CDP Climate Questionnaire: First-Time Responder Guide

Your customer or investor sent you a CDP request. Here's what actually matters for your score, what data you need, and where first-timers lose points.
Updated: March 2026Covers: CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2025/2026 cycle
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How CDP Scoring Works The Sections That Matter Most Data You Need Before You Start Top 5 Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them) Timeline for a First Response

CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is the world's largest environmental disclosure platform. Over 24,000 companies respond annually. If you received a request to respond — usually from a customer in your supply chain or an investor — your response is scored from A to D- and made partially public.

A first-time response won't get you an A. That's fine. The goal is to submit a credible response that demonstrates you're taking emissions seriously, show year-over-year improvement, and avoid the mistakes that land you in D territory.

How CDP Scoring Works

A / A-
Leadership
B / B-
Management
C / C-
Awareness
D / D-
Disclosure

Scoring is cumulative: you must satisfy the requirements of each level before progressing to the next. D-level scores mean incomplete disclosure. C-level means you've disclosed emissions but lack governance structure. B-level means management systems are in place. A-level means you're actively leading on reduction.

Realistic target for first-timers: Aim for B- to C+. This means complete emissions disclosure (Scope 1+2 at minimum, Scope 3 attempted), documented governance, and at least one emissions reduction target. Moving from C to B typically takes one reporting cycle of improvement.

The Sections That Matter Most

The CDP Climate Change Questionnaire has 12 sections (C1–C12). Not all are weighted equally. Here are the sections that have the most impact on your score:

C1 — Governance High Weight

Board-level oversight of climate issues. Who is responsible? How often do they review it? This section establishes that someone at the top is accountable.

You need: Name/title of the board member or committee responsible for climate. Frequency of board review. How climate is integrated into business strategy.

C4 — Targets & Performance High Weight

Emission reduction targets — do you have them? Are they science-based? What progress have you made? This is where first-timers often lose points because they have emissions data but no formal targets.

You need: At least one emissions reduction target with base year, target year, and % reduction. SBTi commitment or equivalent. Progress against target.

C6 — Emissions Data Highest Weight

Your actual Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 numbers. This is the core of the questionnaire. Incomplete or inconsistent data here tanks your score regardless of what you write elsewhere.

You need: Scope 1 total (tCO2e). Scope 2 location-based and market-based totals. Scope 3 by category (at minimum: Category 1 and whichever categories are material). Methodology statement. Base year data for comparison.

C7 — Emissions Breakdown Medium Weight

Scope 1 by source type, Scope 2 by location, Scope 3 by category. The more granular your breakdown, the higher you score. Reporting a single total with no breakdown signals low data maturity.

You need: Scope 1 broken down by gas type or source category. Scope 2 by country/region. Scope 3 by category number.

C3 — Business Strategy Medium Weight

How climate change affects your business strategy. Risks, opportunities, and scenario analysis. First-timers often skip this — but even a qualitative narrative about physical and transition risks scores better than leaving it blank.

You need: Description of climate risks and opportunities. How they influence your strategy. Any scenario analysis performed (even qualitative).

Data You Need Before You Start

Data PointSourcePriority
Scope 1 emissions (tCO2e) by sourceFuel purchases, fleet records, refrigerant logsRequired
Scope 2 emissions (location + market-based)Utility bills (kWh by facility)Required
Scope 3 (at least Cat 1, 6, 7)Procurement spend data, travel booking dataExpected
Emission factors used + sourcesEPA, DEFRA, IEA (with year)Required
Base year + rationaleInternal decision (usually first year of measurement)Required
Reduction targetsInternal target-setting or SBTi commitmentExpected
Board/C-suite climate responsibilityOrg chart, committee mandatesExpected
Energy consumption (MWh)Utility billsRecommended
Revenue (for intensity metrics)Financial statementsRecommended

Top 5 Mistakes First-Timers Make

1
Reporting Scope 1+2 without any Scope 3. CDP expects at least an attempt at Scope 3. Even a spend-based Category 1 estimate is better than leaving it blank. Marking all 15 categories as "not relevant" without justification drops your score to C-.
2
No reduction target. Emissions data without a target says "we measured it but aren't doing anything about it." Set at least one absolute reduction target — even a modest one. SBTi commitment (you don't need validated targets yet) gives you extra points.
3
Inconsistent boundaries. If your Scope 1 covers 5 facilities but your Scope 2 covers 3, your data doesn't reconcile. Auditors and CDP scorers will flag this. Define your organizational boundary once and apply it consistently across all scopes.
4
Leaving governance sections blank. C1 (Governance) is heavily weighted. If you don't have formal board oversight of climate yet, describe what you do have: who reviews energy costs, who signs off on sustainability reporting, who approved your CDP response. Something is always better than nothing.
5
Submitting without verification. CDP gives higher scores to verified data. If you can't afford full third-party verification in year one, at least perform internal verification — have someone outside the team that collected the data review it and document the review.

Timeline for a First Response

WhenWhatTime Needed
Weeks 1–2Gather Scope 1+2 activity data. Select emission factors. Calculate totals.10–20 hours
Weeks 3–4Scope 3 screening: identify material categories. Run spend-based estimate for Category 1.15–25 hours
Week 5Draft governance narrative (C1), strategy section (C3), targets (C4).8–12 hours
Week 6Enter data into CDP Online Response System. Internal review. Submit.6–10 hours

Total: approximately 40–65 hours for a mid-market first-time response. This can be compressed to 3–4 weeks with dedicated resources, or spread over 6–8 weeks alongside other work.

Responding to CDP for the first time?

Emberglow's portal pre-fills CDP sections C1, C4, C6, and C7 from your workspace data. We've built the crosswalk so you don't have to.

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