CDP: how to get support
for your first response?

A company can prepare its first CDP response alone, using CDP's free guides, or with a consultancy added as a contributor on the portal. In these 2 cases, the work starts from the emissions inventory for the past year, which nobody can write on the company's behalf. In 2025, more than 22,000 companies responded, including more than 4,400 for the first time, according to CDP.

The tool above places each case: whoever requests the response decides the fees and whether the score is public, and company size decides the questionnaire.

1What is the CDP questionnaire, and which one should you complete?

CDP is a non-profit organisation founded in 2000 that collects companies' environmental data on behalf of those who request it. Its questionnaire covers climate, forests and water. All companies respond on climate; forests and water are added only if a requester targets them or the company chooses them.

Who requests the response

The CDP portal displays the name of each requester. They fall into 3 groups:

• Signatory investors, more than 540 financial institutions, ask more than 43,000 organisations to respond in 2026, through a letter sent to company executives.
• Customers that are members of the supply chain programme, more than 200 large buyers, requested more than 45,000 suppliers in 2025, according to the programme page.
• Banks in the dedicated programme and initiatives such as RE100 also request their clients' or members' data through the same questionnaires.

A new respondent requested by a customer does not need to register: it receives a direct link that activates its account. A request received outside CDP, through a procurement questionnaire or through EcoVadis, is handled separately: see how to respond to a customer asking for your carbon data and the EcoVadis case.

The SME questionnaire or the full questionnaire

A company with more than 1,000 employees or more than US$250 million in turnover completes the full questionnaire, with 13 modules and questions specific to its sector. Below that, it may choose the SME questionnaire, with 10 modules and no sector-specific questions, according to CDP's overview. Nearly 11,000 SMEs completed it in 2025. Its climate module asks for:

• The method used to calculate emissions, with the sources excluded from the scope and the reason for each exclusion, written out in black and white.
• The inventory of scopes 1, 2 and 3, then its breakdown by activity; the scope 3 guide details the 15 categories of the last one.
• The company's energy consumption, by source, and the share of renewable electricity where it can be justified.
• The emissions reduction targets and the reduction actions under way, with the emissions savings each is expected to deliver.

2Do you have to respond, and how much does it cost?

No law requires a company to respond to CDP. The pressure comes from the requester. A company requested by investors that does not respond receives the public status "Did not disclose", for each theme requested. A customer request is part of the commercial relationship: the customer can see whether its supplier has responded, and may take it into account in its purchasing, much as a public buyer scores the environmental aspects of a bid.

The fees paid to CDP

According to CDP's frequently asked questions, the admin fee is due from companies requested by investors, from those that respond without being invited and from public authorities. A company requested only by its customers, a bank or RE100 is exempt. For a company based in Europe, the 2026 fees are:

• €2,975 excl. VAT for the basic package, which includes access to the portal and a prepaid registration to a CDP regional event, where one exists.
• €7,200 excl. VAT for the enhanced package, which adds in particular a benchmark against 10 chosen companies, a screening of its 50 main suppliers and 2 registrations to regional events.
• The same amount for the SME questionnaire and for the full one, since the fees do not depend on the version chosen; they are non-refundable.

The real cost: the emissions inventory

Most of the budget is spent before the questionnaire. Without a recent carbon footprint assessment, one has to be produced: the order of magnitude observed in 2026 runs from €10,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT with a consultancy, according to our article on the cost of a Bilan Carbone® (the French carbon accounting method). An SME eligible for the Diag Décarbon'Action (a Bpifrance-subsidised carbon footprint programme for companies established in France) pays €6,000 excl. VAT after the public subsidy. A company with the skills in-house can also do it itself, and other funding schemes reduce the bill.

For help with filling in the questionnaire, no public price list exists: the quote is compared in days and deliverables. Where needed, there are also a paid extension of the scoring deadline, at €2,300 in Europe, and a third-party verification (in French) (in French) to aim for the higher levels.

3What is the timetable of a CDP campaign?

