What is the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)?

CDP claims the most comprehensive collection of self-reported environmental data in the world. Data collection from the CDP disclosure process enables CDP to track companies’ and cities’ progress on several sustainability issues and calculate scores for each disclosing entity. The CDP scores are intended to provide a snapshot of an entity’s environmental performance and incentivize management of environmental impacts.¹

The CDP framework for reporting environmental information is one of several major ESG reporting frameworks and global disclosure systems. Others include frameworks by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the GHG (greenhouse gas) Protocol, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Launched in London in 2000 as the Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP initially called for greenhouse gas emissions disclosures as a way to establish information sharing among companies and stakeholders, such as investors. Founders hoped that making such environmental data available could encourage action on climate change.

The nonprofit organization issued its first CDP questionnaire, which asked companies to disclose their carbon emissions, in 2003. A decade later, the organization shortened its name to CDP to reflect its broader scope of environmental disclosures and the diversity of entities with which it works.

In addition to seeking disclosures on carbon footprints, CDP also requests disclosures that are related to deforestation, water security and plastic use. Its reach now extends beyond companies to include cities, states and regions.

On the CDP website, the organization lists four sustainability and environmental issues as its key areas of focus for data collection.

Since its founding, CDP expanded its portfolio of disclosing entities. In addition to seeking disclosures from companies, it requests disclosures from governments and public sector organizations, including city, state and regional governments, and public authorities. In 2023, nearly 25,000 organizations participated in CDP data disclosures, including over 23,200 companies (worth two-thirds of global market capitalization) and more than 1,100 cities, states and regions.

Companies can also work with CDP to obtain environmental impact disclosures from members of their supply chains, while investors can use CDP data to inform decision making and risk management. More than 700 financial institutions with over USD 67 trillion in assets and more than 300 major purchasers with over USD 6.4 trillion in procurement spend request information through CDP.

CDP scores are metrics that are intended to show organizations and their stakeholders where they stand on addressing climate change, deforestation and water security through disclosure. Disclosures in consecutive years can help companies track their progress over time.

CDP uses a scoring methodology aligned with the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Companies and cities are scored from “D-” to “A,” while companies that are asked to disclose but fail to do so receive “F” grades. Entities that earn “A” scores lead the way in performance on environmental impact disclosures and environmental stewardship. In 2023, more than 400 companies and 120 cities around the world received “A” scores from CDP and were included in the CDP annual “A List.”

CDP works with nonprofit and government organizations to promote policies that align with CDP’s goals. The organization’s partners include the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, the European Commission’s Zero Pollution Stakeholder Platform, Water Europe and the Alliance for Climate Action Brazil.