CDP scoring methodology 2026
CDP scores and the 2026 scoring methodology
The CDP scoring methodology 2026 grades each response from D- to A on four consecutive levels: Disclosure, Awareness, Management and Leadership.
A response only reaches a level by passing CDP’s provisional thresholds and every essential criterion at the level below.
2026 scores reach disclosers in the week of 30 November 2026, and a score carries no regulatory status anywhere.
The scoring ladder
The four levels, D- to A
CDP scores a response against a published methodology built on four levels, and each level yields two grades.
That gives an eight-rung ladder from D- to A, which CDP describes as a journey “from Disclosure through Awareness and Management, and finally to Leadership”.
Nearly every question is scored for Disclosure, apart from the biodiversity and plastics questions.
Awareness, CDP says, does not indicate that an organisation has done anything beyond initial screening or assessment.
Management marks the move from understanding to acting, and Leadership the move from managing risk to best practice.
Our read: treat the letter as a summary, not the target — two B-rated companies can have very different responses behind them, so read the response before drawing conclusions about a supplier.
| Level | Grades | What CDP says it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Leadership | A / A- | Best practice in the strategies used and the actions taken |
| Management | B / B- | Evidence of action and processes to manage environmental issues |
| Awareness | C / C- | How comprehensively the organisation has evaluated how environmental issues meet its business |
| Disclosure | D / D- | The completeness of the response |
Definitions
What a CDP score (or CDP rating) is — and what it isn’t
A CDP score is a letter grade that CDP itself assigns to a disclosed response.
CDP calls it a score; many buyers and investors call it a rating, and they mean the same grade.
It is not issued or endorsed by a regulator, and it has no regulatory status: no UK, EU or other instrument requires anyone 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 asking for data — not by law.
CDP’s scoring introduction says scores are based only on the response itself: external websites and sustainability reports are not considered, except the Science Based Targets initiative’s database of validated targets.
CDP also says a score alone is “not a comprehensive metric” of how sustainable an organisation is, but an indication of the action it reported.
The one regulator to have spoken acted to restrict use: CDP’s notice to users in India cites the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Credit Rating Agencies) Regulations 1999.
CDP is, as at 30 September 2026, run by CDP Worldwide, a UK registered charity; in June 2026 it announced a split into a Permira-backed commercial company and a charitable CDP Foundation, not yet complete.
That affects who runs the scoring system in future; it does not change what a score means today.
Not verified. “Neither CDP nor CDP’s scoring partners verify the information in any individual organization’s response.”
Not freely reusable. Scores must not be used for anything other than internal, non-commercial use without CDP’s written consent.
Restricted in India. Organisations with securities listed in India must not share their CDP scores externally within India.
Methodology
CDP scoring methodology 2026: the thresholds
CDP publishes the percentage bands for each level in Table 1 of its Full Corporate Scoring Introduction 2026, and they are the same for all three scored issues.
CDP is explicit that they are provisional: it “reserves the right to adjust these thresholds at any point prior to the release of scores”.
The table’s own caption says these are the thresholds “applied to calculate the scores released for the 2025 disclosure cycle”.
Tables circulating elsewhere with different upper bounds do not match CDP’s document; use CDP’s.
Disclosure and Awareness scores are a simple percentage of points achieved.
Management and Leadership scores are weighted by scoring category, and the weightings vary by sector.
A response is scored on its primary questionnaire sector only, so where more than one sector’s questions apply, not all of them are scored.
The percentage is not the only gate: a response that misses the threshold at one level stays at the level below, however well it does elsewhere.
Table 1 — provisional thresholds
| Level | Lower grade | Upper grade |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | 1–49% → D- | 50–80% → D |
| Awareness | 1–44% → C- | 45–80% → C |
| Management | 1–44% → B- | 45–75% → B |
| Leadership | 1–69% → A- | 70–100% → A |
Identical for climate change, forests and water security. Source: CDP Full Corporate Scoring Introduction 2026 (V1.2), Table 1
Hard gates
Essential criteria, and what changed for 2026
On top of the thresholds CDP applies essential criteria: specific answers that must be present to be scored at a level, whatever the percentage.
