What is CDP Disclosure and Why should UK Companies Care?
For UK companies facing mounting pressure from investors, supply chain partners and incoming domestic regulation, how you disclose your climate impact is becoming as important as the data itself. CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) is a non-profit that powers a global environmental impact reporting system for private and public sector disclosure.
CDP disclosure allows companies from SMEs to transnational corporations to report their impact, assess environmental risks to their operations and demonstrate the integration of environmental issues in their strategies and governance. Created from its core values of collective progress, solution finding, transparency and optimism, CDP disclosure is a valuable tool for UK companies to assess and showcase its climate commitments to external markets, stakeholders and investors.
CDP reporting takes the form of a questionnaire on environmental impact and risk assessment. This questionnaire is updated annually and each year requires an updated submission. Disclosure through the questionnaire gives your UK company a publicly published CDP score and access to climate guidance specifically relevant to your industry.
CDP is comprised of three entities; CDP Worldwide (UK): CDP North America, Inc. and CDP Japan. As the only worldwide environmental disclosure system to be independent, CDP reporting is at the forefront of cross-market recognition and comparison for companies all over the world. In 2025, over 22,100 company disclosures were recorded through the CDP disclosure platform.
While CDP disclosure remains voluntary, its framework closely mirrors the climate risk and governance requirements now being formalised under the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS), meaning early adopters are already building the foundations for compliance.
And you don't have to navigate the process alone. In collaboration with SGS, Sami provides dedicated CDP guidance to pilot your team through every step of disclosure.
Is CDP Reporting Mandatory for Companies in the UK?
CDP disclosure is not mandatory, nor is the CDP a regulatory body. However, failure to disclose when prompted will result in an automatic F score attributed to your company. CDP disclosure criteria are also closely aligned with upcoming mandatory sustainability reporting for UK companies.
Capital Markets Signatories and supply chain members can request that your company disclose through CDP. You are also able to self-report unprompted.
Environmental risk is a growing concern for stakeholders across every industry, and a failed CDP score can damage your company's sustainability reputation and threaten investment opportunities. A strong score signals to stakeholders that your company understands its climate-related risks, has strategies in place to manage them, and is transparent about its sustainability commitments. Therefore, disclosing through CDP, whether prompted or self-initiated, is strongly advised. CDP scores are trusted globally, and currently, 78% of the STOXX Europe 600 have disclosed through the CDP platform.
How can my UK business disclose through the CDP platform?
Disclosure is done annually through the CDP questionnaire. Unlike in previous years where multiple questionnaires were required, the CDP 2026 questionnaire is one consolidated submission. Participating entities receive a CDP score that signals their environmental impact and commitment to investors and stakeholders.
The current 2026 version of the full CDP questionnaire includes specific questions on environmental performance regarding climate change, water security, forests, plastics, biodiversity and financial services.
UK businesses have two options for disclosure. Option one is prompted disclosure: When a CDP request is made of your business, you respond to that request by disclosing through the CDP online platform. Option two is to voluntarily 'self disclose': Disclosing through the CDP platform without being prompted by a request.
There is a separate questionnaire dedicated for SMEs on the CDP online platform that consolidates certain environmental performance modules of the full questionnaire. Completing the SME questionnaire ensures that smaller companies are able to report and receive a score that accurately represents their transparency and climate commitments in relation to their size.
Whether your disclosure is prompted by a request or made autonomously, it will not affect your company's CDP score.
CDP Within the UK Regulatory Landscape: UK SRS and TCFD
CDP reporting is closely aligned with the evolving UK sustainability reporting landscape, and completing CDP disclosure gives your company a large head start on what requirements are coming next.
UK SRS S2 and the road to mandatory reporting
The UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS S1 and S2) are the UK’s version of the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS) S1 and S2. Published as a voluntary reporting guideline in February 2026, UK SRS S1 and S2 build on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD) core pillars of governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets, which has been a mandatory reporting framework for large UK entities since 2022. Although SRS S1 and S2 are currently voluntary, Mandatory UK SRS S2 for in-scope listed companies has been proposed by the FCA for 1 January 2027.
This matters for CDP disclosers specifically. UK SRS S2 asks for the same categories of information CDP already collects, therefore a company that has built a solid CDP response is already assembling the data infrastructure UK SRS S2 may soon require as well as reinforcing its climate reputation and satisfying investor demands.
A thorough CDP disclosure now sets companies eligible ahead for the proposed 2027 changes.
Key Steps to Complete the CDP Questionnaire in 2026
Which format of the questionnaire do I need?
When registering for disclosure, you will be prompted to answer a series of ungraded screening questions including your company's organisation, operations, and assessment of environmental issues. These responses will be used to automatically select the version of the questionnaire applicable to your disclosure.
What is the 2026 CDP reporting timeline for UK companies?
In order to be eligible for a 2026 CDP score, companies must complete their disclosure for the week of the 14th of September. The scores attributed will be privately available the week of the 30th of November to disclosing companies and their requesters. The ‘CDP A List’ and all other CDP scores will be made public this same week.
