Climate research provider and environmental disclosure system CDP announced today the launch of a new platform, aimed at streamlining and easing sustainability reporting for companies and harmonizing with emerging global standards. As part of the new launch, CDP unveiled a new questionnaire aligned with the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standard Board’s (ISSB) new climate disclosure standard, IFRS S2, as the foundational baseline for CDP’s climate disclosure.
CDP runs a global environmental disclosure system, enabling investors and other stakeholders to measure and track organization’s performance in key environmental sustainability areas including climate change, deforestation, and water security, with a new category for plastic-related impact added last year. In 2023, a record of more than 23,000 companies disclosed through CDP, up 24% over the prior year, and representing companies worth $67 trillion, or more than 66% of global market capitalization.
The new platform comes as companies globally are facing increasing pressure to meet a series of new emerging sustainability reporting standards. Among the most prominent are the IFRS Foundation’s new general sustainability (IFRS S1) and climate (IFRS S2) reporting standards, launched in June 2023, and endorsed by IOSCO, the leading international policy forum and standards setter for securities regulators, with a call on regulators to incorporate the standards into their sustainability reporting regulatory frameworks. The IFRS Foundation recently revealed that jurisdictions representing nearly 55% of global GDP have already taken steps to use or align with its ISSB sustainability reporting standards.
According to CDP, the new platform and alignment with the ISSB standards are aimed at easing the reporting burden on companies and making it easier for companies to comply with the new standards, noting new research indicating that nearly 60% of companies already responding to the vast majority of the CDP questionnaire aligned with IFRS S2.
Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the ISSB, said:
“With a record of success in driving the adoption of disclosure frameworks, CDP is an established, trusted tool that supports companies on their path to ISSB compliance. Our partnership will make life easier for companies to disclose relevant data to their stakeholders and will critically accelerate rapid global uptake of IFRS S2 and the availability of information so urgently needed by investors.”
CDP announced last year that it planned to align with IFRS S2, and also unveiled plans to consider additional sustainability reporting standards, including reflecting the new Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework in its questionnaire, and to reflect the SEC’s upcoming climate disclosure rule, as well as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) in its disclosure system. In November 2023, CDP also announced an agreement with the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) to maximize the alignment of its disclosure system with the ESRS.
Sherry Madera, CEO of CDP said:
“CDP is proud of our partnerships with the ISSB, TNFD, EFRAG and other global frameworks to fulfil our role in the ecosystem, answering market demand for efficiency and enabling faster environmental action through the power of data.”
CDP added that it has now combined climate, forests, water, biodiversity and plastics, and progressed its alignment with the other key standards, including the TNFD and ESRS, harmonizing them in one questionnaire and dataset. Additionally, CDP announced the release of a standalone questionnaire for SMEs, aimed at building capacity across the global value chain.
With the launch of the new platform, CDP noted that financial institutions representing a record $142 trillion have asked a record 75,000 companies to disclose environmental data through CDP.
Madera added:
“Every dollar an organization spends on reporting is a dollar they cannot spend on action. This year, CDP is a better partner for corporates, cities, states and regions than ever before, making their disclosure even more efficient.“