In short, a CDP score is effectively an overview of the environmental disclosure and performance for a business or organisation that discloses their performance through CDP.
This can include businesses of all sizes, from SMEs to corporations, as well as cities, states and regions. Disclosure through CDP can be voluntary for the competitive benefits, but can be mandatory if requested by an investor or supplier.
A businesses or entities CDP score is a reflection on how well they’re managing their environmental impact and plans to transition to a low-carbon economy. These scores are crucial for beginning bold environmental actions as they ensure an accurate and transparent assessment of environmental impacts and progress. In doing so, this supports organisations (plus investors and stakeholders) to understand their current status and areas needing improvement.
CDP’s disclosure platform provides the mechanism for reporting in line with the TCFD recommendations. For 2024, CDP is further aligned with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S2 Climate-related Disclosures issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). Historically, CDP scoring has been accessible to companies since 2010 and cities since 2018, and has since provided a long history of data and insights into environmental performance.
The CDP scoring methodology is designed to encourage and incentivise positive change from organisations. It does this by promoting accurate measurement and management of a business’s environmental impact through questionnaires, which are designed to collate data and detailed information across a range of environmental impacts.
Scoring is completed and awarded in various levels, specifically from D- to A. The questions are scored across four different levels, if the minimum score threshold is not achieved at one level, the company will not be scored at the next level.
The score that is given to an entity varies and will consider the businesses journey from initial disclosure, through to stages of awareness and management, to achieving leadership in environmental performance which collectively help organisations improve systematically.
It goes without saying that the fundamental benefit of taking an interest in your organisation’s environmental impact is the environmental impact and how you could be doing things differently to effect positive change.
However, there are additional business-case related benefits to being environmentally aware. This includes:
Working with a CDP consultancy specialist gives your business the opportunity to enhance its reputation, build trust and demonstrate your commitment to environmental responsibility. Not only is this great for customers, but also helps you to attract potential new investors and partners.
A strong CDP score in a reporting year will also help you stand out in saturated and competitive markets. You’ll have the ability to attract and sell to environmentally-savvy consumers and customers in proportion to the number that your competitors are able to, as well as provide an often overlooked USP between you and your competition.
The entire process and transition plan will help you understand and spot environmental risks you didn’t even realise were apparent. This includes your current climate change impact and scarcity of available resources as well as changes to current regulations.
Simply by understanding these risks, you can work with organisations and net zero specialists such as Energise to reduce them, and make sure that there are long term sustainability plans in place whilst significantly reducing the number of liabilities.
For any business, building trust and confidence with potential new and existing investors is key for growth. New investors are increasingly looking to prioritise sustainable investments.
Data from Google Trends shows that searches for “sustainable investing” have seen a 72% increase worldwide since 2019.
A high CDP score demonstrates commitment to sustainability and environmental governance which can lead to future-proofing your organisation.
As a result of this environmental commitment, you’re likely to have access to a greater number of green financing and funding options. This can come in various forms but just some include sustainability-backed loans and green bonds with more appealing terms.
Disclosure (D- or D): The majority of questions included in the initial questionnaire are focussed on disclosure. Your disclosure score will measure how complete your current reporting is and the number of points allocated to each question will depend on the volume of data that has been requested and the importance to users.
Awareness (C- or C): Your Awareness score factors in the depth of your businesses current evaluation of how environmental issues intersect with the business. To be clear, your Awareness score is not an indication that you have taken any action to address environmental issues beyond any initial assessments.
Management (B- or B): You can score management points if you’re able to provide clear evidence that you have taken action that demonstrates good environmental management. This score is measured by assessing how you manage environmental impact, but not if you are currently a leader in your field.
Leadership (A- or A): If you want to earn a leadership status, you must showcase and evidence best practice in your environmental strategy and the actions to support it.
Ready to learn more and get started with CDP in your organisations? Get in touch with us at hello@energise.com watch our webinar on-demand today.
Written By Emma Lane 
Social sustainability in business is all about a company’s commitment to positively impacting people—whether it’s employees, customers, workers in the value chain or the local communities affected by its operations. Let’s explore key principles, benefits, and strategies for social impact.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) marks a transformative shift in how companies disclose their sustainability performance, with more companies impacted, more data required, and more scrutiny from stakeholders. In this article, we’ll take a look at the highlights you need to know to get started.
Between ESOS Phases 3 and 4, organisations are required to submit ESOS Action Plans and Annual Progress Updates, ensuring a clear trajectory towards energy savings. The disclosure portal for submission is now open, so we’d recommend starting as soon as possible to comply and capitalise on the energy savings you’ve identified.
