Why disclose environmental data?

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why disclose environmental data through CDP? CDP purpose and vision.

Action starts with disclosure.

25 years since CDP was founded, environmental disclosure is more important than ever.

Disclosure helps protect your bottom line, by illuminating risks and identifying opportunities, supporting sustained business growth while protecting our planet. CDP is committed to helping all our stakeholders, from small businesses to global policymakers, take meaningful action to balance people, planet and profit.

More, and better, information creates an accurate picture of progress and enables organizations to build robust plans for action making the most of opportunities disclosed. Companies disclosing through CDP have identified over $16 trillion in climate and nature opportunities (CDP, 2024).

Benefits of disclosure

7-10%

reduction in direct emissions within two years of a company disclosing, in response to an investor request.

Transparency drives action at all levels.

70,134

million cubic meters of water is being saved by just 120 companies, roughly equivalent to cutting the water use of the entire global textile industry (CDP Data Factsheet, 2023).

About half of the companies that have disclosed consistently on water between 2015 and 2023 have reduced their water withdrawals.

59%

of FTSE100 companies are on track to meet their climate targets (CDP Corporate Environmental Action Tracker, 2024).

Almost all FTSE100 companies disclose through CDP. 

8.3%

decarbonization reported annually by organizations with climate transition plans.

This is faster than companies without climate transition plans at 3.9% (CDP/Bain research, 2023). 

≈50%

increase in companies with a 1.5C-aligned climate transition plan (CDP, 2024). 

  • Santander and Cellnex offer preferential financing to suppliers reporting to CDP. A €100 million biodiversity fund will leverage CDP data to invest in companies reducing biodiversity loss.

  • BBVA have offered a $2.5 billion loan to Iberdrola, based on CDP water score.

  • International steel and technology company ThyssenKrupp is investing €3 billion in one of the largest industrial decarbonization efforts of any company worldwide, until 2027. Their CDP A score helped them secure public funding for these projects.

  • Norges Bank Investment Management – the manager of Norway's pension fund and one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds – uses CDP's corporate data to drive long-term returns by evaluating companies on their water risk exposure, management and performance.

  • Last year alone, companies reported saving over $13 billion in costs from acting on their Scope 3 emissions, with $165 billion on the horizon at a cost of just $94 bn to realize (CDP, 2024).

  • Investing in adaptation could deliver returns of $2 to $19 for every $1 spent (CDP, 2024).

  • Companies on STOXX’s (CDP) A List based index have outperformed their benchmark by nearly 6% per year, for the past decade (CDP analysis, 2024).

  • Companies disclosing through CDP have identified over $16 trillion in climate and nature opportunities (CDP, 2024).

  • The world's largest companies have doubled the financial opportunities they see from climate initiatives in the past 5 years to $5 trillion (CDP data, 2024).

  • Companies with credible climate transition plans are planning to align between 35% and 42% of their capital expenditure by 2030, to achieving them (CDP analysis, 2024).

  • 13% of European companies now report that over half their revenue is generated from low-carbon products (CDP/Oliver Wyman research, 2024).

  • 83% of companies report R&D investment in low-carbon products and services. Products featuring sustainability attributes can achieve a revenue increase up to 25%+ over products without such emphasis (CDP data, 2024).

By disclosing through CDP, organizations gain a comprehensive understanding of their environmental dependencies, risks, impacts and opportunities.

Leading organizations use transparency to drive action: securing capital, reducing risks and boosting efficiency.  

They’re not just staying compliant. They’re staying ahead.

 

Write once, read many 

Our “write once, read many” approach ensures organizations can turn a single disclosure into powerful market intelligence that fuels decision-making at all levels. Disclosing through CDP provides a competitive edge and enables organizations to get ahead of incoming regulation and market demands.    

Learn more about disclosing across all themes. 

Why disclose as a company?

Action starts with disclosure.

All organizations – large and small – need to measure and understand their environmental impacts. Data surfaced from disclosure helps organizations take smart decisions to support their commercial interests. For example, investing in climate adaptation and resilience could offer returns of up to $19 for every $1 spent.

Demand for climate-related disclosure has increased significantly since the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) released its recommendations. Companies and public sector leaders have noted the importance of transparency on climate-related issues with several national governments and public sector organizations formally supporting the TCFD.

