CDP Rating and Disclosure 2025: What Companies Need to Know

CDP rating, CDP disclosure, and the relevant questionnaires for 2025 are currently significant topics among sustainability managers in SMEs and corporations. Ahead of the upcoming reporting cycle of the non-profit organization CDP (formerly the "Carbon Disclosure Project"), we provide insights into the CDP Disclosure Cycle 2025, including deadlines and timelines, the benefits of CDP disclosure, and how demanding the process is. This article provides a comprehensive overview and offers practical guidance for decision-makers in the sustainability sector.

What is the CDP Rating?

The CDP rating is a standardized assessment of a company's environmental performance, based on the information provided in the annual CDP questionnaire. Companies participating in the CDP program receive a grade at the end of the cycle on a scale from A to D (with A being the best grade). This "Level of Engagement" scale corresponds to four levels: A (Leadership), B (Management), C (Awareness), and D (Disclosure). An F is given if a company has not provided sufficient data or did not respond to the request at all. The grades reflect the extent to which a company demonstrates transparency and its progress in areas such as climate protection, water, and forest management as well as other environmental areas. An A rating indicates that the company is considered a leader – it has demonstrated comprehensive transparency and is implementing concrete measures. A B rating signifies systematic management of environmental concerns, C indicates basic awareness, and D shows that some data has been disclosed, but little strategic integration is taking place.

The idea behind the CDP rating is to establish a global standard for environmental transparency. CDP is an independent non-profit organization that has been collecting data on climate, water, and forest risks from companies for 20 years. Each year, CDP calls on thousands of companies worldwide – often at the behest of investors or large customers – to complete a detailed questionnaire on climate change, water security, and deforestation. The responses are evaluated by CDP, leading to the rating. For participating companies, the CDP rating has become an important KPI in sustainability assessment: investors, business partners, NGOs, and the media are increasingly paying attention to this grade. A high CDP rating (preferably A or B) signals transparency, responsibility, and progress in sustainable corporate governance.

CDP Disclosure 2025: Deadlines and Process of the Disclosure Cycle

The CDP Disclosure Cycle 2025 follows a set annual schedule that companies should be familiar with. Key milestones and deadlines are recorded in the official timeline1:

• End of March 2025 – Questionnaire publication: CDP makes the CDP questionnaire 2025 and the corresponding guides available online in PDF form. From this point, companies can prepare content-wise.

• End of April 2025 – Scoring methodology published: In the week around April 28th, CDP publishes the 2025 scoring methodology as a PDF. It transparently lays out how the answers will lead to the score. Simultaneously, from the end of April, CDP requesters – such as large purchasers or investors – can create their lists requesting participation.

• Until June 9, 2025 – Deadline for requests: CDP requesters must submit their final lists of companies they are requesting for disclosure by the week of June 9th. For companies, this means that by early June, they typically receive official invitations to participate, either from investors or customers.

• June 16, 2025 – Response phase begins: In the week of June 16th, CDP's online response system for 2025 opens. From this day, companies can fill out and submit their questionnaires directly in the CDP portal. The response time for the CDP questionnaire spans the summer. Many companies use this phase from June to September intensively for data collection and internal coordination.

• September 15, 2025 – Scoring deadline: Companies wishing to receive an official score from CDP must complete and submit the questionnaire by mid-September 2025. The week of September 15th marks the main deadline to be included in the scoring process. By this deadline, all answers should be finalized in the portal.

• November 17, 2025 – Final deadline for disclosure: Companies that miss the September date or have chosen to disclose without scoring have until the week of November 17th to submit their answers. These later submissions will not be considered for the 2025 rating but can still be used to demonstrate transparency to stakeholders. It also serves as the deadline to make any corrections or additions to an already submitted response2.

The CDP scores for 2025 and the coveted A lists are expected to be published towards the end of 2025. Companies will then learn their score and can compare it with the previous year. Note: Only those who disclose fully by the scoring deadline in September are eligible for a rating. Other publications will be posted on the CDP website but not graded.

Benefits of CDP Disclosure for Companies

Given the significant effort involved, many companies wonder: is the CDP disclosure worth it? The answer is yes, as participation in CDP offers multiple benefits:

• Comparability and Benchmarking: Through the CDP score, companies can compare their performance in climate protection and environmental management with their peers. The CDP rating has become a de facto standard from which stakeholders can read progress. Almost all major companies – for instance, nearly the entire FTSE100 stock index – now participate in CDP, making the score a credible benchmark3.

• Investor Expectations and Access to Capital: Investors view environmental transparency as a sign of sustainable management. A good CDP rating can therefore facilitate access to investment and credit.

• Reputation and Customer Relationships: A good CDP score enhances reputation with customers, partners, and the public. More and more large customers – particularly within the framework of supply chain initiatives – are requiring their suppliers to participate in CDP. Especially in light of current uncertainties regarding national and international supply chain laws, CDP ratings can gain importance. Companies without disclosure risk poor performance in sustainability ratings or even losing business relationships if clients demand transparency.

• Internal Benefits and Regulatory Preparation: The CDP questionnaire covers all relevant environmental aspects (from greenhouse gas inventories to risks & opportunities and corporate strategy). Completing it forces a company to structure data and processes and identify gaps. It helps create a clearer internal picture of its sustainability performance, which in turn reveals efficiency potentials.

  
  

Effort and Challenges in the CDP Process

Despite all the advantages, the effort involved in CDP participation should not be underestimated. The process is complex and time-consuming – particularly if a company is participating for the first time or does not yet have a mature ESG data management system:

• Extensive Questionnaire: The CDP questionnaire 2025 is very detailed. For large companies ("Full Corporate Questionnaire"), it includes up to 13 modules with hundreds of individual questions across topics like climate, forests, water, biodiversity, plastics, and corporate governance (see official CDP questionnaires for 20254). Even for experienced sustainability teams, this represents a significant workload: data must be collated from different departments, documented, and formatted as required. Answering it can occupy several persons for weeks or months.

• Internal Coordination: Since the CDP questionnaire impacts many corporate areas (from CO₂ balances to risk management to governance and strategy), cross-departmental coordination is often necessary. The sustainability team must gather information from, for example, environmental engineering, finance, production, and possibly management.

• Data Depth and Validation: CDP requires not just qualitative statements but specifically quantitative key figures and evidence. Ensuring the quality of responses (plausibility checks, alignment with previous information, avoidance of contradictions) is a challenge. Furthermore, responses may be spot-checked by CDP – i.e., false or inaccurate information could lead to points being deducted or inquiries made.

• Tight Deadlines: The deadlines mentioned above place companies under significant time pressure. Notably, the months of July and August – when many employees are on summer vacation – fall during the intensive period of data entry. Proactive resource planning is therefore essential to ensure that CDP disclosure is not overlooked amidst other projects. For globally operating corporations, taking into account varying time zones and languages is also important when subsidiaries worldwide provide data.

Despite the effort involved, a thorough participation pays off – both in terms of a better score and in the learning curve for the organization. Many companies grow with the CDP process in their sustainability management: data flows are improved, responsibilities clarified, and sustainability topics anchored in management.

With the right tools, the effort can be significantly reduced. AI-based software like turnus.ai offers a CDP Questionnaire Assistant, which supports companies in responding. turnus.ai can utilize existing environmental data to generate response suggestions directly within the CDP portal – saving time and greatly facilitating the process. If you wish to make the CDP disclosure 2025 more efficient, it is worth checking out our current Early Access Offer. Until 31st May, you can secure early access to the turnus.ai CDP extension and respond to the CDP questionnaire in record time this year.