CDP reporting framework: trends and strategic planning tips for 2025

For sustainability professionals in complex industries like manufacturing and logistics, CDP reporting is increasingly essential for showcasing sustainability performance.

Companies like Maersk and Murata have joined over 350 companies, earning top climate marks from the global voluntary environmental disclosure framework. Meanwhile, many others haven’t begun disclosing.

As CDP and partner organizations continue to raise the bar for environmental leadership, forward-thinking companies need to plan their disclosure strategies now. Whether you're already reporting or just starting, it’s never too early to begin planning for the 2025 CDP reporting cycle. 

To help you stay ahead, today we’ll dive into CDP trends and actionable planning tips, drawing insights from our recent webinar featuring Anya Chodosh, Cozero Climate Lead, and Liisa Kelo, Sunhat’s Senior Sustainability Expert. 

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For first-time reporters: understanding the CDP reporting framework
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First, let’s review the CDP reporting framework. CDP is a nonprofit organization that runs one of the largest environmental disclosure system. The organization provides standardized questionnaires for companies to disclose consistent, comparable environmental data. CDP scores these disclosures annually, evaluating companies based on both transparency and performance. 

The long-term goal for many is to make it onto the coveted “A-List.” However, out of 21,000 companies scored in 2023, just under 400 companies achieved an A rating.

In 2024, CDP scores companies across four main areas Climate change, Forests, Water security, and sector-specific modules (e.g. transportation, manufacturing). CDP added biodiversity and plastics to the questionnaire, signaling these areas may be scored in the future.

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What’s changing? CDP reporting standards and trends

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CDP regularly updates its framework as environmental priorities evolve to reflect new regulations and stakeholder expectations. Anticipating these shifts early is crucial to stay competitive.

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Key changes to CDP reporting in recent years

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In 2023 and 2024, CDP introduced updates that streamline reporting and emphasize higher data quality. Notable changes include:
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• Consolidated questionnaire: All topics, including nature-related and climate issues, are now assessed in a single, holistic questionnaire.
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• SME questionnaire: A specialized version for small and medium enterprises replaced the corporate minimum version.
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• Financial impact disclosure: Companies must report how environmental issues affect their financial performance, aligning with global frameworks like CSRD.
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• Higher verification standards: In 2023 and 2024, CDP raised the verification requirement for Scope 1 and 2 emissions to 100%, up from 70% in 2022. 
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• Scope 3 emphasis: CDP is placing a higher emphasis on Scope 3 accounting, in line with other frameworks like CSRD. By 2024, companies targeting the A-list will need to verify at least one Scope 3 category with third-party oversight. 

These shifts aim to reduce the reporting burden for companies while also encouraging deeper engagement with environmental impacts throughout supply chains.

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Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond

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CDP’s 5-year strategy hints at more significant changes in the near future, which sustainability leaders should prepare for. These include: 

• Broader environmental topics: Biodiversity and plastics questions are already included, and CDP may expand to cover topics like oceans, land, and food systems.
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• Global standards alignment: CDP continues to align with international standards like CSRD, GRI, and the IFRS to streamline global reporting. 
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• Transition scoring on the horizon: Climate transition plans may become part of the scoring framework, adding an additional layer of accountability to companies’ long-term goals. 
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• Social and governance metrics: While CDP remains focused on environmental issues, it acknowledges the intersection of equity and environmental challenges. Expect more integration of relevant social metrics. 

As Cozero's Climate Lead Anya Chodosh puts it, “CDP will continue raising the ambition bar. Having made significant progress in bringing climate action to the mainstream, CDP aims to push other critical environmental topics forward as well.”

Given these trends, how can companies start preparing for 2025?

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Streamlining your CDP reporting process: the three phases 

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Successfully navigating CDP reporting can be broken down into three key phases, each requiring careful attention to detail. But first, we should highlight two key points:

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• Big-picture strategy: Recognize that CDP reporting is not a standalone activity. Since it overlaps with many other reporting frameworks, sustainability professionals should be able to use the same building blocks of your sustainability strategy and data for multiple reporting frameworks. 
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• Timelines: Cozero and Sunhat’s experts suggest that SMEs can expect to take several weeks to a few months for their reporting. Larger companies, especially those with complex supply chains, should plan for 6-18 months. 

With those points in mind, let’s explore how you can efficiently manage each phase to optimize your reporting process. 

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Phase 1: Getting started

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If you’re new to CDP reporting, your first step should be a thorough review of the questionnaire and sector-specific requirements. Make use of essential resources like the 2024 PDF Questionnaire (Modules 1-6, 7, and 8-13), and the Scoring methodology to familiarize yourself with CDP’s expectations.

For returning reporters, a good starting point is to analyze your most recent submission and score when it’s available. Identify gaps and areas for improvement for 2025.

Setting clear internal deadlines, milestones, and team responsibilities early on will be crucial for efficient data collection and reporting. It’s also important to consider how CDP reporting will align with other reporting initiatives, such as CSRD and CBAM, to reduce overlap and increase efficiency.

Phase 2: Data collection and reporting

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Once you’ve mapped out your strategy and plan, the next focus is data collection. This involves tracking key environmental metrics, ranging from carbon accounting to water, forests, biodiversity, and plastics. Documenting processes around reporting, data collection, and quality assurance will help you guarantee accuracy and higher data quality. This phase will involve multiple stakeholders, such as the sustainability, finance, IT, HR and operation departments.

For large enterprises and those with complex supply chains, robust carbon accounting software can massively simplify data management. Tools like Cozero’s Climate Action Platform support comprehensive data collection, supplier engagement, Scope 3 emissions tracking, and more to make it easier to manage granular sustainability data.

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Phase 3: Continuous improvement

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CDP’s scoring framework is designed to foster continual improvement, encouraging companies to enhance their environmental management practices year over year. 

First-time reporters should focus on disclosing all available information, even if some data points or initiatives aren’t fully developed. Over time, you can use your CDP score to identify gaps, develop solutions, and align with internal and external stakeholders on key areas for improvement.

As an example, companies that start with basic Scope 1 and 2 emissions reporting should eventually progress to higher levels of detail and verification, expanding into Scope 3 emissions and refining data quality through supplier-specific information.

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Support with CDP reporting in 2025

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As the bar for environmental leadership rises, so do the opportunities for innovation and industry collaboration. Whether you’re new to CDP reporting or looking to enhance your performance, now is the time to take that next step. 

Cozero’s Climate Action Platform helps enterprises in manufacturing, logistics, and other sectors improve their carbon accounting and decarbonization efforts, while our compliance experts offer support for CDP and other sustainability reporting requirements.

To go further

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• CDP: Webinar How to submit your questionnaire

• UN Global: CDP <> ESRS mapping
  
  
• CDP: Five Year Strategy
  
  
• Cozero: Guide to choosing a carbon accounting tool
  
  
• CDP: Corporate disclosure webinar series
  
  
• Sunhat: Simplify your CDP response process