Latested update on April 4, 2025
In a Nutshell
- The CDP questionnaire is used to disclose environmental factors such as climate change, biodiversity, and plastic use
- Companies must verify their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions data and meet the new CDP requirements
- Good news for the questionnaire in 2025: No major structural changes, only minor adjustments to improve clarity and user-friendliness
- CDP continues to call for strong alignment with IFRS S2 and the EU CSRD Directive
- Early gap analysis and structured data collection improve the score
- Using ESG software such as Sunhat can significantly simplify the process and reduce errors
The CDP questionnaire is used to disclose company data on environmental factors such as climate change, water security, deforestation, plastic use and biodiversity. Companies that are invited to participate or participate voluntarily can log in via the Online Reporting System (ORS) and answer the questionnaire.
The CDP rating is an annual challenge for many companies. With this year's planned opening of the CDP portal in mid-June, the hot phase of preparation is now beginning. Although no major changes to the questionnaire or scoring process are known for 2025, sustainability teams should always stay up to date.
The aim of this article is to provide sustainability managers with practical tips on how to process the CDP questionnaire efficiently. Good preparation can not only improve scoring, but also optimize internal processes and strengthen the ESG strategy.
Why the CDP Questionnaire is Important
The CDP questionnaire plays a crucial role for companies that want to make their sustainability performance transparent and compete for investors and stakeholders. It offers both opportunities and challenges:
- ESG strategy & transparency: CDP is a key standard for environmental reporting and sustainability ratings.
- Reputation & market position: A strong CDP rating increases the trust of investors, customers and partners.
- Effort compared to EcoVadis: CDP is more detailed and data-driven, but requires more resources for preparation.
Practical Tips for Responding Efficiently to the CDP Questionnaire in 2025
1. Start preparing at an early stage
Answering the CDP questionnaire requires close cooperation between different departments. Even if the submission is not due until mid-September, the preparation process should start early. Structured planning helps to avoid bottlenecks and improve data quality.
A) Gap analysis: where were gaps or problems in the last CDP scoring?
Before companies start collecting data, it is worth taking a detailed look at the last questionnaire submitted and the CDP scoring. Important steps:
- Evaluation of previous year's answers: Which questions were only partially or insufficiently answered?
- Scoring analysis: Which aspects contributed to the score or caused deductions?
- Comparison with current CDP requirements: Are there new priorities or stricter evaluation criteria?
- Identify optimization potential: Where can processes or data quality be improved?
Companies aiming for a better rating should pay particular attention to areas in which they received no or only limited points last year — for example, in climate strategy or the verification of emissions data.
B) Collect & update ESG data
ESG data collection is one of the most time-consuming steps in the CDP process. It is particularly challenging to collect consistent and verified data from various company divisions and external sources:
- Identify relevant data sources: Which systems (e.g. energy reports, sustainability platforms) contain the required information?
- Calculate Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions: For many companies, recording and validating Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions from the supply chain) is the biggest challenge.
- Standardize sustainability indicators: Uniform definitions and measurement methods facilitate reporting and prevent inconsistencies.
- Observe Essential Criteria: CDP specifies minimum requirements for various questions that companies must fulfill in order to receive points. For example, an answer on climate strategy often requires detailed information on targets, measures, and progress measurement.
Tip: Companies with complex supply chains should contact suppliers at an early stage in order to obtain the necessary data for Scope 3 balancing.
C) Gathering documents & evidence
CDP attaches great importance to the verification and traceability of the information submitted. It is therefore crucial to compile relevant documents and evidence at an early stage:
- Strategies & guidelines: Climate strategy, emission reduction targets, ESG guidelines
- Certificates & reports: ISO standards, TÜV reports, Science Based Targets (SBTi) validations
- Risk assessments: Scenario analyses on climate risks, supply chain risks, physical and transitory climate risks
- Verified emissions data: External verification reports for Scope 1, Scope 2 and ideally Scope 3
It is particularly important for companies aiming for a CDP A rating to be able to provide external verifications. From 2024, full verification of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions will be mandatory — anyone wishing to achieve an A grade must also have at least one Scope 3 category externally verified.