The campaign follows the same rhythm every year. In 2026, according to the timetable published by CDP, the questionnaire and its guides were released in the week of 20 April, and the scoring methodology in the week of 27 April. Requesters submitted their lists up to the week of 8 June, a request added after that date being open to refusal, and the questionnaire opened in the week of 15 June.

The date that matters: the scoring deadline

A response submitted no later than 16 September 2026 is scored. After that date, the company can still submit or correct its response until 28 October, but these changes are not scored. Public scores are published in the week of 30 November. An extension to 30 September exists, in limited numbers: the company's designated response lead, not a third party, requests it no later than 29 September.

The back-planning of a first response

Between the opening and the scoring deadline, 13 weeks remain, including the summer. That is short for building an inventory, and enough to complete a questionnaire whose data already exist. The timeline above places the steps of a first response against CDP's dates.

The questionnaire and the scoring methodology can be read from April, exported as PDFs from the portal: they show which data to gather before June. A request that arrives late is handled with what exists: a partial inventory, its written exclusions, and a plan for the next campaign.

4How does CDP score a first response?

CDP scores each theme on 4 successive levels, described in its scoring methodology. In the full questionnaire, each level gives 2 possible scores, depending on the percentage of points obtained:

• The Disclosure level, scored D- or D, measures how complete the response is: almost all questions earn points there.
• The Awareness level, scored C- or C, measures how the company has assessed the link between environmental issues and its business.
• The Management level, scored B- or B, rewards good environmental management actions, based on that assessment.
• The Leadership level, scored A- or A, singles out best practice, such as a public transition plan aligned with 1.5 °C.

To move up a level, a minimum score at the level below is needed, together with the mandatory criteria. The SME questionnaire is scored on climate only, with 1 single score per level: D, C, B or A. The A score is new in 2026 there, according to the introduction to SME scoring.

Where the points are won

At the Management and Leadership levels, each category of questions has a weighting published by CDP. For an SME, the inventory, its verification, the targets and the reduction actions account for 57% of the points for a B, according to the 2026 SME weightings document. Governance and energy account for little. A complete inventory, that is a carbon footprint assessment covering all emission sources, therefore earns more than a polished page on strategy.

What the score does not see

CDP does not verify the responses: it scores what is written in the questionnaire, and ignores links and attachments unless a question asks for them. Only responses in English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish or Portuguese are scored. A response written in French is therefore passed on to the requesters, but without a score.

The score of a company requested by its customers stays private, unless it reaches A. That of a company requested by investors is published. In these 2 cases, the requesters read the entire response.

5What should you prepare before the questionnaire opens?

A first response is completed quickly when the documents are gathered before the questionnaire opens. The list comes to 6 documents, each to be requested from its owner inside the company:

• The emissions inventory for the past year, with its method, GHG Protocol or Bilan Carbone® (the French carbon accounting method), its factors and its justified exclusions.
• The year's energy invoices and statements, by site and by source, with the guarantees of origin for any renewable electricity purchased.
• The reduction targets set by management, with their base year and horizon, and any SBTi validation (Science Based Targets initiative).
• The list of reduction actions under way or decided, with their cost and the expected emissions savings, drawn from the reduction plan.
• The record of decisions that assigns climate to a committee or an executive, identified by job title: the questionnaire rejects any person's name.
• The analysis of climate-related risks and opportunities, including the physical risks that threaten sites and suppliers.

Scope 3 takes the most time. The data received from suppliers must be checked before they enter the inventory, as described in our article on verifying supplier data. The same file will serve other customers who ask similar questions.

The mistakes that cost points

The gaps a reviewer most often finds in a first response recur from one company to the next:

• The response is written in French, which deprives it of a score, although the data and the collection work were complete.
• Questions are left empty: an unanswered question counts for zero points, whereas a partial and honest answer earns a few.
• The figures contradict one another from one question to the next, for example a total of emissions that does not match the sum of the scopes reported.
• Emissions are reported net of offsetting, whereas the inventory is given gross and offsetting cannot be deducted.

6Which kind of support should you choose for a first response?

