To achieve their net-zero commitments, financial institutions must align lending and investment portfolios with a maximum 1.5 °C of warming. They rely on corporate climate progress to do so; yet only a fraction of the world’s companies have set emissions reduction targets covering all relevant value chain emissions (Scope 1-3).
For capital markets to act, they need companies with 1.5°C targets and plans.
CDP temperature ratings helps to find them: with target-based temperature alignment scores (ITR) for thousands of companies, accompanied by GHG emission metrics and transition plan data for judging credibility.
The ratings can be used for listed equity and debt portfolios for many target-setting frameworks, including the Science Based Targets initiative, the Net Zero Investment Framework, and UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance.
The CDP temperature ratings dataset includes three company-level outputs:
What is the true ambition of the company’s Scope 1-3 emission reduction target(s)?
The temperature pathways used in CDP temperature ratings are derived from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1.5°C report and the Integrated Assessment Modelling Consortium (IAMC) database of climate scenarios.
CDP temperature ratings systematically assess companies’ entire emissions, producing separate °C temperatures for operational (scope 1 and 2) and complete value chain (scope 1, 2 and 3) emissions, including across short, medium, and long-term timeframes.
The data is supplemented with current temperature scores from the Science Based Targets initiative as well as from GHG emissions trend analysis, resulting in almost 5,000 unique company ratings. Companies without relevant public targets or a valid history of emissions data are assigned a default temperature rating.
Has the company disclosed the elements of a credible climate transition plan to achieve its target(s)?
CDP temperature ratings uses data disclosed by companies to the 21 key climate transition indicators across governance, scenario analysis, financial planning, value chain engagement and low-carbon initiatives, policy engagement, risks and opportunities, targets and emissions accounting. For more information, see CDP's transition plan webpages.
Does the company fully disclose its emissions – and what is the current trajectory?
CDP temperature ratings contains company reported and CDP modelled GHG emissions data and corresponding disclosure quality metrics for over 8,000 companies - alongside indicators on emissions reduction performance for over 1,800.
Open-source scientific method - Uses a public, expert-reviewed and open-source target assessment methodology developed by CDP and WWF, which can be used for science-based targets through the SBTi.
Powered by reported CDP data - Uses CDP GHG emissions, targets and transition plan data disclosed by companies and cleaned by CDP’s dedicated Data Analytics team.
Assess target credibility - See whether corporates have clear, time-bound climate transition plans plans to achieve their targets.
Broad range of alignment metrics - With cleaned emissions data, target data and transition plan data, the dataset can be used for multiple frameworks, including target-setting with the Net Zero Investment Framework and the Science Based Targets initiative for financial institutions.
By submitting your details, you agree to CDP's privacy policy.