CDP Supply Chain Questionnaire: How to Respond

Your customer sent an invitation to disclose through CDP. The email mentions "climate change questionnaire" and "supply chain program." You've now discovered that CDP is a major global disclosure platform, that thousands of companies report through it, and that the questionnaire is considerably more detailed than the Excel spreadsheet you were expecting.

CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) runs the world's largest environmental disclosure system. When customers invite suppliers to CDP, they're asking for detailed climate-related information through a standardized, globally recognized framework.

Here's how to approach it.

What CDP Supply Chain Is

CDP operates several disclosure programs. The Supply Chain program allows companies to request climate disclosures from their suppliers through a standardized questionnaire. As a supplier, you're responding to a customer invitation—not independently choosing to disclose.

Key features:

Standardized format. All suppliers answer the same questionnaire structure, making data comparable across a customer's supply chain.

Scoring. CDP scores responses from A (leadership) to D- (disclosure), with F for non-response. Your score is visible to requesting customers.

Customer-funded. The customer requesting your disclosure typically covers the cost; suppliers respond for free.

Annual cycle. CDP opens for responses in spring, with deadlines typically in late summer. The questionnaire updates each year.

Visibility options. You can choose whether your response is public or only visible to requesting customers.

The Questionnaire Structure

The CDP climate change questionnaire is comprehensive. It covers:

Governance. How does your company oversee climate-related issues? Board involvement, management responsibility, incentives tied to climate performance.

Risks and opportunities. What climate-related risks affect your business? Physical risks (extreme weather, water scarcity), transition risks (policy changes, market shifts), and opportunities (new products, efficiency gains).

Strategy. How does climate change factor into your business strategy? Scenario analysis, transition planning, financial implications.

Targets. Do you have emissions reduction targets? What are they? Are they science-based?

Emissions data. Your Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions. Methodology, verification status, year-over-year changes.

Emissions reduction. What are you doing to reduce emissions? Specific initiatives, investments, outcomes.

Engagement. How do you engage with your own value chain on climate issues?

This is more detailed than most supplier questionnaires. CDP is designed for comprehensive climate disclosure, not quick supplier assessments.

First-Time Responders: What's Realistic

If you've never disclosed through CDP, completing the full questionnaire at high quality is challenging. Here's a realistic approach:

Minimum viable disclosure:

Focus on what you can answer accurately:

Basic company information and governance description
Your Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (if calculated)
Or, if not calculated, an explanation that you're developing this capability
Any existing targets or initiatives
Honest "no" answers where you lack formal processes

A partial disclosure with accurate data scores better than skipping entirely (which scores F) or fabricating answers (which damages credibility).

What you can skip or answer briefly:

Complex sections like detailed scenario analysis, science-based target methodology, or comprehensive Scope 3 accounting are legitimately beyond many suppliers' current capability. Brief honest answers—"We have not yet conducted formal climate scenario analysis"—are acceptable.

Building toward future years:

Your first CDP response establishes a baseline. Each subsequent year, you can expand coverage as you develop capability. CDP's scoring rewards improvement over time.

Calculating Emissions for CDP

CDP expects emissions reported according to the GHG Protocol methodology. If you haven't calculated your carbon footprint before, the article on carbon footprint calculations covers the basics.

For CDP specifically:

Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Company vehicles, on-site fuel combustion, refrigerant leaks. Calculate from fuel consumption records using published emission factors.

Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heating, cooling. Calculate from utility records. CDP asks for both "location-based" (grid average) and "market-based" (supplier-specific) figures if available.

Scope 3: All other indirect emissions across your value chain. CDP identifies 15 categories. Most suppliers focus on the largest categories first—typically purchased goods and services, fuel and energy related activities, and business travel.

You don't need third-party verification for your first disclosure, though CDP asks about verification status. Internal calculations with documented methodology are acceptable.

Responding to Customer-Specific Questions

Beyond the standard questionnaire, CDP allows requesting customers to add custom questions. These typically ask about:

Emissions allocated specifically to products/services you provide them
Engagement on climate topics specific to your relationship
Specific reduction initiatives relevant to their supply chain

Answer these based on your actual relationship with the requesting customer. If they're asking for product-level carbon intensity and you haven't calculated it, explain your methodology or note that you're developing this capability.

The Scoring System

CDP scores range from A to D-, plus F for non-response:

A/A-: Leadership. Comprehensive disclosure, strong targets, demonstrated action.

B/B-: Management. Good disclosure with evidence of action and target-setting.

C/C-: Awareness. Disclosure covers main areas but may lack detail or evidence.

D/D-: Disclosure. Basic response submitted but significant gaps.

F: Failure to respond. This is the worst outcome—it signals non-engagement.

For first-time responders, C or D range is realistic and acceptable. The goal is to demonstrate engagement and establish a baseline for improvement.

Customers generally care more about whether you responded than about achieving a high score immediately. A D is infinitely better than an F.

Managing the Timeline

CDP has fixed annual deadlines. The typical cycle:

February-March: Questionnaire released, customers send invitations.

April-July: Response period. You have several months to complete.

August: Deadline (exact date varies by year).

November-December: Scores released.

This timeline is more predictable than ad-hoc customer questionnaires. Plan accordingly—don't discover the deadline in July when you need August for data gathering.

Time investment: First-time responders should budget 15-30 hours depending on data availability. Companies with established emissions tracking can complete in 5-10 hours.

When to Prioritize CDP

CDP makes sense when:

Multiple customers use CDP Supply Chain (one response serves all)
A key customer has indicated CDP score matters for their supplier selection
You're targeting customers who likely participate (large multinationals, particularly in consumer goods, retail, manufacturing)
You want external validation and benchmarking of your climate disclosure

CDP is heavier than simpler questionnaires. If you only have one customer asking and they'd accept a direct data submission, that may be more efficient than full CDP disclosure.

Common CDP Mistakes

Waiting until deadline. The questionnaire is substantial. Starting in the final week leads to rushed, incomplete responses.

Answering "no" without context. "Do you have science-based targets? No." is less useful than "No, we do not currently have science-based targets. We are evaluating this for 2026."

Inconsistent data. If your Scope 2 emissions are reported differently in two questions, assessors notice. Ensure internal consistency.

Ignoring customer-specific questions. These are visible to the requesting customer. Leaving them blank signals you don't prioritize the relationship.

Not choosing visibility settings intentionally. You can make your response public or customer-only. Consider your preference—public responses can attract new customers; private responses limit exposure.

Using CDP Disclosure Elsewhere

Once you've completed CDP, your response becomes a resource:

Extract summary data for other customer questionnaires
Reference your CDP score when customers ask about climate disclosure
Use the structure as a template for internal climate reporting
Identify gaps that the questionnaire highlighted

CDP is work to complete, but the output has value beyond the single disclosure.

Need a system for this? ESG Passport lets you track ESG data year-round and respond to any questionnaire in hours — not weeks. Free ESG tracking for life. Pro turns your data into finished reports with 200+ automated answer templates.