CDP & the EU Disclosure Regime
Shaping sustainable finance in Europe and beyond
In just a few years, the EU has rolled out several new sustainable finance rules. The aim is to redirect capital flows in Europe to more sustainable economic activities.
Now is the time for implementation, with EU regulations for environmental disclosure taking full effect this year. As environmental disclosure becomes the norm – and the law – CDP continues to guide companies and investors to navigate this new era of sustainability reporting.
The content shown here was produced with the support of the LIFE Programme of the European Union.

Latest CDP Research: Snapshot on Principal Adverse Impacts (PAI)
CDP analysis finds that comprehensive assessment of negative environment impacts is still lagging, with the biggest gap on nature impacts and risks.
Read our press release.

Stronger Together: Exploring the EU Taxonomy as a Tool for Transition Planning
Report on 2023 EU Taxonomy data, in the first year companies had to report to this.

Companies preparedness for new European sustainability reporting rules
Analysis of how most CDP disclosing companies are well placed to start reporting under ESRS.
Resources for companies
CDP’s questionnaires evolve annually to push corporate ambition further, and already enable companies to disclose many of the EU disclosure regime datapoints.
CDP’s questionnaires include EU Taxonomy questions, and already cover approximately 20 out of 30 corporate adverse impact indicators on climate, forest, biodiversity, and water.
CDP also collects data on eight out of nine principle adverse impacts mandatory under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
Alignment with the environmental European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) is under review, and, supported by EFRAG, CDP will offer webinars and guidance in 2024 to support companies with reporting on ESRS datapoints through CDP.

Navigating Mandatory Sustainability Reporting: BASF's Journey and Challenges with European Reporting Standards
Interview with BASF, one of Europe’s leading chemical companies, about the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

EFRAG and CDP cooperation
On November 2023, EFRAG and CDP announced a cooperation to drive market uptake of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)

Policy Explainer: EU Taxonomy
CDP Policy Explainer on the EU Taxonomy, including links with CDP’s disclosure system.

Technical Note: EU Taxonomy
Technical FAQ on the EU Taxonomy and integration of its criteria into CDP questionnaires and scoring

Policy Explainer: CSRD and ESRS
CDP Policy Explainer on the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the EU Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), including links with CDP’s disclosure system

Insight Note: CDP's integration of the EU disclosure regime
Get a quick snapshot of the EU disclosure regime and how CDP can support you.

TCFD Knowledge Hub
Find the resources you need to understand and implement the TCFD recommendations.
Frameworks for reporting environmental information
The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) was an international consortium of business, environmental and social NGOs, committed to advancing and aligning the global mainstream corporate reporting model. It was consolidated into the IFRS Foundation to support the work of the newly established International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in 2022.

CDSB Handbook: EU Environmental Reporting
What does environmental reporting look like in line with the EU NFRD?

CDSB Framework: Application guidance for climate-related disclosures
Assisting companies in the disclosure of material climate-related information in the mainstream report.

CDSB Framework: Application guidance for water-related disclosures
Assisting companies in the disclosure of material water-related information in the mainstream report.

CDSB Framework: Application guidance for biodiversity-related disclosures
Assisting companies in the disclosure of material biodiversity-related information in the mainstream report.

CDSB Template: Biodiversity and Water Reporting Templates
The reporting templates illustrate how to disclose biodiversity and/or water sustainability-related risks and opportunities to investors, lenders, and other creditors (users) in a connected way.
The CDSB Application Guidance for water is also available in Portuguese, Spanish and French.
The CDSB Application Guidance for biodiversity is also available in Portuguese, Spanish and French.
Resources for investors
We help investors get the EU Taxonomy and Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) data they need to comply with their own mandatory reporting requirements and make sustainable investment decisions.

Below the Surface: Snapshot on Principal Adverse Impacts (PAI)
CDP analysis on corporate disclosure of Principal Adverse Impact (PAI) indicators.

Policy Explainer: SFDR
CDP Policy Explainer on the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), including links with CDP’s disclosure system.

SFDR Datapoints Mapping
Explore some of the datapoints in the CDP questionnaire that directly map to metrics that are required to be reported for the SFDR.
We engage in relevant policy fora and working groups to share evidence and contribute to impact assessment for future improvement of the EU sustainability disclosure regime.
CDP is represented in the 2023-2024 mandate of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, an advisory body to the European Commission.

EFRAG and CDP cooperation
On November 2023, EFRAG and CDP announced a cooperation to drive market uptake of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)

Policy Explainer: EU Taxonomy
CDP Policy Explainer on the EU Taxonomy, including links with CDP’s disclosure system.

