide an explanation when its reported data is not accurate
and detail the uncertainty (use the “Please explain” or “Comment” columns provided in the question).
Drop-down options (“Other, please specify”')
Select from the options provided whenever possible, and only select “Other, please specify” when none
of the listed options is appropriate. This greatly assists data analysis. If selecting “Other, please
specify”, you must add a label that describes the option you are providing data for.
'Further information' field
At the end of the questionnaire, there is an opportunity to provide additional information or context that
you feel is relevant to your organization’s response. This field is optional and not scored.
Information specific to your organization
Some questions request information, rationales, case studies, and/or examples specific to the
reporting organization. This level of detail gives data users confidence that the issue at hand has been
thoroughly considered in the context of the responding organization’s own business and not simply
assessed in general terms.
Ensure that you include details specific to your organization, such as references to activities,
programs, products, services, methodologies, or operating locations unique to your
organization’s business or operations. Such explanations should include details that make the
answer true for the responding organization and are distinct from other organizations in the
same industry and/or geography.
Page 28 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Clear rationales are those which provide logical reasoning for methodologies, descriptions,
decision, and actions.
Case studies are defined as a detailed description of the implementation of a process, strategy,
or decision to a specific situation and/or task. When formulating case studies, responders may
find it helpful to consider a “Situation-Task-Action-Result” (STAR) approach: 1) Situation: what
was the context or background? 2) Task: what needed to be done or what was the problem to
be solved? 3) Action: what was the course of action taken? 4) Result: what was the final
outcome of the course of action?
An example does not need to follow the STAR approach. It can be shorter than a case study
but should include details that are specific to the reporting organization.
For more details, refer to the Scoring introduction on the CDP website.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As)
All disclosure should be defined by the reporting boundary applicable at the time of the stated reporting
year. Note that for CDP disclosure, organizations are encouraged to align their reporting period and
reporting boundaries with their financial reporting.
Regarding forward-looking disclosure, organizations should include information that was correct at the
time of the stated reporting year (for example, for data points referring to the future or “the next two
years”). Organizations undergoing (or that have undergone) M&As need to consider the timing of the
M&As and reporting period as follows:
Organizations that were acquired after the end of the current reporting year: these should
respond with what was planned (strategy, targets, etc.) before being acquired (i.e., during the
reporting year). For transparency, where possible they may state where they consider that the
forward-looking information may be subject to change due to the very recent acquisition.
Organizations that were acquired during the reporting year: these should provide information
that was applicable and correct to the best of their knowledge at the end of the reporting year.
At the time of submitting their response to CDP, this information may not be the most up to
date due to changes underway following the acquisition. For transparency, the organization
may state this in their disclosure where possible.
River basins [Water only]
From the drop-down list in specific questions, select the river basin associated with the disclosure, or
select “Other, please specify” and provide the name of the river basin.
CDP’s drop-down list of river basins aligns with the CEO Water Mandate’s Interactive Database of the
World’s River Basins. For organizations operating in South Africa, the list also includes the nine Water
Management Areas for South Africa.
You may wish to enter a sub-basin of a listed river basin. In this case use the “Other, please specify”
option in the following format: “Putumayo, Amazon”. For organizations withdrawing water from large,
confined aquifers that do not discharge to the river basin they are located in, e.g. Ogallala aquifer in the
United States, please select “Other, please specify” and type in the name of the local aquifer source.
If you do not know the river basin associated with the data you are disclosing, the following tools have
the functionality to identify the river basin locations of facilities by typing in geolocation coordinates,
for example:
The Interactive Database of the World’s River Basins – CEO Water Mandate
The Water Footprint Tools – Water Footprint Network
The Water Risk Filter – WWF
The WRI Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas Tool – the World Resources Institute
Page 29 of 29 @cdp | www.cdp.net
Providing feedback to CDP
You can provide feedback to CDP on the content of our questionnaires and supporting documents
through our online feedback form.
We are unable to respond individually to all feedback, but please be assured that all form submissions
are reviewed and contribute towards our continuous improvement.
However, if you represent a responding organization and would like to request a response, please get
in touch with your local CDP contact.