2. Keep an eye on important deadlines
CDP sets a uniform deadline for all companies. Although the exact date for 2025 has not yet been published, the deadline is the week of September 15, 2025.
Tip: Schedule a sanity check 2-4 weeks before submission to avoid mistakes!
3. Avoid the most common pitfalls
Many companies lose valuable points due to avoidable errors in the questionnaire. Pay particular attention to the following stumbling blocks:
- Unfilled tables: Tables must be completely filled in, otherwise they will remain marked as "in progress".
- Use correct units: Check whether your internal data matches the CDP specifications.
- Observe response logic: Follow-up questions may be activated if you give certain answers.
Tip: CDP will increasingly check whether information on climate-related risks is consistent with financial reports and sustainability strategies.
4. Use CDP guidance effectively
CDP provides detailed guides for the individual question categories. These guides help you to better understand the requirements and to formulate answers correctly. Click here for the guides from the CDP Helpdesk.
New Focus Areas & Adjustments for CDP 2025
Although no major changes have been announced for 2025, you should keep an eye on the following developments:
- Expanded requirements for climate change reporting:
- CDP regularly adjusts its scoring criteria. Companies must increasingly disclose climate-related risks & financial impacts.
- CDP is more closely aligned with IFRS S2 and the EU CSRD Directive. Companies should ensure that their reporting complies with these requirements.
- Higher standards for verification:
- Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions must be 100% verified since 2024.
- New requirement for the A-list: If you want to be on the CDP A-List, you must also have at least one Scope 3 category externally audited.
- Integration of biodiversity & plastic issues:
- Companies are increasingly required to document biodiversity-related risks and their plastic consumption.
Why ESG Software Makes the CDP Process Easier
Answering the CDP questionnaire is time-consuming and requires accurate and consistent data collection. Sunhat's ESG software helps companies to make this process more efficient and significantly reduce the workload.
1. Automated data processing & intelligent linking
- Leveraging Answers Across ESG Frameworks: Sunhat enables answers from one ESG framework, such as CDP or ESRS, to be leveraged across others that ask similar questions. This allows for the targeted reuse of existing information, reducing the need for redundant data entry.
- Tagging & search function: The targeted tagging of answers means that relevant content can be found in the shortest possible time and used efficiently.
2. Optimized collaboration & error reduction
- Project management functions: Tasks can be clearly assigned, progress tracked and errors avoided thanks to a structured system — without time-consuming coordination by email.
- Versioning & data history: Previously submitted responses are saved and can be tracked and adjusted for future reporting cycles.
With Sunhat, you can make the CDP process more structured and time-saving, avoid redundancies and sustainably optimize your ESG reporting.
Conclusion: Successfully Navigating the CDP Questionnaire 2025
The CDP questionnaire remains an important challenge for companies. Those who carry out a gap analysis at an early stage, provide the right data & documents and ensure a structured response can improve their CDP rating.
New for 2025 summarized:
- Structure remains stable, no major changes to the questionnaire or scoring.
- Focus on clarity and user-friendliness — minor adjustments in guidance and modules.
- Greater transparency for transition plans (e.g. Module 5.2).
- Scoring remains the same, biodiversity & plastics remain unrated.
Prepare now & keep an eye on deadlines!
The CDP 2025 questionnaire must be completed by large companies that are either invited to participate or wish to participate voluntarily. Listed companies, companies from resource-intensive sectors (such as energy, chemicals and the automotive industry) and companies with a significant environmental impact are particularly affected. In addition, companies that aim to make sustainable investments may also be required to participate.
In 2025, companies must disclose their climate strategies, Scope 3 emissions and biodiversity aspects in more detail and ensure that their reporting is in line with IFRS S2 and the EU CSRD.
The deadline for submitting the 2025 CDP questionnaire is the week of September 15, with an exact date to be announced.
Scope 1 emissions arise directly within the company, Scope 2 emissions are caused by electricity consumption, and Scope 3 emissions encompass the entire supply chain and external activities.
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