Standards & schemes
CDP
In brief
CDP Scores translate responses to the CDP disclosure questionnaire into a public signal: companies are scored A to D- on climate change, water security and forests, and the annual A List names the top performers. Scores are derived from the questionnaire methodology for the relevant disclosure cycle (2026 is current) and reward completeness, awareness, management and leadership of disclosure — not emissions outcomes per se. Their influence is structural: investors screen on them, and corporate customers use them in supplier selection, so a score functions as a de facto market credential. The claim discipline follows from the methodology: a CDP score assesses the quality of disclosure against the questionnaire; it is not an audit of the underlying data and not a certification of performance. Scores are published annually, and because the methodology tightens over time, a stable score can mask rising underlying effort — and a drop can reflect a methodology change rather than backsliding. Stakeholder scrutiny focuses on the difference between disclosure leadership and actual decarbonisation. A rating or validation does not by itself certify every product or substantiate claims beyond the assessed scope.
Conditional relationships
A relationship does not mean that the standard proves or validates every use of a claim.
Recognition & legal context
No reviewed law references are published.
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