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Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4


Organizational guide for environmental action

CDP’s questionnaires, guidance and scoring methodology provide a guide towards best practices in environmental management for companies. The CDP roadmap provides a snapshot of actions companies are taking at each stage of this journey towards environmental excellence.

Some key determinants of an organization’s progress through best practices in environmental action are:

  • Whether the organization is disclosing in a verifiable manner, to what level of detail and whether progress is becoming apparent
  • The completeness of emissions and resource use accounting, as well as progress reducing emissions and impacts year / year
  • Whether and how environmental risk is built into the company’s governance / responsibility model
  • How it identifies and manages any environmental risks and opportunities for its business
  • The ambition of a company’s targets and
  • How it engages its value chain

Refer to CDP’s guidance documents for an overview of question pathways as well as details on what information to provide.

Please note that the information below is intended as a guide, rather than an exhaustive list of requirements to reach each stage. For any specific questions not covered by this guidance, please contact us.


Please note that the information below is intended as a guide, rather than an exhaustive list of requirements to reach each stage. For any specific questions not covered by this guidance, please contact us.


Stage 1: Early

Stage 1 is the starting point of an organization’s journey towards environmental action.


At this stage, organizations disclosing on climate change:

  • Disclose environmental information through CDP
  • May provide partial disclosure of their Scope 1 and 2 emissions, intensity figures or methodology, and
  • Are in the process of identifying inherent climate-related risks and/or providing rationale as to why they are not exposed to environmental risks


At this stage, organizations disclosing on forests:

  • Disclose partial information through CDP about the forest-risk commodities within their operations/supply chain and where they originate from
  • Do not include deforestation within risks assessments and have limited insight into the possible risks they face from deforestation
  • Do not have a policy in place that includes forests-related issues or commodity specific sustainability policies


At this stage, organizations disclosing on water:

  • Disclose partial water-related information through CDP and demonstrate awareness of their dependency on water
  • Are monitoring and measuring water withdrawal and discharges across some of their sites
  • Are at early stages of including water security within risks assessments and have limited insight into possible risks
  • Do not have a policy in place that includes water-related sustainability policies


CDP offers solutions and support suitable for gaps common at this stage. Stage 1 organizations may benefit from:

  • CDP Reporter Services: Can walk you through the disclosure process, providing one-to-one support to help you digest and understand the CDP reporting requirements. With dedicated calls, bespoke question-level guidance and review of your first draft, CDP Reporter Services will support your business’ first steps.
  • Accredited Solutions Providers: Can help work out greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Scope 1 and 2), including verification and support with putting in place a sustainability strategy, conducting a climate and/or water-related risk analysis, improving energy efficiency and setting targets, measuring and monitoring water withdrawals, discharges and consumption, as well as conducting a water risk assessment.

Quick links:
Guidance
Reporter Services
Accredited Solutions Providers
Forests roadmap case studies (PDF)


Stage 2: Developing

Organizations at stage 2 are beginning to understand their impact on the environment and are taking first steps towards action, such as target-setting and environmental-risk identification.


For climate change, at this point, we usually see organizations that have:

  • Complete disclosure of Scope 1 and 2 emissions
  • Disclosed and set absolute and/or intensity emissions targets with a midterm time frame, and demonstrated some progress towards this
  • Identified short-term environmental risks and/or opportunities, but not yet defined their financial impact or management cost
  • Managers responsible for climate issues are in place in relevant departments
  • Demonstrated limited engagement with their value chain


For forests, at this point, organizations usually:

  • Demonstrate knowledge of relevant forest-risk commodities and transparency around the countries it sources them from especially if they have a high deforestation risk
  • Have identified that deforestation risks exist but unclear on the potential impact of these risks.
  • Are purchasing at least some certified commodities
  • Have established a target to decrease deforestation risk either through sustainable procurement or traceability
  • Engage with some suppliers to manage deforestation-risks


For water, at this point, organizations usually:

  • Identify some substantive water-related risks and are able to ascribe them to a river-basin
  • Provide volumetric figures for total water withdrawals by sources, total discharges by destinations, and total consumption
  • Are able to identify sites located in areas of water stress
  • Have set some form of water-related target


CDP offers solutions and support suitable for issues common at this stage. Developing organizations may benefit from:

  • CDP Reporter Services: Using the largest data set of corporate environmental data, CDP can help inform your environmental strategy. Reporter Services analytics and on-demand data extracts can give you the key information to assist you in building the business case for taking further action on environmental management. The team can also produce a benchmarking report to communicate performance on key metrics relative to your peers, and where gaps for improvements lie. Utilize the power of CDP data to gain board-level buy-in enabling data driven decisions.
  • Accredited Solutions Providers: For support with scenario analysis, target implementation, efficient and streamlined collection and management of environmental data, procurement of renewable energy, designing and implementing ambitious water-related targets and a robust water strategy, as well as helping you to understand your dependence on water throughout your value chain.
  • CDP Supply Chain: Can help you evaluate your Scope 3 footprint and build a rigorous supplier engagement program reduce your environmental impact.
  • TCFD Knowledge Hub: A practical resources hub to help facilitate efficient and effective implementation of the TCFD recommendations.

Quick links:
Guidance
Reporter Services
Accredited Solutions Providers
Supply Chain
TCFD Knowledge Hub
Forests roadmap case studies (PDF)


Stage 3: Mature

Environmental data is fully integrated into these businesses’ strategies with specific and detailed plans of action, and demonstrable progress.


At this stage, organizations usually:

  • Disclose and verify Scope 1 and 2 emissions using an accepted standard. Organization measures and manages intensity figures and changes in year-on-year emissions,
  • Evaluate all 15 categories of Scope 3 emissions and disclosing as relevant, and
  • Demonstrate a drop in emissions based on emission reduction activities and changes in renewable energy consumption.
  • Integrate climate change into their business strategy, while conducting detailed climate-related scenario analysis, and
  • Document specific processes for identifying, assessing and managing climate-related risks and opportunities, including full evaluation of climate-related risk types, regular monitoring and inclusion within the risk management processes


At this stage, organizations usually:

  • Integrate forests-related issues into the business strategy and governance mechanisms are in place to ensure board-level oversight of deforestation issues
  • Understand forest-related risks and opportunities in detail and can accurately specify their geographical scope, magnitude of potential impact, likelihood and associated costs
  • Have systems in place to monitor compliance with applicable laws and supplier compliance with forest-related policies or commitments
  • Have time-bound and measurable targets in place to ensure forest-related policies and commitments are achieved and are able to demonstrate progress towards them
  • Can trace a significant proportion of total production/consumption volume to a level where they can ascertain compliance with their sourcing commitments


At this stage, organizations usually:

  • Provide a complete and comprehensive water-related disclosure via CDP
  • Have begun to introduce robust corporate governance mechanisms to manage water risks and impacts including board-level oversight of water-related issues
  • Have extended water-related risk and impact assessments across the supply chain and require suppliers to monitor and measure water withdrawals, discharges and consumption
  • Are able to identify the financial value at risk for each river basin in which it operates, and has a strategy to respond to those risks
  • Have established an internal price for water and use it to inform water-related capital expenditures
  • Are demonstrating progress against water-related, time-bound targets that reflect the risk and impact profile of the company


CDP offer solutions and support suitable for companies at this stage. Mature organizations may benefit from:

  • CDP Reporter Services: Through a gap analysis of both last year’s and draft of the current year’s disclosure, Reporter Services can help you identify where to focus your efforts for improvement going forward.
  • Supply Chain membership: To help you tackle your environmental impact outside your business by leveraging your procurement power. This can help drive environmental performance improvements in your supply chain and put your suppliers on their own pathway towards environmental excellence.
  • Accredited Solutions Providers: Can help with scenario analysis, life-cycle assessment, carbon offsetting, setting an internal price on carbon, and setting a science-based target. They can also offer third-party verification/assurance, identify and manage water-related financial impacts, as well as help you to understand your dependence on water throughout your value chain.
  • Commit to Action: Can help understand the Science Based Target initiative’s target setting criteria and resources, and guide your company towards a 1.5°C and net-zero commitment.
  • CDSB's Beyond Disclosure: This program supports the delivery of consistent and meaningful climate-related disclosure in mainstream reports (financial filings) by reviewing your reporting approach and providing feedback on your alignment to the TCFD recommendations.
  • TCFD Knowledge Hub: A practical resources hub to help facilitate efficient and effective implementation of the TCFD recommendations.