CDP’s data allows capital market players to compare companies’ environmental commitments and performance. Every year, 700+ Capital Market Signatories ask companies for their data through CDP’s Letter to the Board campaign. For financial institutions, data from portfolio companies is critical to uncovering hidden risks and opportunities, providing the tools needed to inform risk-management practices, guide engagement priorities and integrate sustainability considerations into their investment process.

Pressure is growing on companies to strengthen their resilience through comprehensive supply chain data. CDP offers suppliers a competitive advantage and a way to understand their full Scope 3 impacts, driving sustainable action at scale across their value chains through access to robust and actionable data. Engagement works – 87% of climate leaders are working with suppliers to reduce emissions across their value chains.

These range from transition plans and deforestation to supply chain duties. Reporting key environmental data is now mandatory in many major and emerging markets. Our “write once, use many” approach ensures organizations can turn a single disclosure into powerful market intelligence that fuels decision-making at all levels. Disclosing through CDP provides a competitive edge and enables organizations to get ahead of incoming regulation and market demands.

CDP Companies disclosure dedicated image

Why disclose as a city?

Cities are the pivotal piece of the puzzle in tackling climate change – without them, action simply won’t be effective. Cities are responsible for over 70% of global carbon emissions, accounting for half of the world’s population and 80% of global GDP, making disclosure of environmental data by cities critical to ensuring action and accountability on climate and nature.

Report your climate change mitigation and adaptation risks, plans, actions and impact in a transparent manner for your communities, businesses and the wider world. In 2023, over 1,100 cities globally reported to CDP-ICLEI Track, gaining unparalleled insight on their progress towards climate leadership.

These include ICLEI, C40, WWF One Planet City Challenge and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy. You can also measure your progress against UN-backed climate campaigns such as Race to Zero. CDP-ICLEI Track streamlines your reporting experience through one questionnaire.

CHAMP is a commitment from national governments to strengthen collaboration with their subnational governments and to better integrate subnational climate actions in the planning, financing, implementation, and monitoring of climate strategies.

Why disclose as a state and region?

These include RegionsAdapt Initiative, Under2 Coalition and UN's Race to Resilience and Race to Zero, offering states and regions capacity-building opportunities and access to a network of relevant support.

These include cities, investors and companies. All data is uploaded to our Open Data Portal so you can compare and benchmark progress over time.

Data collated from cities, states and regions is central to informing policy and decision-making on the road to an Earth-positive economy. By reporting through CDP, your impact reaches far beyond the city boundaries and is used by entities such as the United Nations, the IPCC, and World Bank.

States and regions dedicated photo CDP disclosure

Why disclose as a public authority?

Public authorities and Crown corporations have a profound environmental and social impact, running critical systems used by millions of people each day, such as water, power, transportation, housing and waste management.

By working with CDP, public authorities have an unprecedented opportunity to advance sustainable infrastructure, bolster resilience and catalyze the transition to net zero. Recognizing the unique role and significance of public authorities, CDP offers a tailored approach to environmental disclosure to meet their needs.

Disclosure through CDP helps public authorities manage environmental impacts and risks, uncover opportunities, and benchmark against peers. Investors, regulators and customers seek to understand public authorities’ environmental risk exposure and direct and indirect contributions to the climate crisis. Through data transparency, public authorities can meet stakeholder expectations and align with best practices to mitigate risk and increase resiliency.

See ‘Meeting growing demand for disclosure’, above.

Disclosure demonstrates responsiveness to the expectations of capital markets, and signals sustainability leadership to potential investors. In some cases, disclosure and transparency can help lead to a lower cost of capital when borrowing. Reporting your pipeline of infrastructure and environmental projects through CDP’s questionnaire can help your organization attract climate finance. Public authorities are already making use of CDP’s sustainable infrastructure finance program, showcasing climate-positive and resiliency projects to the capital markets. Many public authorities are seeking financing for capital-intensive sustainability projects with immediate and long-term social impacts, such as reducing air pollution and increasing equity for vulnerable communities.

By working with CDP, public authorities have an unprecedented opportunity to advance sustainable infrastructure, bolster resilience and catalyze the transition to net-zero.

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