A customer or an investor has sent your company a request to disclose through CDP. The questionnaire is long, the window closes in September, and the score will be public. Many companies answer the first time just to send something. They end up with a D, which then sits next to their name for a year.
- CDP score: a rating from D- to A that shows how far a company discloses, understands and manages its environmental impact.
- Four levels: Disclosure (D), Awareness (C), Management (B) and Leadership (A); F means no answer to a request.
- Timing: in 2025 the window opened in mid-June, and the scoring deadline was in mid-September.
- A higher score: needs targets, real reduction actions, verified data and, at the top, a credible transition plan.
What is CDP?
CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, is a non-profit organisation. It runs a global system through which companies, cities and regions disclose their environmental impact to investors and customers. In the 2025 cycle, more than 22,000 companies responded through CDP (CDP, 2025). Many buyers and investors treat it as one of the most credible sources of such data.
Since 2024, companies answer one integrated questionnaire. It covers climate change, water security and forests, and it follows the IFRS S2 climate standard of the ISSB, which took over the TCFD recommendations. This article covers only the climate part.
Companies usually disclose because someone asks them to. Investors send requests through CDP, and large buyers use the CDP supply chain programme to ask their suppliers. A company can also disclose on its own initiative.
When do you report to CDP?
CDP collects data once a year. In the 2025 cycle, the response window opened in mid-June. Responses submitted by mid-September were scored. Until mid-November, companies could still submit or edit a response, but it was not scored. CDP publishes scores at the end of the year.
CDP updates the questionnaire every year and publishes a list of changes against the previous version. So check the current guidance before you start, even if you answered last year.
How does CDP scoring work?
CDP scores each answer at four levels, which build on each other:
- Disclosure (D): how complete your answers are;
- Awareness (C): whether you understand your environmental impacts and risks;
- Management (B): whether you take concrete action and manage these issues;
- Leadership (A): whether you follow best practice.
Each level has a plus and a minus grade, for example B and B-. A company that receives a request and does not answer gets an F. The sections that follow show what each level requires in the climate questionnaire.
How do you get a D score? The Disclosure level
CDP scores every question for disclosure. At level D, you get a point for each relevant piece of information you provide. A D- or D score is only a starting point. It shows that a company has begun to work on its climate impact.
How do you get a C score? The Awareness level
To get a C, a company must meet certain criteria on greenhouse gas emissions and climate risk. The exact requirements depend on the sector. In general, the questionnaire must show that the company:
- has clear targets and strategies to cut greenhouse gas emissions and manage climate risk;
- publishes annual reports on its greenhouse gas emissions and their sources;
- takes action to cut emissions and manage climate risk;
- shows progress towards its climate targets.
A C score means that the company meets the basic requirements and takes some action, but it needs more work to reach a higher level.
Companies most often miss a C for these reasons:
- no clear targets or strategy to cut emissions and manage climate risk;
- no annual emissions report: CDP expects data on emissions and on actions to cut them;
- no actions to cut emissions and manage climate risk;
- no progress: the company should track progress against its targets and document it in its CDP response.
How do you get a B score? The Management level
A B score requires more than a C. The exact requirements depend on the sector, but in general a company must:
- have clear and ambitious targets and strategies to cut emissions and manage climate risk, in line with climate neutrality goals;
- publish annual emissions reports that meet CDP requirements and describe climate actions in detail;
- take action that cuts emissions significantly, for example through renewable energy and energy efficiency;
- show significant progress and have management and reporting systems that track climate actions well.
Independent verification of emissions data also earns points at this level.
How do you get an A score? The Leadership level
The Leadership level is very demanding. Only the companies most committed to climate action reach it. To get an A, a company must show environmental leadership and best practice in strategy and action. It should follow recognised frameworks such as TCFD or SBTi.
On top of high scores at all other levels, these companies:
- set science-based targets;
- have a climate transition plan that covers all relevant operations, supply chains and products;
- have their emissions data verified by an independent party.
The A List also has minimum requirements that a company must meet, whatever its points. Verified emissions data and a public transition plan are among them.
Why is it worth disclosing to CDP?
In my view, the main benefit of disclosing through CDP is credibility. Other organisations, including financial ones, accept the information you disclose in a CDP response. This helps you defend the company against charges of greenwashing.
Disclosure brings four more benefits:
- access to investors who use CDP data to make decisions;
- knowledge of your own impact on the climate, water and forests;
- comparison with peers: the public score shows the average for your sector and region;
- a basis for communication: you can use the result in marketing and in talks with customers.
The public CDP report shows your score, the average in your sector and region, and your results in each category of the questionnaire.
Do you need support with CDP reporting?
We help companies prepare their CDP response: from the emissions inventory under the GHG Protocol to targets, verification and answers that hold up in scoring.