How to effectively prepare your CDP report

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an international non-profit organization that helps assess business, territorial and organizational impact on climate change, water, forests and supply chains. Since 2020, CDP questionnaires (under Climate Change, Water and Forests) have included recommendations from the TCFD and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Here are some recommendations on how to effectively prepare your CDP report:

Prepare your report in advance

Engage team members, define a sustainable timeline for the company and gather any specific data and audit records required for the questionnaires. Use the methodology provided by the CDP to give complete, clear and company-specific answers.

Consolidate questionnaire responses in a single document 

Enter all relevant information for answering the questionnaire into the answer cells. The CDP auditors will ignore cells in other documents or external sources.

Fill out every questionnaire cell  

Fill out all applicable cells before submitting the questionnaire, and remember to justify where possible or your company’s score might be affected.

Add company-specific descriptions if necessary 

Include brand products, locations, measures, and facilities in logistics, transportation, manufacturing, etc. These specific details will improve your performance.

Provide specific examples or case studies 

Use concrete examples to demonstrate what you did and learned. 

What are the benefits of using CSR reporting software?

Save time 

Since quantitative data is automatically gathered throughout the year, you will save time when you perform calculations and submit reports, allowing you to focus more on carbon strategies and less on administrative tasks.

Ensure transparency and continuity when capturing your data

You can assess variations in your impact and anticipate new regulations or future changes to reporting by storing and organizing data from previous years in your software.

Integrate sustainability reporting and performance management across your value chain

Review potential emissions in every area to determine which operations have the greatest impact. CDP reporting is further enhanced by value chain integration (scope 3 emissions).

Ensure data reliability

External auditors

Collect and manage sustainability data with professional software so independent auditors and insurance providers can verify data more easily. This ensures data reliability and facilitates potential communications with them. 

Emission factors

Simplify year-over-year reporting and ensure data reliability with automatic software updates that include all emission factors. Emission factor calculations are also monitored to ensure they use the latest calculation methods.  This means that the calculation methodology is easier to use and more reliable when using extra-financial reporting software.

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