CDP 2026: An Overview of New Questions, Deadlines, and Requirements

CDP 2026 brings significant changes for companies that disclose their environmental and sustainability data: new questions on oceans, broader requirements for adaptation and resilience, expanded plastics disclosure, additional forest-based raw materials relevant to scoring, and new requirements for SMEs. At the same time, the timeline for the disclosure cycle has already been set—from the release of the questionnaires starting the week of April 20, 2026, to the publication of the scores in the week of November 30, 2026.

CDP 2026: Companies Need to Be Aware of These Changes Now

CDP is specifically refining its 2026 disclosure system to better support companies in disclosing environmental risks, dependencies, and opportunities. According to CDP, more than 23,100 organizations disclosed information last year; at the same time, over 540 financial institutions with more than 110 trillion U.S. dollars in assets will require environmental information from over 43,000 organizations in 2026. This shows that CDP is no longer merely a voluntary sustainability framework, but rather a key reference point for capital markets, customer requirements, and supply chain communication.

What’s new at CDP in 2026?

The most important changes can be summarized in five key points:

1. Ocean-related questions included in the questionnaire for the first time
2. Broader Survey on Adaptation and Resilience
3. Expansion of Plastics Disclosure
4. Expansion of the Forest Scoring System to Include Cocoa, Coffee, and Rubber
5. New SME metrics for forests and water security, as well as an SME A Score

These changes are not merely an editorial update. Rather, CDP is further expanding its coverage of environmental and natural risks while also strengthening its alignment with relevant frameworks such as TNFD, GRI, SBTN, and the GHG Protocol, as well as existing disclosure standards in the market.

1. Ocean Issues: A New Chapter in Nature Disclosure

For the first time, CDP is incorporating ocean-related questions into the Corporate Questionnaire. With this move, CDP is responding to the growing demand for reliable data on marine ecosystems, the blue economy, supply chain impacts, and nature-related risks. The new questions are embedded in existing modules—such as risk management, governance, strategy, targets, and verification. For companies with ocean-related impacts or dependencies, this is an important step toward more comprehensive nature disclosure.

Important to note: Ocean-related content will not yet be scored in 2026. CDP is thus deliberately giving companies time to establish data structures and processes for this new thematic area. However, this is already increasing the pressure to act, particularly for companies in highly relevant sectors—such as shipping, offshore energy, fisheries, aquaculture, or resource-intensive supply chains.

2. Adaptation and resilience are becoming significantly more important

A second key update involves expanding existing questions on adaptation and resilience. CDP is responding to the growing relevance of physical climate and natural risks. Going forward, the focus will be even more on how companies not only identify risks but also manage them effectively, integrate them into their strategy and financial planning, and, where appropriate, identify opportunities arising from them.

To this end, CDP is supplementing existing modules with additional information on governance, risk and opportunity assessment, strategic integration, financial impacts, and engagement activities. For companies, this means that by 2026, statements on climate risks must be backed even more strongly by robust measures, responsibilities, and implementation strategies. In addition, CDP is making minor adjustments to its scoring methodology to specifically incentivize better disclosure regarding adaptation and resilience.

3. Plastics Disclosure Continues to Expand

CDP is also expanding its requirements in the plastics sector. This is driven by growing market expectations for transparency regarding plastic flows, packaging formats, recyclability, compostability, reuse models, and target systems. Companies that select the “Plastics” option in the 2026 Corporate Questionnaire will be required to provide more detailed reporting—for example, on targets, packaging types, or the use of circular models such as refill and return.

The same applies here: Plastics data will not yet be scored in 2026. Nevertheless, companies should not underestimate this issue. Those who do not prepare their data logic for materials, packaging, and circular KPIs now will face greater effort and lower data quality in the medium term.

4. Forests: Cocoa, coffee, and rubber will be factored into the scoring

The expansion of the Forests Scoring system is particularly relevant for many supply chains. In addition to beef, palm oil, soy, and wood, cocoa, coffee, and rubber will now also be included in the scoring methodology starting in 2026. CDP is thus responding to the high deforestation and land-conversion risks associated with these commodities and is aligning its methodology more closely with all key high-impact commodities.

In addition, CDP is making adjustments to its reporting on no-deforestation and no-conversion targets to better align the requirements with standards and frameworks such as SBTN and the Accountability Framework. For companies with relevant supply chains, this means that forest disclosure will become more strategic, data-intensive, and more closely integrated with target systems, governance, and sourcing approaches.

5. New Requirements for SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises will also be a greater focus in 2026. CDP is introducing new SME metrics for Forests and Water Security and, for the first time, providing an SME A Score. This is particularly relevant for SMEs that are part of larger supply chains and are increasingly required to provide nature-related data to customers and financiers.

At the same time, there is an important caveat: According to CDP, companies that are contacted through RE100 can no longer use the SME Questionnaire, as the data points required for that are only included in the full questionnaire. For affected companies, it is therefore crucial to determine which questionnaire is appropriate as early as possible.

The Most Important CDP 2026 Deadlines at a Glance

The timeline for the 2026 CDP disclosure cycle has already been clearly defined and should be incorporated into project planning early on:

• Week of April 20, 2026: Release of the Questionnaire and Guidance
• Week of April 27, 2026: Publication of the Scoring Methodology
• Week of April 27, 2026: Request Lists Open
• Week of June 8, 2026: Deadline for Request Lists
• Week of June 15, 2026: Opening of the Response Window
• Week of September 14, 2026: Scoring Deadline
• Week of October 26, 2026: Final Response Deadline
• Week of November 30, 2026: Release of private and public scores

For companies, the scoring deadline in September is particularly important: Although responses can still be adjusted after that date, these changes will no longer be factored into the evaluation. Therefore, data, responsibilities, and review processes should be firmly established by the time the response window opens in June at the latest.

What Companies Should Do Now

The 2026 CDP updates clearly show that disclosure is evolving from a mere reporting exercise into a tool for risk management, resilience, and strategic decision-making. Companies should therefore assess at an early stage whether

• which new topics will become relevant to them,
• whether additional data points on oceans, plastics, or adaptation are required,
• whether supply chain commodities such as cocoa, coffee, or rubber will come into sharper focus in the future,
• and whether existing processes for governance, targets, and record-keeping are sufficiently robust.

A proactive approach is particularly worthwhile in areas where CDP 2026 does not yet score new topics. Experience has shown that these very topics are the precursor to future market expectations, more detailed data collection, and further-developed assessment methodologies. Those who prepare systematically now will not only reduce operational effort in the current cycle but will also strengthen their position with customers, investors, and other stakeholders.

Conclusion

CDP 2026 does not introduce cosmetic changes, but rather substantive expansions with strategic relevance. Companies must prepare for new questions regarding the oceans, stricter requirements for adaptation and resilience, further expanded plastics disclosure, and an expanded forests scoring system. At the same time, the clearly defined timeline sets tight operational guidelines for preparation.

Anyone who wants to successfully navigate CDP 2026 should start now with a gap analysis, data verification, and the assignment of internal responsibilities. That is precisely where the opportunity lies: not just to report on time, but to use disclosure as a tool for better management, greater transparency, and stronger resilience.