Guidance for cities

Cities can disclose to CDP, Global Covenant of Mayors and C40, if applicable. Global Covenant questions are integrated in the questionnaires and guidance below. A full suite of support, guidance documents and webinars can be accessed through your dashboard when you log in.

In 2019, CDP partnered with ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability to present one unified platform for city climate reporting, streamlining the process of reporting and ensuring simplicity and standardisation for reporting cities. Cities will only have to report once, on one platform, to the following questions.

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.

Frequently asked questions (cities)

General information | ICLEI CDP collaboration | Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy | ACEEE CDP partnership

General information

1. What is CDP and CDP Cities?
2. Why should I participate and report our city's climate change data through CDP?
3. How do I register and gain access to the questionnaire and the Online Reporting System (ORS)?
4. How do I add another user to my account? What type of user permissions exist?
5. Is there a fee for responding?
6. Is there a minimum amount of data that needs to be reported?
7. Can we submit a non-public response? What is the difference to submitting a public response?
8. What is the timeline for responding?
9. What support is provided to help me respond to the questionnaire on the Online Reporting System (ORS)?
10. What type of information is requested by CDP?
11. What happens to our data once we report?
12. How can I check previous responses and update my environmental information?
13. How do I change or update a submitted response?
14. How does CDP’s scoring feedback work?

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 810 cities, over 130 states and regions, and over 9,600 companies, and we work with institutional investors with assets of over US$ 110 trillion to shift capital towards a sustainable economy. CDP Cities provides a global platform for municipal governments to disclose greenhouse gas emissions, climate change risks, and mitigation and adaptation strategies.

In 2020, CDP Cities collected, analysed, and delivered data to participating cities, the private sector, and other stakeholders. 812 cities disclosed data to CDP Cities by using our user-friendly online disclosure platform. Results demonstrated that cities are better managing their risk and increasing resiliency through more than 5,000 actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

View the list of the cities who disclosed in 2019.

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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:

• Gain insight and feedback on your city’s climate action and response through CDP scoring.
• Have your city’s climate action featured on our website and in our media campaigns.
• Participate in workshops and webinars to learn international best practice and improve your city's climate efforts
• Compile all your environmental data in one place
• Track your city's sustainability and climate efforts annually
• Access data from 800+ cities, 120+ states and regions, and 8,400+ companies.
• Enter the ecosystem of the world’s best city initiatives and programs. Participate in the Global Covenant of Mayors, as well as other initiatives offered by our partners ICLEI, C40 and WWF.
• Profile your low carbon mitigation projects with CDP's investor network representing $96 trillion in assets

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How do I register and gain access to the questionnaire and the Online Reporting System (ORS)?

If your city is requested to respond by CDP and it’s reporting partners, CDP will notify you by email with an individual link to access CDP’s disclosure platform. You will need to register for a CDP account to access CDP’s disclosure platform. CDP’s disclosure platform is a secure online platform which hosts the questionnaire in our Online Response System (ORS), a full suite of resources including webinars and guidance documents, and tools to assist with reporting.

If you have not yet been requested to respond but you would like to, please complete and submit this registration form to register your city’s interest. After you submit the form, we will check the data you have supplied and send you an email with information on next steps. During busy periods this process may take a few weeks. If you have already received an activation link or have access to your city’s CDP response dashboard and questionnaire, you do not need to complete this form and you can sign in here.

Once you have registered you will have access to your city dashboard containing information regarding which questionnaires and reporting partners your city is being requested to respond to. You can activate and access the questionnaires in our Online Response System (ORS) via this dashboard.

If you need help accessing your city’s questionnaire or have not received a link and would like to participate, please contact [email protected].

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How do I add another user to my account? What type of user permissions exist?

There is no limit to the number of users that can be added to your account. There are different three types of user roles, and the different permissions for each user role are listed below.

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Is there a fee for responding?

Responding to the cities questionnaire 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.

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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 pass the lowest scoring band of ‘disclosure’ according to CDPs scoring methodology you must provide a fairly complete response to the Cities questionnaire. More information on the scoring methodology for 2019 will be released in April.

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Can we submit a non-public response? What is the difference to submitting a public response?

