CDP scores & scoring methodology 2026: the A–D ladder, decoded

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, at present, a not-for-profit rather than a regulator; in June 2026 it announced a split into a Permira-backed commercial entity and a separate charitable CDP Foundation, a change not yet complete as at August 2026.

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.

What a CDP score (or CDP rating) is — and what it isn’t

A CDP score is a letter grade, A to D-minus, that CDP itself assigns to a disclosed response. It is not issued or endorsed by a regulator, and it carries no regulatory status anywhere. CDP describes itself as running “the world’s only independent environmental disclosure system”^[12] — a private, membership-funded platform, not a public authority.

No UK, EU or other statute requires an organisation to disclose to CDP or to hold a particular score.

Participation is driven by commercial pressure — CDP’s Capital Markets Signatories and Supply Chain members requesting disclosure from counterparties — not by law.

CDP does not check the underlying data either. Its own scoring methodology states plainly: “Neither CDP nor CDP’s scoring partners verify the information in any individual organization’s response.”^[9] A CDP score is a grade on the completeness and quality of a self-reported response, not an audited or independently assured figure.

Two restrictions apply to anyone quoting a score. CDP’s terms require a licence for anything beyond internal use: “CDP scores must not, without prior written consent from CDP, be used for anything other than internal, non-commercial use.”^[13] And Indian organisations with securities listed in India face a further restriction from their own regulator — CDP’s notice states “the use of CDP scores is restricted for Indian organizations with securities listed in India. These organizations must not share their CDP scores externally within India, and cannot use them for decision-making, investment analysis, compliance or research purposes related to ESG investment, performance and practices,” under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Credit Rating Agencies) Regulations 1999^[13].

CDP itself is, as at 23 August 2026, a UK-registered charity.

In June 2026 it announced plans to split into a Permira-backed commercial entity and a separate charitable CDP Foundation, a change not yet complete.

That restructuring affects who runs the scoring system in future — it does not change what a score means today.

CDP scoring methodology 2026: the percentage thresholds

CDP publishes exact percentage thresholds for each band, and — as at 23 August 2026 — the same four bands apply identically across Climate Change, Forests and Water Security, the only three issue areas CDP scores in 2026^[9].

These are CDP’s own numbers, from Table 1 of the Full Corporate Scoring Introduction 2026 (V1.2, 18 June 2026), and CDP is explicit that they are provisional: “CDP provisionally sets the thresholds required to move between scoring levels, and these thresholds are reviewed during the scoring period… CDP reserves the right to adjust these thresholds at any point prior to the release of scores.”^[9] Table 1’s own caption adds that the figures above are the ones “applied to calculate the scores released for the 2025 disclosure cycle” — CDP has not published a separately confirmed final 2026 table as at 23 August 2026^[9]. Third-party tables in circulation do not always match this one; CDP’s own document is the only one to treat as current.

Disclosure and Awareness scores are a simple percentage of points achieved; Management and Leadership scores are weighted by scoring category, with category weightings that vary by sector^[9].

Thresholds are not the only gate. CDP layers essential criteria on top — specific datapoints that must be present regardless of the percentage score achieved. For Climate Change, essential criteria apply at Awareness, Management, Leadership and A List; for Forests and Water Security they apply only at Leadership and A List^[9]. Missing one is a hard gate, not a deduction: CDP’s essential-criteria documentation states that “if a criterion is applied to Awareness level and the check is not met, this will limit an organization’s final score to a D. Similarly, if the Awareness essential criteria are met and the Management level criteria are not met, the final score will be capped at a C”^[10]— regardless of the percentage otherwise achieved.

The 2026 change to watch: two Climate Change essential criteria — EC-CC1 and EC-CC2 — were removed at Management and Leadership level for 2026 and now apply only at Awareness, after CDP’s annual review found they were capping otherwise strong responses on risk and opportunity reporting^[10].

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].

Not everything new is scored. CDP’s own help centre is explicit: “In 2026, CDP continues to score companies that have completed the Full questionnaire on Climate Change, Forests, and Water Security. The Plastics and Biodiversity, and newly added Ocean issues remain unscored in 2026, to allow companies to build capacity in these areas.”^[11] As at 23 August 2026, that remains the full list — three scored issue areas, not six.

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 899 companies — 5% of those scored made the 2025 Corporate A List, with a further 27 achieving a Triple A across climate, water security and forests^[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].

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