As a city you can respond to the CDP Cities questionnaire, submit data to the Global Covenant of Mayors (Compact of Mayors) and respond to the C40 Cities information request, if applicable. This page the essential documentation needed to begin the process. CDP will be holding several webinars to provide cities with useful information and tips throughout the year. View all upcoming webinars.
CDP provides guidance that explains each question in detail and describes what information to provide, the required format, and where to find tools or further information to construct your answer.
Start disclosing and get further detailed guidance documentation on your dashboard.
What is CDP and CDP Cities?
CDP is a not-for-profit founded in 2000 that operates a global disclosure platform through which non-state actors annually report environmental information. Our platform is used annually by over 500 cities, 100 states and regions, and 5,800 companies, and is backed by over 800 institutional investors. CDP Cities provides global platform for municipal governments to disclose greenhouse gas emissions, climate change risks, and mitigation and adaptation strategies.
In 2016, CDP Cities collected, analysed, and delivered data to participating cities, the private sector, and other stakeholders. 533 cities disclosed data to CDP Cities by using our user-friendly online reporting platform. Results demonstrated that cities are better managing their risk and increasing resiliency through more than 4,800 actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
View the list of the 533 cities who disclosed in 2016.
What is the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy and how do I report to the Global Covenant
CDP is one of the reporting platforms supporting the Compact of Mayors, which has now merged with the EU’s Covenant of Mayors to create the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy. The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy is the largest and first-of-its-kind global coalition of cities committed to climate leadership, building on the commitments of more than 7,100 cities.
The new Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) will be the world’s largest coalition of mayors promoting and supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and move to a low-carbon economy. The Global Covenant of Mayors’ questions can be found here, and are also available integrated in the CDP Cities 2017 Information Request.
If your city has already committed to the Compact of Mayors, the merger of the Compact of Mayors and the Covenant of Mayors does not affect your current commitment to the Compact, the requirements for compliance are still the same.
Why should I participate and report our city's climate change data through CDP?
Through CDP, cities can measure, monitor, and manage their impacts on their environment and access networks and shared information from cities all over the world. The main benefits of reporting through us include:
How do I register and gain access to the questionnaire and the Online Reporting System (ORS)?
Cities can gain access and respond to the questionnaire by using the Online Response System which can be retrieved through the individual activation link sent by email from CDP. Simply follow the instructions to CDP’s secure online platform which hosts the 2017 questionnaire. If you have not received a link and would like to participate, please email [email protected] to inquire about further steps.
*Please use Internet Explorer when reporting through the ORS.
You may also invite colleagues to the ORS to enter their relevant data onto the questionnaire.
*Please note that only the registered user may submit the questionnaire at the end. The registered user is the first person to have activated the activation link for your city and can be changed by contacting [email protected].
Is there a fee for responding?
Responding to the CDP Cities 2017 Information Request is free. CDP has charitable status and seeks to use its limited funds effectively. As such, responses must be prepared and submitted at the expense of responding cities.
Is there a minimum amount of data that needs to be reported?
There is no minimum amount of data that needs to be reported and the response is completely voluntary at all stages. However, if your city is committed to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, certain requirements should be met in order to fulfill the commitment.
Can we report privately? What is the difference to reporting publicly?
Yes, you can report non-publicly to CDP. Your data will still be used in aggregate format in our communications. The difference being that your city’s data will not be highlighted in our external communications, reports, and will not be included in Cities Analytics, our benchmarking tool.
What is the timeline for responding
The timeline for the 2017 disclosure period is as follows:
CDP Cities 2017 Online Response System opens: 1st February 2017
Response Check deadline 17th March 2017
Cities response submission deadline: 28th April 2017
C40 module deadline: 28th April 2017
Global Covenant deadline: 28th July 2017
I am having trouble with the questionnaire on the Online Reporting System. Where can I find help?
There are numerous help resources to use when responding to the online questionnaire. These are listed below:
CDP Cities 2017 Guidance Documents – This provides detailed step-by-step instructions for completing the online questionnaire. Please make use of this document when you are filling out individual sections and questions in the questionnaire.
Response Check – The response check is a free service offered to improve data quality. Please submit your completed response by the deadline of March 17, 2017, and we will review your draft response and highlight areas for improvement. This service is only available to cities who submit their response by the deadline.
Webinars – Webinars are held throughout the disclosure cycle. You maysign up through the registration links that will be circulated via email and are found on the CDP Cities Portal and CDP Cities website. These will cover procedures such as signing up, activating the questionnaire, best practices, and specific guidance on certain sections.
Additional Help – Please feel free to reach us at [email protected] to arrange further resources.
What type of information is requested by CDP?
The CDP questionnaire includes both qualitative and quantitative questions. The themes include:
Detailed information on each module can be found in the CDP Cities 2017 Guidance Document.
What is done with the data once the questionnaire is completed?
Data will be cleaned and analysed in accordance to whether the response was selected as public or non-public. The data collected by CDP is then used by various entities after submission and analysis. These include but are not limited to:
Data can be accessed by cities through:
Data can be accessed by the public through:
Public responses
Data can be accessed by our external partners:
*Cities Analytics is an interactive platform based on data collected from responses to the CDP Cities questionnaire and can provide cities with data to help drive their sustainability efforts. Cities can compare their efforts to other cities and what actions they could be taking to address specific challenges. Only cities who disclose publicly have access to the Cities Analytics platform.
Please email us at [email protected] to gain access to a Cities Analytics demo.
Please contact your CDP account manager.