For climate change they apply at Awareness, Management, Leadership and the A List; for forests and water security only at Leadership and the A List.
CDP’s own example: if an Awareness criterion is not met, the final score is limited to a D; if the Awareness criteria are met but a Management one is not, it is capped at a C.
CDP says its methodology and essential criteria remained largely stable between 2025 and 2026, with two major changes: scoring cocoa, coffee and rubber, and rewording the criteria for clarity.
The change most likely to move a climate score is the removal of EC-CC1 (and its financial-services twin, EC-CC2) at Management and Leadership, after CDP found it was holding back otherwise strong responses on risk and opportunity reporting.
The questionnaire changes behind these — ocean, forests, plastics, SMEs — are set out on the CDP questionnaire 2026, and the structure of the methodology on the CDP reporting framework.
| 2026 change | Effect |
|---|---|
| EC-CC1 / EC-CC2 (risks and opportunities) | Removed at Management and Leadership; kept at Awareness |
| Cocoa, coffee and rubber | Now scored forest commodities, with sub-scores |
| EC-CC4 (incentives) | New route where law prevents executive incentives |
| Aviation sector | Added to the questionnaire and scored |
| Essential criteria wording | Restated as exact response options; no change in ambition |
Scope of scoring
What is scored in 2026 — three issues, not six
Climate change, forests, water security
Each receives its own score on the full corporate questionnaire. Financial services companies assessed for forests and water security receive public scores for them.
Plastics, biodiversity, ocean
Asked (biodiversity) or opt-in (plastics, ocean) on the full questionnaire, and unscored in 2026 "to allow companies to build capacity".
Climate change only
For the first time in 2026 an SME can earn an SME A score — which CDP says is not equivalent to a full-questionnaire A.
CDP’s Help Center is explicit: in 2026 it scores the full questionnaire on climate change, forests and water security, and plastics, biodiversity and the newly added ocean issues remain unscored.
Only responses in English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish or Portuguese are eligible, under §12.3 of the Terms.
Scoring is mainly automated, supplemented by CDP-trained scoring partners for open-text answers, with CDP’s own team running quality checks.
Disclosers receive category scores alongside the overall grade, and forests disclosers a sub-score for each commodity, but only the single forests score counts for the A List.
Being scored at all presupposes disclosing — voluntarily, at a customer’s or investor’s request — and the rules for that are on CDP reporting.
Timing
When CDP scores come out
CDP makes 2026 scores available to disclosers in the week of 30 November 2026 through the CDP Portal, and publishes public scores on its website later the same week.
The initial release carries the overall score, a breakdown by scoring category and, where available, sector and regional averages.
Only responses submitted by the scoring deadline — 16 September 2026, or 30 September under a granted extension — are eligible.
A score may be kept private only by a Capital Markets requested or self-selected organisation disclosing on that theme for the first time, which asks within six weeks of the scoring deadline; an A is always public.
A discloser that believes it was scored wrongly can appeal on evidence already in its response; CDP answers all appeals together after the window shuts, and a score can go up or down.
That is why CDP’s scores page says some scores remain subject to change while the appeal window is open.
For 2027 CDP aims to deliver scores to disclosers in September and publish in November; the full calendar, including the On-Demand Extension, is on the CDP reporting timeline 2026.
From deadline to public score
- 16 Sep 2026Scoring deadline
Or 30 September under a granted On-Demand Extension.
- 28 Oct 2026Private-score requests close
Six weeks after the scoring deadline, for eligible first-time disclosers.
- w/c 30 Nov 2026Scores to disclosers
In the CDP Portal, with category scores and averages.
- Later that weekPublic scores and A Lists
On CDP's website, for public scores.
- Sep / Nov 2027The 2027 cycle
CDP aims to deliver scores in September and publish in November.
