CDP scores & scoring methodology 2026: the A–D ladder, decoded
A CDP score is a single letter, but it compresses an assessment across four bands: Disclosure, Awareness, Management and Leadership, running D-minus to A.
This page sets out what each band represents, what changed in the 2026 questionnaire, the 2025 outturn stats, and exactly when 2026 scores and A Lists are released.
The four bands, D-minus to A
CDP scores a response against a published methodology built around four progressive bands: Disclosure, Awareness, Management and Leadership[2].
Scoring in 2026 remains centred on climate change, forests and water security[2].
Being scored at all presupposes disclosing — and CDP disclosure is voluntary, driven by investor and customer requests rather than a UK statutory requirement[5].
CDP itself is a not-for-profit, not a regulator.
Each band splits into a plus and minus grade, giving an eight-rung ladder from D-minus up to A.
The bands are not evenly spaced in difficulty — the gap between Awareness and Management typically represents the shift from disclosing data to acting on it, while the gap between Management and Leadership represents the shift from managing risk to demonstrating verified, board-governed leadership.
| Band | Grades | Broadly signals |
|---|---|---|
| Leadership | A / A- | Verified data, science-based targets, board oversight, demonstrated impact |
| Management | B / B- | Environmental risks identified and being actively managed |
| Awareness | C / C- | Environmental issues understood; limited evidence of coordinated action |
| Disclosure | D / D- | Data reported with minimal evidence of management or strategy |
What changed in the 2026 methodology
CDP’s 2026 questionnaire adds new ocean questions and broadens coverage of forests and natural ecosystems[6].
The water security, plastics and climate questions were revised, with adaptation and resilience content layered into existing sections[6].
The SME questionnaire gained forests and water security questions for the first time in 2026, bringing smaller disclosers closer to the full corporate questionnaire’s scope[6].
The underlying four-band scoring structure is unchanged — these are additions to what is assessed, not a change to how it is graded.
What the last full cycle looked like
The 2025 cycle is the most recent with public results.
More than 22,100 companies disclosed to CDP, nearly 20,000 were scored, and 4% of scored companies made the 2025 Corporate A List[1].
France, Türkiye and Japan had the highest A-List share of scored companies[1].
The gap between “disclosed” and “scored” — roughly 2,000 companies in 2025 — reflects responses submitted after the scoring deadline, ineligible questionnaire types, or incomplete submissions, not a fixed pass rate.
When 2026 scores are released
Only responses submitted by the scoring deadline of 16 September 2026 are eligible to be scored[4].
Responses can still be edited up to the final deadline in the week commencing 26 October 2026, but a resubmission after the scoring deadline is not scored for that cycle[4][3].
CDP then applies its published scoring methodology to eligible responses.
Both the 2026 scores and the 2026 A Lists are released in the week of 30 November 2026, to disclosing organisations and on CDP’s public site at the same time[1].
For the full 2026 disclosure calendar, including the paid On-Demand Extension, see our CDP reporting timeline 2026.
Because CDP can adjust the exact release date within a cycle, confirm current timing on CDP’s Disclosure Hub rather than treating any third-party date as fixed[3].
What actually moves a score
Four factors do most of the work in practice, based on the structure of CDP’s published scoring criteria[2].
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Completeness across modules | Skipped or "not applicable" answers on relevant modules cap the score |
| Third-party verified data | Verified Scope 1–3 figures score materially higher than self-reported ones |
| Quantified targets | Science-based or equivalent targets outscore narrative ambition statements |
| Governance evidence | Named board-level oversight of climate risk is a leadership-tier signal |
None of this is separable from the underlying reporting infrastructure.
Companies that already prepare UK SRS S2 climate disclosures [7] or verified Scope 3 emissions data [8] arrive at the CDP questionnaire with most of a leadership-tier response already assembled.
Companies starting from scratch inside the disclosure window rarely clear C.