Policy Explainer: SFDR
CDP Policy Explainer on the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), including links with CDP’s disclosure system.

Policy Explainer: CSRD and ESRS
CDP Policy Explainer on the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the EU Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), including links with CDP’s disclosure system
CDSB policy briefings
The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) was an international consortium of business, environmental and social NGOs, committed to advancing and aligning the global mainstream corporate reporting model. It was consolidated into the IFRS Foundation to support the work of the newly established International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in 2022.

Timeline: European corporate reporting policy towards mandatory and standardised reporting requirements
The timeline summarises key developments ahead that relate to EU corporate reporting policy, linked to the review of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the development of European sustainability reporting standards.

CDSB Briefing: From theory to practice, the role of supervisors in improving corporate reporting in the EU
This paper aims to discuss the critical role supervision plays to strengthen corporate sustainability disclosures and prevent greenwashing. It also provides resources and practical recommendations to national supervisors.

CDSB Briefing: Implications of climate science for financial markets
Synthesis of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Global Warming of 1.5°C special report for financial policymakers.

CDSB Briefing: Why companies need to improve their water-related disclosures
This summary for EU policymakers provides an overview of the information presented in the ‘Water Application Guidance’, which was produced to assist companies in the disclosure of water-related financial information in the mainstream report.

CDSB Briefing: Why companies need to improve their biodiversity-related disclosures
This summary for EU policymakers provides an overview of the information presented in the ‘Biodiversity Application Guidance’, that was developed to assist companies in the disclosure of biodiversity-related financial information in the mainstream report.

CDSB Briefing: Why companies need to improve their biodiversity-related disclosures
This summary for EU policymakers provides an overview of the information presented in the ‘Biodiversity Application Guidance’, that was developed to assist companies in the disclosure of biodiversity-related financial information in the mainstream report.

CDSB Summary: Review of environmental and climate-related disclosures under the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive
The summary aims to inform policymakers of the changes needed to improve environmental disclosures under the Directive, to ensure it meets its purpose of increasing the relevance, consistency and comparability of company reporting, based on the findings of the ‘Falling Short?’ report.
Further research
Explore reviews of companies’ compliance with the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) in 2020 and 2021. Country-specific briefings and thematic research are also available below, providing evidence to support the development of guidance and training in order to drive high quality uptake of non-financial reporting requirements.

The state of EU environmental disclosure in 2020
The state of environmental disclosure in the Nordics in 2020
Climate and TCFD disclosure briefing: The state of EU environmental disclosure in 2020
Water-related disclosure briefing: The state of EU environmental disclosure in 2020
Briefing on biodiversity, deforestation and forest degradation disclosure in the EU
Falling short? Why environmental and climate-related disclosures under the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive must improve
French companies’ performance under the EU Non-financial Reporting Directive – also available in French
German companies’ performance under the EU Non-financial Reporting Directive
Polish companies’ performance under the EU Non-financial Reporting Directive
TCFD disclosure under the EU Non-financial Reporting Directive
Risk disclosure under the EU Non-financial Reporting Directive
CDP’s role in accelerating the market uptake of the EU disclosure regime
The European Union (EU) disclosure regime represents a comprehensive framework aimed at promoting sustainable investment and increasing transparency in the financial market.
This framework includes several key regulations: the EU Taxonomy, a classification system providing a common language and clear criteria for determining whether an economic activity is environmentally sustainable; the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), requiring companies to disclose detailed information on how sustainability issues affect their business and how their business impacts people and the environment; and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), mandating financial market participants and financial advisers to disclose specific ESG information related to financial products.
Under the FinACTION project, an EU LIFE funded project which works to drive market uptake and ambition of the EU disclosure regime, CDP drives market uptake of sustainable finance frameworks and scales EU ambition through our disclosure system, while engaging companies to disclose in line with these regulatory requirements and a science-based transition to a net-zero and nature-positive economy. The work ranges from measuring pressure points on climate and nature (adverse impacts) to integration of sustainable finance taxonomies into the CDP questionnaire. For an overview of the FinACTION project and its impacts, read this report or the final project report submitted to CINEA.
CDP has always been supportive of the development of impactful and high-quality disclosure standards and frameworks to provide clarity, increase compliance and support companies in their reporting needs, in line with our mission to drive transparency and action to tackle the environmental crisis.
As the only global environmental disclosure system, with over 23,200 companies disclosing their climate and nature impacts in 2023 (including nearly 90% of European companies by market value), CDP plays a crucial role in accelerating the implementation of standards and taxonomies at scale.

With the contribution of the LIFE Programme of the European Union. The content of this page is the sole responsibility of the author and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.