Sources: KA-01160 · Terms of Disclosure §13.2 · CDP Disclosure 2027
The last full cycle
The A List, and what the 2025 cycle looked like
The A List is the set of companies that reach an A, and it is small.
In the 2025 cycle more than 22,100 companies disclosed and nearly 20,000 were scored.
CDP announced the 2025 Corporate A List on 8 January 2026 as 877 companies, 4% of those scored, with 23 achieving a Triple A across climate, forests and water security.
CDP’s scores data page now shows 899 companies (5%) and 27 Triple A, while its other scores page still shows 877 and 23.
Neither page is dated, and CDP does not explain the difference; its scores page does note that scores can change until appeals are resolved.
The direction is clear: A scores in climate rose from 346 in 2023 to 751 in 2025, in water security from 101 to 263, and in forests from 30 to 55.
Demand is what makes the ladder worth climbing: CDP says 640 investors with US$127 trillion in assets asked it to collect data in 2025, and more than 270 buyers requested data from about 45,000 suppliers.
What counts as a good score is not something CDP defines, and in practice it is set by whoever asked you — so check what your customer or investor expects.
Improving a score
What actually moves a CDP score
| Lever | Why it matters, in CDP's own terms |
|---|---|
| Completeness | Nearly every question is scored for Disclosure, the first level, which measures completeness and cannot be skipped. |
| Essential criteria | Missing one caps the score at the level below, however many points the response earns. |
| Leadership evidence | CDP's examples: a publicly available 1.5°C-aligned transition plan, supplier engagement, an SBTi-validated Scope 1 and 2 target. |
| Only what is in the response | Links, attachments and sustainability reports are not scored unless the methodology asks for them. |
| Your primary sector | Only the primary questionnaire sector's questions are scored, so check your CDP-ACS allocation at setup. |
None of this is separable from the underlying reporting.
CDP’s questionnaire is aligned with IFRS S2, and UK SRS S2 is the UK’s version of IFRS S2, so work done for one supports the other.
Companies that already prepare UK SRS S2 climate disclosures, or robust Scope 3 emissions data measured under the GHG Protocol, arrive at the questionnaire with much of the evidence already assembled.
The IFRS S2 connection runs through CDP’s alignment work, documented on the IFRS Sustainability Standards Navigator and on CDP reporting standards.
What each fee tier includes, and whether the Enhanced tier’s peer comparison report is worth having, is on CDP cost and admin fees 2026.
The environmental themes behind the three scored issues are on CDP environmental reporting, and the wider UK regime map on ESG reporting requirements in the UK.
A secondary summary of CDP’s 2026 materials is published by KPMG, as further reading only.
Frequently asked
CDP scores — frequently asked
What do CDP scores mean?
A CDP score is a letter grade from D- to A on four consecutive levels. Disclosure (D-, D) measures how complete a response is. Awareness (C-, C) measures how well the organisation understands how environmental issues meet its business. Management (B-, B) measures evidence of action. Leadership (A-, A) measures best practice. A response must clear the threshold and essential criteria at one level before it is credited at the next.
When do CDP scores come out in 2026?
CDP makes 2026 scores available to disclosers through the CDP Portal in the week of 30 November 2026, and publishes public scores and the A Lists on its website later that week. Only responses submitted by the scoring deadline of 16 September 2026, or by 30 September under a granted On-Demand Extension, are eligible. For 2027, CDP aims to deliver scores to disclosers in September and publish them in November.
What changed in the 2026 CDP scoring methodology?
CDP says its full corporate scoring methodology and essential criteria stayed largely stable between 2025 and 2026. The two major changes are that cocoa, coffee and rubber became scored forest commodities, and that the essential criteria were reworded for clarity. Climate essential criteria EC-CC1 and EC-CC2 on risks and opportunities were removed at Management and Leadership level and now apply at Awareness. A new Aviation sector is scored, and SMEs can earn an SME A score for climate change for the first time.
