Carbon Disclosure Project
General
Global
Environment
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has been asking large global corporations to measure and report the impact climate change will have on their business and their carbon emissions since 2002. In 2008 CDP extended this work with the CDP Supply Chain Project. Member companies nominate a selection of suppliers to receive a questionnaire on climate change, looking at issues related to: carbon risks and opportunities, emissions reporting, reduction targets and plans, governance, supplier engagement and product lifecycles.
In 2010, CDP worked with 57 major global corporations to implement supplier engagement strategies around greenhouse gas emissions and risk management in a changing climate. Using CDP’s annual Information Request, 55 of these member companies gathered information in a single format, reducing the time and resources spent by suppliers on multiple requests. This also resulted in streamlined, comparable results which were then analyzed and benchmarked by CDP and its report writer.
CDP Supply Chain has evolved from an awareness gathering exercise to a mature, integrated business process. From the pilot in 2007, the process has become increasingly embedded in the procurement functions of member companies. This change has been supported by improving members’ access to supplier response data. Members receive a ‘Company Specific report’ based on their supplier performance; this report also looks at how each member’s sustainable procurement practices compare to the other members. CDP’s new analytical tool, developed by CDP, has given member companies unprecedented access to supplier response data.