Summary
Cut through the green tape
We don't push agendas. At Net Zero Compare, we cut through the hype and fear to deliver the straightforward facts you need for making informed decisions on green products and services. Whether motivated by compliance, customer demands, or a real passion for the environment, you’re welcome here. We provide reliable information. Why you seek it is not our concern.
Details
- Global
CDP is a global environmental disclosure system used across all sectors. Companies of any size—and cities, states & regions, and public authorities—can use CDP to disclose and manage their climate, water and forests/nature impacts, wherever they operate.
Deep dive
Overview
CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is a nonprofit founded in 2000 that runs the world’s largest environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states/regions and public authorities. Its purpose is simple: make high-quality, comparable data on climate, water and forests available to markets and policymakers so they can reward action and manage risk. Unlike general ESG frameworks, CDP is a single reporting channel with a public scoring system (A to D-) that investors and customers actively use. Since 2024 CDP has delivered one integrated corporate questionnaire (climate, water, forests) aligned to emerging standards, especially the ISSB’s IFRS S2, reducing duplication and mapping responses to compliance needs. CDP’s data coverage is vast: a record 22,700+ companies were scored in 2024, and CDP also offers SME pathways and supply-chain modules. In essence, CDP turns environmental transparency into decision-ready information for finance, regulators, and buyers.
The CDP Reporting Framework
CDP’s current (2025) questionnaires ask organizations to disclose governance, strategy, risks, targets and metrics across climate, water and forests and sector-specific questions. You report Scope 1–3 GHG emissions, transition plans, scenario analysis, energy use, climate targets/credits, water withdrawals/discharges/stress, and commodity-driven deforestation exposure, policies and traceability. Responses are tailored by issue, sector and whether you use the Full Corporate or SME route. CDP provides detailed guidance, mapping to IFRS S2 and other frameworks, and applies a transparent scoring methodology (A to D-) to each issue. Importantly, 2024 created a single questionnaire (rather than three), while retaining separate scores for climate, water and forests; 2025 makes only minimal tweaks and clarifies scoring language. Outputs can be shared with investors and supply-chain requesters and used toward regulatory alignment.
Current Status
CDP is used by companies of all sizes, plus cities, states/regions, and public authorities, who disclose through CDP’s questionnaires and receive issue-specific scores. In 2024, CDP introduced a single integrated corporate questionnaire and scored a record 22,700+ companies; only 2% (515) achieved an A, underscoring the rigor of its scoring. CDP also expanded tailored routes for smaller firms: its SME questionnaire launched in 2024, with 12,500+ SMEs disclosing that year. Public score exploration pages and methodology documents provide transparency on results and how scores are derived. Together, these features make CDP one of the largest, most visible hubs for environmental disclosure and benchmarking across climate, water, and forests.
Resources
Disclosure Cycle 2025 hub – central page for this year’s questionnaires, guidance and scoring methodology.
Corporate Disclosure: Key Changes for 2025 – concise summary of what changed vs. 2024.
Full Corporate Questionnaire – Overview (2025) – what’s inside the integrated questionnaire and how routes work.
Full Corporate Questionnaire (2025) – complete question set and reporting guidance.
Supplier Engagement Assessment – Methodology (2025) – scoring approach for CDP’s supply-chain program.