Is a CDP score the same as a CDP rating?
Yes. CDP calls its letter grades scores; buyers, investors and search engines often call them ratings. They are the same D- to A grades. They are not an ESG rating of the whole company, and CDP says a score alone is not a comprehensive measure of how sustainable an organisation is.
What is a good CDP score?
CDP does not define a "good" score, but its levels say what each grade means. A B or B- shows evidence of action to manage environmental issues; an A or A- shows best practice. Only a small share of scored companies reach the A List: CDP announced 877 companies, 4% of those scored, for 2025. What counts as good for you usually depends on what your requesting customer or investor has asked for.
How do I improve a CDP score?
Answer every question that applies to you, because the Disclosure level measures completeness and cannot be skipped. Meet every essential criterion for the level you are aiming at, because missing one caps the score at the level below regardless of points. For Leadership, CDP gives examples such as a publicly available 1.5°C-aligned transition plan, engaging suppliers on environmental issues and an SBTi-validated Scope 1 and 2 target. Read the scoring methodology when it is published in April.
Does everyone who discloses get a score?
No. A response is scored only if it is submitted by the scoring deadline, in a scored language (English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish or Portuguese), on a scored questionnaire. Late responses are marked not scored. A requested company that does not respond is marked Did not disclose. Public authorities completing their own version of the questionnaire are not scored.
Can I keep my CDP score private?
Sometimes. Under CDP's Terms of Disclosure, a score is published if it is an A, if you are a self-selected organisation, or if you are Capital Markets requested. A Capital Markets requested or self-selected organisation disclosing on a theme for the first time may ask for a private score within six weeks of the scoring deadline, unless it scores an A. Otherwise the score is shared only with the organisations that requested it.
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 version of IFRS S2, so governance, strategy, risk and metrics content prepared for one substantially supports the other. CDP also maps its climate questions to the TCFD recommendations. But a CDP score is not a UK SRS disclosure, and none of the three is interchangeable with the others.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner. Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- CDPFull Corporate Scoring Introduction 2026 (V1.2, 18 June 2026)
Table 1 provisional thresholds; weighting at Management and Leadership; essential criteria; "not scored" and "Did not disclose"; scores not verified; Annex III extensions.
- CDPFull Corporate Scoring Changes 2026 (V1.0, 30 April 2026)
The two major changes; EC-CC1 and EC-CC2 removed at Management and Leadership; Aviation sector.
- CDPClimate Change Scoring Essential Criteria 2026
The criteria that cap a score at D or C when not met.
- CDP Help CenterKA-01160 — Understand your score as a disclosing company
What is scored in 2026; score release timing; category scores; why a response may not be scored; appeals.
- CDPFAQs — scores, essential criteria and Leadership examples
The four levels in CDP's words; "Did not disclose"; the SME A score; what Leadership looks like.
- CDPTerms of Disclosure 2026 — §§5.1, 12.1–12.3, 13.1–13.3
Eligibility for scoring; scored languages; on-demand scores; when a score is public or private.
- CDPScores and A Lists — India notice, licence terms and appeals
SEBI restriction; scores for internal, non-commercial use without consent; some scores subject to change during appeals; 877 / 23 Triple A.
- CDPScores and A Lists (data page)
899 companies (5%) and 27 Triple A shown for 2025; the SME A score from 2026.
- CDPCDP A List 2025 press release, 8 January 2026
877 companies (4%), 23 Triple A; 22,100+ companies disclosed, nearly 20,000 scored; A-score growth 2023–2025.
- CDPHow to Disclose — scoring deadline and materials
The 2026 scoring deadline and where the methodology documents are published.
- CDPAbout CDP
CDP's description of itself and its disclosure system.
- IFRS FoundationIFRS Sustainability Standards Navigator — IFRS S2
The climate standard CDP aligns to and UK SRS S2 adopts.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
The Scope 1–3 categories a CDP response reports against.
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