What is CDP and environmental disclosure?

Environmental disclosure is the starting point to identify and understand risks, opportunities, and change levers to guide a company’s sustainability journey.

CDP leads and manages the global environmental disclosure system which is a public platform where companies and other stakeholders such as cities report on the risks and opportunities linked to climate change, water security, and deforestation. 

There is a global movement of environmental disclosure, wherein 590 investors with upwards of US$110 trillion in assets have asked thousands of companies to disclose their environmental data through CDP in 2021.

CDP is the most credible and highly used platform to publicly disclose environmental data. 

The three questionnaires related to climate change, water security, and forests are scored and published on a rating scale from the highest score of an A indicating the leadership level to an F indicating a failure to provide sufficient information to be evaluated by CDP. Increasingly, investors are requesting companies to disclose their environmental information through CDP to ascertain whether sustainability considerations are incorporated into business strategy to fully understand the risks of their investment and the resilience of a particular business.

What are the changes in the 2022 CDP questionnaires?

Changes in the 2022 CDP questionnaires echo global understanding and urgency of the climate crisis and the need to move from debate to action. In 2022, the questionnaires remain largely unchanged from 2021 but there is a refined focus on the role of biodiversity and land-use change, as well as a continued emphasis on net-zero. This reflects the growing understanding of the need to sustainably manage natural resources and for companies to reorientate their business towards a net-zero future. 

Climate Change Questionnaire:

  • 70% of questions in the core questionnaire have no change or minor change.
  • Key changes include: 25 new questions, 26 modified questions and 12 removed questions

Water Questionnaire:

  • 85% of questions in the core questionnaire have no change or minor change.
  • Key changes include: 4 new questions, 6 modified questions and 3 removed questions

Forests Questionnaire:

  • 90% of questions in the core questionnaire have no change or minor change.
  • Key changes include: 8 new questions, 5 modified questions and 2 removed questions

What is the CDP 2022 timeline?

March

  • Companies are officially invited to disclose to climate change, water security and/or the forest questionnaire by investors or other stakeholders
  • CDP scoring methodology is published

April

  • Online Response System (online CDP environmental disclosure platform) opens in the second week of April

July

  • Submission deadline of Wednesday 27 July at 23:59 for all climate change, water security and forest questionnaires should they wish to be scored

December

  • Scoring results are published at a date to be confirmed in December

Carbon Calculated has been guiding companies in their CDP declaration for over a decade with long-standing clients and proven results. For more information on how Carbon Calculated can support your company in its CDP journey, please contact info@carboncalculated.co.za. 

Take a look at the CDP scores our clients have achieved over the last 3 years in this follow-up blog post.