The CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is an international non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom, Japan, India, China, Germany, Brazil and the United States that helps companies, cities, states, regions and public authorities disclose their environmental impact. It aims to make environmental reporting and

risk management Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks, followed by the minimization, monitoring, and control of the impact or probability of those risks occurring. Risks can come from various sources (i.e, Threat (sec ...

a business norm, driving disclosure, insight, and action towards a sustainable economy. In 2022, nearly 18,700 organizations disclosed their environmental information through CDP.

Background

CDP piggybacked on GRI's concept of environmental disclosure in 2002, focusing on individual companies rather than on nations. At the time CDP had just 35

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...

s signing its request for climate information and 245 companies responding. According to the organization, as of 2022, companies worth half of global market capitalization disclose through CDP.

Mechanism

CDP works with

corporations A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

, cities, states, and regions to help develop carbon emissions reductions strategies. The collection of self-reported data from the companies is supported by over 800 institutional investors with about US$100 trillion in assets.

CDP's programs

Climate change

CDP's climate change program aims to reduce companies' greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. CDP requests information on climate risks and low carbon opportunities from the world's largest companies on behalf of over 800 institutional investor signatories with a combined US$100 trillion in assets.

Water

The program motivates companies to disclose and reduce their environmental impacts by using the power of investors and companies.

Supply chain

In 2016, some 90 organizations, representing over US$2.5 trillion of purchasing power, requested that their suppliers disclose information on how they are approaching climate and water risks and opportunities. Data was gathered from over 4,000 suppliers worldwide, who reported over US$12 billion worth of savings from emission reduction activities.

Forests

CDP's forests program has over 290 signatory investors in its network, which collectively represent about US$19 trillion in combined assets. CDP collects information about the four agricultural commodities responsible for most deforestation:

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, palm oil,

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

and soy. CDP's forests program was first set up by the UK Government's Department for International Development via the Global Canopy Programme and the JMG Foundation.

Cities

CDP Cities provides a platform for cities to measure, manage and disclose their environmental data. More than 500 cities are now measuring and disclosing environmental data annually. The potential and need for this program is enormous since over 56% of the world's population now live in cities. CDP Cities provides a global platform based upon a simple questionnaire that allows city governments to disclose their greenhouse gas emission data publicly. One of the greatest values of the annual report, first released in June 2011, is to city leaders who can identify peers who are addressing similar risks and issues with new and innovative strategies for reducing carbon emissions and for mitigating risk from climate change.

Carbon Action initiative

Carbon Action is an investor-led initiative which shows how companies in investment portfolios are managing carbon emissions and energy efficiency. Over 300 investors with US$25 trillion in assets under management ask the world's highest emitting companies to take three specific actions in response to climate change: * Make emissions reductions (year-on-year) * Publicly disclose emission reduction targets * Make ROI-positive investments in projects CDP launched a new research series at the beginning of 2015, taking a sector by sector approach.

Leadership indices

CDP recognizes companies with high-quality disclosure in its annual scoring process, with top companies making it onto CDP's so-called A-list. Scores are calculated according to a standardized method which measures whether and how well a company responds to each question. A company goes through four main steps, starting with disclosure of their current position, moving to awareness which looks at whether a company is conscious of its environmental impact, to management, and finally leadership. A high CDP score is supposed to be indicative of a company's environmental awareness, advanced sustainability governance and leadership to address climate change.

Organisational structure and governance

CDP includes three separate legal entities registered in the United Kingdom, Belgium and the United States of America. In the United Kingdom, CDP Worldwide is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. CDP Europe is a registered charity in Brussels, Belgium and Berlin, Germany. CDP North America, Inc is an independent 501(c)(3) entity based in New York City. The three entities have independent trustee boards.

Funding

CDP's funding comes from a combination of government and philanthropic grants (44.4%) and a mixture of membership fees, administrative fees, sponsorships and data licensing. In Europe, CDP is around 30% funded by the LIFE programme of the European Commission.

Relevance of CDP

Proponents claim that disclosures are helpful for investors, corporations, and regulators in making informed decisions on taking action towards a sustainable economy by measuring and understanding their environmental impact and taking steps to address and limit their risk to climate change, deforestation and water security.

Studies on CDP

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Kumar, Praveen; Mittal, Amit; Firoz, Mohammad (2020). "Carbon credit issuance: accounting based financial performance". SCMS Journal of Indian Management. 17(2): 111–119. *

Corporate recognition of the CDP

In 2010, CDP was called "The most powerful green NGO you've never heard of" by the Harvard Business Review. In 2012 it won the Zayed Future Energy Prize.ZaYed Future Energy Prize, 2012 Winners

References

External links

*
2011 (first) annual report from the CDP Cities program

About the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
{{Authority control International environmental organizations Environmental organisations based in the United Kingdom + Greenhouse gas inventories