In the situation where companies are unable to respond to a disclosure request before the cutoff, submissions are still accepted until the week of the 26th of October to avoid a non-submission, although these submissions will not be eligible for a CDP score.
It can be daunting preparing your first CDP disclosure, and difficult to know how to improve your score. Properly collecting and structuring your data collection across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 can make a big difference.
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Understanding the CDP Scoring System, from D to A
The four scoring levels
Disclosing UK companies can receive a CDP score of A to D, with A being the highest. Each year, the CDP ‘A List’ is published, naming the receiving companies. Companies that fail to respond to a disclosure request are automatically given a failing score of F.
CDP assesses every response across four consecutive scoring levels: Disclosure, which simply confirms a company has started measuring and reporting its environmental impact; Awareness, which reflects an understanding of how climate, water or forest issues intersect with the business; Management, which requires evidence of concrete action and processes to manage those impacts; and Leadership, reserved for organisations demonstrating best-practice strategy and performance.
These four levels build toward your final CDP score. You are only able to progress to the next score if all the previous criteria have been met. Beyond meeting the minimum score threshold to advance to a given level, you must also satisfy that level's essential criteria; mandatory data points that, if missing, make the response ineligible to be scored at that level regardless of its overall score.
The most common reason that climate committed UK companies lose points isn't from lack of ambition but rather from a lack of transparency. Because CDP does not verify the data of its disclosures beyond cross-checking against the SBTi database for validated targets, the burden of proof is with the disclosing company. This means that if you leave a required field, fail to provide properly structured data, or give an unverifiable response within your questionnaire, your company risks losing points and being attributed a score that does not accurately reflect your environmental performance. Points are effectively awarded for the transparency, completeness and accuracy of your company's own disclosure.
Ultimately, a strong CDP score signals to investors, customers and other stakeholders that a company is transparent, aware of its climate-related risks, and actively building a credible plan to mitigate them.
Why CDP Reporting Is a Strategic CSR Lever, Not a Box-Ticking Exercise
Don’t be tempted to write off CDP disclosure as another box ticking exercise, it can be a valuable tool for your company’s climate strategies. As disclosure requires you to consolidate your emissions data, map climate risk and document governance and targets in one format, the process can often identify gaps, inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement. CDP disclosure also provides industry specific climate guidance to help your company improve. Additionally, alignment of CDP disclosure criteria with proposed changes in UK reporting gives your company a head start with mandatory reporting criteria.
Externally, your company's CDP disclosure shapes how investors assess your risk, how supply chain partners evaluate you as a supplier, and how credible your broader sustainability claims appear to customers and regulators alike.
How much does CDP disclosure cost for UK businesses?
UK businesses disclosing to CDP can choose between two reporting tiers, which also apply to companies completing the SME questionnaire.
The Foundation tier (£2,450) allows disclosing companies to report through the CDP Portal and access CDP's guidance and reporting tools. The Enhanced tier (£5,985) includes everything in the Foundation tier, plus external communication materials and competitor reporting insights. Both tiers give disclosing UK companies access to a CDP score.
Several exemptions apply to the CDP disclosure admin fee. UK companies completing a reactive disclosure in response to a request from a Supply Chain member, a Banks Program member, a Private Markets member, or the RE100 renewable energy initiative, are exempt from paying the fee. These are currently the only exemptions available to UK companies.
The hidden costs of CDP disclosure
Done well, CDP disclosure can bring real financial benefits to UK companies, but the admin fee is rarely the biggest cost involved. Disclosure, particularly for the first-time, can be a daunting undertaking for you and your team: data must be correctly collected, structured and analysed before it can even be submitted.
This is especially true for Scope 3 emissions, which require data from actors across your entire value chain and remain the largest blind spot, and the hardest gap to fill, for most companies. Because CDP rewards thoroughness in its scoring, inconsistencies or gaps across Scopes can meaningfully affect your final score. For many companies, the real cost of CDP disclosure is found in the internal time, coordination and dedicated resources needed to get the data right the first time.
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FAQ
Is CDP disclosure mandatory for UK companies?
No, CDP disclosure is voluntary, and the CDP is not a regulatory body. However, if your company receives a formal request to disclose and fails to respond, it will automatically receive an F score, which can damage your sustainability reputation with investors.
What is the difference between the full CDP questionnaire and the SME version?
The full CDP questionnaire covers detailed environmental metrics regarding climate change, water security, forests, plastics, biodiversity, and financial services. The SME questionnaire is a streamlined, consolidated version designed to help smaller businesses report their climate commitments fairly relative to their size.
What are the four levels of the CDP scoring system?
CDP evaluates submissions across four consecutive levels: Disclosure (measuring and reporting impact), Awareness (understanding business climate risks), Management (taking concrete action), and Leadership (demonstrating best-practice environmental strategies).
What happens if a company misses the 2026 CDP score deadline?
To be eligible for an official 2026 CDP score, companies must submit their disclosure by the week of 14 September. Submissions are still accepted until the week of 26 October to avoid an automatic failing F score, but these late entries will not receive a score.
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