CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) is quickly becoming an indicator of the maturity of an organization's environmental management. Procurement teams, investors, and lenders are using it to size up suppliers and inform decisions. The encouraging part is that “while the questionnaire can seem complex, the path to improvement is often more straightforward than many organizations expect,” says Shanayia Munoz, Sustainability Strategy and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Reporting Lead, BSI Consulting (learn more in CDP Reporting: What It Is and What to Do Before September).
What's changed for 2026?
The 2026 cycle broadens the topics CDP covers and tightens its alignment with global standards. “CDP is moving toward a more integrated environmental disclosure framework,” says Shanayia Munoz. Here are the updates most likely to affect your response this year:
Ocean disclosures arrive (unscored)
CDP is starting to gather data from organizations with material ocean-related dependencies or impacts. This is an early signal of where disclosure is heading.
More emphasis on adaptation and resilience
Existing questions are broadened to capture how you're preparing for climate impacts, not just reducing emissions.
Forest scope expands
Cocoa, coffee, and rubber are now scored commodities under the same methodology as cattle, palm oil, soy, and timber.
Plastics disclosures scale up
New and modified questions cover packaging design, circularity, recycling, compostability, and reuse models.
Stronger framework alignment
Deeper alignment with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS); the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol's Land, Sector and Removals Standard; the Science-Based Targets Network (SBTN); the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD); and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards.
ESRS verification now accepted
Verification under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) is accepted for emissions verification, provided all relevant details are reported.
Minor essential criteria updates
Small changes to the essential criteria for climate change, forests, and water security — easy to overlook, and a single missed criterion can cap your score.
Before you do anything else, read this year's questionnaire alongside the scoring methodology. Many organizations wait until August to start then find that data collection, internal approvals, and narrative development take far longer than expected.
How to improve your CDP score
Improving your score doesn't require launching dozens of new sustainability initiatives overnight. It comes down to a few things:
- Start with the scoring methodology. It’s the single most useful resource for understanding how points are awarded, and reviewing it early gives you time to close gaps.
- Make every response organization specific. CDP rewards detail that explains how risks, governance, and strategies apply to your business; generic answers leave points on the table.
- Quantify the financial impact. Connect environmental risks and opportunities to costs, savings, revenue, and capital planning.
- Communicate what's already happening. Much of the work that earns points is already underway; it simply isn't disclosed clearly.
- Go public if you're targeting leadership. A non-public response will limit your scoring potential.
It's a balance between continuous improvement and better disclosure of the work you're already doing.
What costs you points?
These issues surface most often during score reviews:
- Parent and child question logic. In CDP, some follow-up questions (children) only unlock based on how you answer the main question (parent). If a child isn't triggered, you're scored only on the parent and not penalized for questions that don't apply.
- Blank fields. Many disclosure-level points are awarded simply for completing applicable fields.
- “Unknown” responses. Selecting “unknown” can instantly cap your scoring at a lower level. It is almost always better to provide a calculated estimate backed by a transparent methodology and clear assumptions than to check the unknown box.
- Generic responses and scoring caps. Boilerplate answers score lower, and some questions contain criteria that cap the maximum achievable level, so read the guidance carefully.
The best way to improve your CDP performance is to start from a realistic baseline and follow a structured path forward.
Five steps to get started
You don't have to do everything at once. These five steps mirror how CDP evaluates progress, so each one moves your score in the right direction.
- Review last year's score, feedback, and this year's questionnaire.
- Identify missing datapoints and gaps against the scoring criteria.
- Prioritize essential criteria upgrades that lead you to your ideal target level.
- Engage finance, strategy, and risk teams (this is no longer a sustainability-team-only exercise).
- Draft responses early and iterate.
One thing to keep in mind through the 2026 cycle? “You don't need to be perfect; you need to be progressing.” – Shanayia Munoz, Sustainability Strategy & ESG Reporting Lead, BSI Consulting.