A company with a recent inventory can respond alone. Others often combine several sources of help, which do not provide the same service:

• The CDP portal gives access, at no additional cost, to the questionnaire, its guides, the scoring methodology, the help centre and webinars. An AI tool, rolled out gradually since June 2026, suggests answers there drawn from the reports filed.
• Paid membership of CDP's reporter services adds a dedicated contact, a gap analysis of the previous response and a final review before submission.
• CDP-accredited providers, consultancies, software vendors and verifiers, are listed in CDP's directory, which can be filtered by region and by type of service.
• A consultancy, accredited or not, added as a contributor: it sees the response and writes it with the company, which keeps control of submission.

The criteria that matter

The non-negotiable criterion: the provider starts from the company's data and its management's decisions, without inventing a target. It then knows the scoring methodology for the year, writes in English and leaves a reusable file. A software tool or a consultancy can be compared on these points, with 4 questions to ask before signing:

• Does the provider calculate the emissions inventory, or start from an existing assessment, and who answers for the accuracy of the figures entered?
• Which questionnaire does it aim for, SME or full, and for what reasons, given the requesters and the score the company is seeking?
• How many reviews are planned before 16 September, and how much time does it leave management to approve the targets reported?
• What does it hand over at the end: the responses in English, the sources of each figure and the list of points to improve for the next campaign?

The warning signs

A promise of a score is the first warning sign: CDP sets its scoring thresholds and reserves the right to adjust them until publication. A provider that offers to respond without an inventory, or to report targets that management has not decided, is preparing a response that the company will have to defend alone.

At Projet Celsius, we consider that a first CDP response is won before June. The questionnaire itself can be completed in a few weeks when the inventory exists, the targets have been decided and the response is written in English. In our carbon footprint assessment engagements, we prepare the inventory and its method in the form the questionnaire requires, then review the response before the scoring deadline. The same work then feeds the company's transition plan.

7Key takeaways

• The CDP questionnaire is completed online, on climate at least, in an SME version below 1,000 employees and US$250 million.
• A company requested only by its customers pays no fee to CDP, and its score stays private unless it reaches A.
• In 2026, a response submitted no later than 16 September is scored; after that, it is passed on until 28 October, without a score.
• Only responses in English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish or Portuguese are scored: a response in French has no score.
• Good support starts from the company's inventory and decisions, writes in English and leaves a file that can be reused the following year.

To handle other customer requests, see how to prepare a reliable response, and to find out whether the inventory has to be redone every year, our dedicated article.

Further resources

Frequently asked questions

1Can a company decline to respond to CDP?

Yes, no law requires it to respond. A company requested by investors that does not respond does, however, receive the public status "Did not disclose". If requested by a customer, it takes a commercial risk: the customer can see that it has not responded, and may take it into account in its purchasing.

2How much does a CDP response cost in 2026?

Nothing in fees for a company requested only by its customers. Requested by investors, or responding voluntarily, a European company pays €2,975 or €7,200 excl. VAT depending on the package. The main cost remains the emissions inventory, from €10,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT with a consultancy in 2026, if one does not already exist.

3Can you respond to CDP in French?

You can enter your response in French, but it will not be scored. In 2026, CDP scores only responses written in English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish or Portuguese. A company that wants a score therefore writes its response in English, or in one of the 4 other scored languages.

4Is a CDP score obtained at a customer's request public?

No, it stays private unless it reaches A, and only the requesting customers see it with the full response. The score of a company requested by signatory investors is published on the CDP website, as is the "Did not disclose" status of those that do not respond.

5Can you change your response after submitting it?

Yes, until the campaign closes, on 28 October in 2026. Only the version submitted before the scoring deadline, 16 September in 2026, counts towards the score. Later changes are passed on to the requesters but do not change the score.

6Is a Bilan Carbone® assessment enough to respond to CDP?

It provides most of the figures, provided they are presented by scope 1, 2 and 3 and the method followed is stated. The questionnaire also asks for reduction targets, actions, governance and an analysis of climate risks, which an assessment alone does not always contain.

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Send my questionor: guillaume@projetcelsius.com