Quick links:
Guidance
Reporter Services
Supply Chain
Accredited Solutions Providers
Commit to Action
CDSB's Beyond Disclosure
TCFD Knowledge Hub
Forests roadmap case studies (PDF)


Stage 4: Best practice

These companies are environmental leaders with board-level oversight, approved science-based targets for emissions reductions and leading environmental stewardship at every organizational level.


At this stage, organizations usually have:

  • Board-level oversight of climate-related issues, as these are fully integrated into governance mechanisms, with incentives for management to report climate-related issues
  • A target verified by the Science-Based Targets initiatives (SBTi)
  • Greater than 75% total electricity consumption with an RE100 commitment, or a target to obtain 100% of the company’s total electricity consumption from renewable sources
  • Collaborative engagement with customers, suppliers and other value chain partners on climate-related issues, and
  • Full quantification of all potential risks and opportunities in terms of their potential financial impact and cost of management/cost to realize, with supporting rationales


At this stage, organizations usually

  • Integrate forests issues into all governance mechanisms and are prioritized as an integral part of business strategy
  • Maintain high levels of production or procurement of certified commodities and an all-encompassing traceability system which covers most of their total production/consumption.
  • Established a no-deforestation commitment or policy and specify a cut-off date after which land cleared would be non-compliant
  • Have a detailed supplier engagement approach with smallholders, direct and indirect suppliers, that verifies if they are “no deforestation/conversion” compliant and have a formalized mechanism to address supplier non-compliance
  • Implement one or more ecosystem restoration and protection projects and/or participates in jurisdictional approaches


At this stage, organizations usually

  • Fully integrate water-related issues into corporate governance mechanisms, including long-term (over 10 years) strategic business and financial planning
  • Incentivize key C-suite positions to deliver improvements in direct and indirect impacts on freshwater resources including CEO, Chief Procurement Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer
  • Actively incentivize suppliers to reduce and manage water-related impacts
  • Demonstrate absolute reductions in freshwater use and water pollution in line with latest hydrological sciences
  • Have consistent engagements on water-related public policy either directly with policymakers or indirectly (via trade associations and/or funding research organizations) with business water security policy


Organizations at the best practice stage may benefit from:

  • Supply Chain membership: To enable companies to take ambitious actions including setting and achieving the Scope 3 component of their science-based target.
  • CDP Reporter Services: Can ensure you are up to date with leading practices incentivized through CDP’s questionnaire and scoring developments, so you can be best prepared to respond to them. Your account manager will take the time to identify the changes and leading practices most critical to your business, to provide you with the understanding to be able to prioritize areas for action, how to report this and stay ahead of the curve.
  • Accredited Solutions Providers: Can support with renewable energy procurement, sustainability communications, implementing low carbon technologies and nature-based solutions, as well as designing and implementing a robust water strategy.
  • Commit to Action: A program set up to help you commit to meaningful action and seek inspiration from other leaders. Find out more about setting 1.5°C aligned SBTs, committing to net-zero through the 1.5°C Campaign, and other initiatives on the WMB Take Action platform.
  • CDSB's Beyond Disclosure: This program supports the delivery of consistent and meaningful climate-related disclosure in mainstream reports (financial filings) by reviewing your reporting approach and providing feedback on your alignment to the TCFD recommendations.

Quick links:
Guidance
Reporter Services
Supply Chain
Accredited Solutions Providers
Commit to Action
Science-Based Targets initiative
CDSB's Beyond Disclosure
Forests roadmap case studies (PDF)


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Guidance for companies
How to disclose as a company