For what each admin fee tier includes and what disclosure costs beyond the fee, see CDP cost & admin fees 2026.
CDP scores: frequently asked questions
What do CDP scores mean?
CDP scores each response on an eight-band ladder from A (leadership) down to D-minus, assessing four things: level of Disclosure, Awareness of environmental issues, quality of Management methods, and evidence of Leadership. A and A-minus scores signal leadership-level practice; B and B-minus signal management-level action; C and C-minus signal awareness; D and D-minus signal early-stage disclosure with limited evidence of action.
When do CDP scores come out in 2026?
CDP’s 2026 scores and A Lists are both released in the week of 30 November 2026, published on the CDP Portal and CDP’s public site at the same time. Only responses submitted by the scoring deadline of 16 September 2026 are eligible. The 2025 scores and A Lists are already public now.
What changed in the 2026 CDP scoring methodology?
The 2026 questionnaire adds new ocean questions, broadens forests and natural-ecosystems coverage, and revises the water security, plastics and climate questions, layering in adaptation and resilience content. The SME questionnaire gained forests and water security questions for the first time. Scoring itself remains centred on climate change, forests and water security.
How do I improve a CDP score?
The biggest score movements come from completeness and verification, not polish. Answering every applicable module (including Scope 3 and, where relevant, water and forests), providing third-party verified emissions data, setting science-based or equivalent targets, and evidencing board-level oversight all move a response up the ladder. Vague narrative answers without quantified data or evidence rarely score above C.
What is the CDP A List, and how many companies made it in 2025?
The A List is the set of companies that achieve an A score in a given disclosure year across CDP’s climate, water security and forests programmes. In the 2025 cycle, more than 22,100 companies disclosed to CDP, nearly 20,000 were scored, and 4% made the 2025 Corporate A List — France, Türkiye and Japan had the highest A-List share of scored companies. The A List is published on CDP’s public scores page.
Does everyone who discloses get a score?
Only responses submitted by the scoring deadline are eligible. Some questionnaire types and self-selected disclosures may not be scored at all, and CDP publishes the specific eligibility rules each cycle. A response submitted after the scoring deadline but before the final deadline is accepted but will not receive a score for that cycle.
How does a CDP score relate to UK SRS or TCFD?
CDP’s questionnaire is aligned with IFRS S2, and UK SRS S2 is the UK’s endorsement of IFRS S2 — so governance, strategy, risk management and metrics content prepared for one substantially supports the other. A strong CDP score is evidence of mature climate governance, which is also what UK SRS S2 and the legacy TCFD framework require, but none of the three frameworks are formally interchangeable and each has its own submission process.
- CDP Scores and A Lists — CDP Worldwide · 2025 outturn (22,100+ disclosed, ~20,000 scored, 4% A List); 2026 scores/A Lists release week of 30 November
- CDP scoring methodology 2026 — CDP Worldwide · Published week of 27 April 2026; four-band D-minus to A ladder — Disclosure, Awareness, Management, Leadership
- How to Disclose — CDP Worldwide · Scoring deadline 16 September 2026; final deadline week commencing 26 October; scores week of 30 November
- Terms of Disclosure — CDP Worldwide · Definition of Score(s), Scoring Deadline and final deadline
- FAQs — CDP Worldwide · Disclosure and scoring general information; questionnaire changes summary
- CDP releases 2026 questionnaires and key deadlines — KPMG (summarising CDP’s 2026 questionnaire materials) · New ocean questions; broader forests/natural-ecosystems coverage; revised water, plastics and climate questions; SME additions — verify against CDP’s own questionnaire changes documentation each cycle
- IFRS Sustainability Standards Navigator — IFRS S2 — IFRS Foundation · CDP’s climate questionnaire is aligned with IFRS S2, which UK SRS S2 endorses
- Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard — GHG Protocol · Defines the Scope 1–3 emissions categories a verified CDP response reports against