CDP 2018 climate change scoring methodology

Introduction

The scoring methodology provides a score which assesses progress towards environmental stewardship as reported by a company's CDP response. The score assesses the level of detail and comprehensiveness of the content, as well as the company's awareness of climate change issues, management methods and progress towards action taken on climate change as reported in the response.

Companies responding to the minimum version for a customer request and that have an annual revenue of less than EUR/US$250 million will be eligible for scoring and will be scored using the minimum version of the methodology. Companies responding to the minimum version for an investor request will not be scored. They will not be eligible for the A list as the scores are not comparable to scores resulting from the full version of the scoring methodology.

Essential reading

This methodology should be used in conjunction with the CDP climate change questionnaire guidance 2018, and the "Introduction to CDP scoring 2018" document. It is strongly recommended to familiarize yourself with the contents of both the 2018 guidance and the 2018 Scoring introduction document before using the scoring methodology. Please note that the "Introduction to scoring 2018" document contains information essential for the understanding and correct use of this scoring methodology.

Leadership

Several questions are scored for Leadership (please see Question level overview tab for further details) and a minimum threshold of points must be met to achieve the Leadership band.

- a minimum threshold score of at least 65% of Leadership points must be achieved;

If maximum possible points are scored at Disclosure level, 1 Leadership point is awarded.

Primary sector scoring

In 2018, companies will only be scored on their primary questionnaire sector. This means that if more than one set of sector questions applies to your company, not all questions will be scored in 2018. Sector specific questions will be labelled to indicate which sector(s) they apply to. However, we encourage you to respond to all questions that apply to your company.

The sector-based approach allows CDP to make more meaningful assessments of companies' responses, incorporating each sector's characteristics and nuances, resulting in a score that reflects the company's progress in environmental stewardship and enabling better benchmarking against other companies.

Status of this methodology

This methodology is intended to provide guidance to companies on how their response will be scored. In common with other scoring processes of this type, we expect to make future adjustments in light of the application of the methodology to the responses received.

“CDP reserves the right to remove, amend or alter scoring criteria as displayed in the scoring methodology at any time during the disclosure cycle, without notice or notification. Such changes will only be made in exceptional circumstances when necessary to ensure that the methodology remains fair, impartial and effective for the purpose of assessing progress towards environmental stewardship.”

Update: In January 2019 CDP made the decision to adjust the thresholds for climate change Management level from 80% to 75%, and the thresholds for Leadership level from 80% to 65%. Due to the significant changes to our questionnaires and scoring criteria this year, this adjustment was made to allow flexibility for companies to adjust to the new approach. As CDP’s scoring methodology is mission-led to drive progress in corporate environmental action, thresholds will be reviewed regularly. All methodology updates are at CDP’s discretion to best reflect and promote environmental stewardship as the market progresses.

CDP Climate Change Scoring Methodology 2018 - Version Control