Yes, certain cities can submit a non-public response to CDP. Your data will still be used by CDP, ICLEI and our partners in aggregate format in our communications. The difference being that your city’s data will not be highlighted in our external communications, reports and CDPs Open Data Portal. Moreover, cities that submit a non-public response will not be featured on CDP’s A-list according to the methods by which CDP score cities responses and provide feedback.
Please note that the following cities are not able to submit a non-public response:

• Cities committed to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy or indicating on the platform that they intend to commit to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy
• Cities choosing to participate in WWF’s One Planet City Challenge.

The Terms for our cities questionnaire provides a comprehensive list of information on what happens to your response after submission. The Terms are available through the ‘Submit your response’ page of the questionnaires in the Online Response System (ORS).

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What is the timeline for responding?

The timeline for the 2020 disclosure period is as follows:
Reporting platform will open: early-April 2020.
Cities response submission deadline: 26th August 2020

This allows local and regional governments 12 weeks to submit their response.

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What support is provided to help me respond to the questionnaire on the Online Reporting System (ORS)?

2020 guide to the disclosure platform – This provides you with a comprehensive guide on how to use the CDP disclosure platform and explains all of the features of the ORS.

2020 Cities reporting guidance and scoring methodology – This provides detailed step-by-step guidance for completing the online questionnaire that you can use when filling out individual sections and questions in the questionnaire. It is available at the top right of this page.

Webinars – Webinars are held throughout the disclosure cycle. You may sign up through the registration links that will be circulated via email and are found on the CDP Cities Portal. These will cover procedures such as signing up, activating the questionnaire, best practices, and specific guidance on certain sections.

For further support you can contact either [email protected] or your regional contact. You can also reach out to your ICLEI regional contact and the carbonn Center - carbonn@iclei.org can direct your query to the appropriate person.

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What type of information is requested by CDP?

The CDP questionnaire requests qualitative and quantitative environmental data for the following themes:

• Governance 
• Climate hazards, Adaptation 
• City-wide Emissions 
• Emissions reduction, Opportunities 
• Local Government Emissions 
• Energy, Buildings, Transport 
• Urban Planning 
• Food, Waste 
• Water security 

Detailed information on each section and question can be found in the 2020 Cities reporting guidance.

For more information on biodiversity within cities, please visit the CitiesWithNature platform.

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What happens to our data once we report?

CDP and ICLEI will both use the self-reported local and regional government data to provide robust analysis - collaboratively or independently - of the climate actions being taken at subnational level across the world.

This data will also serve other ICLEI supported initiatives. See the full list of ICLEI supported initiatives here.

CDP use this data to produce city scores, analytics, snapshot reports, and feedback for local and regional governments on their score. CDP also makes publicly reported data available on their website and through their Open Data Portal. This allows local and regional governments to monitor their progress against their peers worldwide.

ICLEI will continue to use the data to shape and substantiate messages of the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency to the UNFCCC. These messages are shared with nations and UN agencies, to ensure that they are informed of subnational commitments, plans and activities. ICLEI is also working closely with other partners to call for subnational contributions to be embedded in their respective Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

For Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) committed cities, the response data is also shared with GCoM, once it has been validated.

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How can I check previous responses and update my environmental information?

If you previously reported to CDP, you will be able to access your previous response through your response dashboard within CDP’s disclosure platform. Local and regional governments are asked to submit their climate information every year but are able to use information reported the previous year as a basis. If your city submitted a response to the 2019 questionnaire through CDP’s disclosure platform, your answers have been auto-populated in to your 2020 questionnaire where applicable. Please refer to the guide to the disclosure platform for information on how to identify which questions have been auto-populated.

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How do I change or update a submitted response?

After submission, your questionnaire is ‘view-only' via your response dashboard. If you need to amend your response you will need to contact CDP at [email protected] who can allow you to amend your response. Alternatively, main users can also make updates or changes to a submitted response using the ‘Amend submission’ function of your response dashboard.

Amendment must be made by the official deadline (for that stakeholder) to be included in the annual CDP reports and scores.

Please note that any changes that you make to your response after the Deadline may not be reflected in any score, report or analysis shared with investors or customers.

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How does CDP’s scoring feedback work?

CDP offer all participating cities with tools and detailed feedback on their score to urge them to improve year on year.
Cities are expected to provide a reasonably complete response overall in order to be scored accurately and fairly. In addition, the criteria in the scoring methodology encourages cities to demonstrate best practice by:

• Assessing the city’s climate risk and vulnerability assessment;
• Developing a robust adaptation or mitigation strategy;
• Measuring and tracking the city’s emissions;
• Working towards ambitious reduction targets; and
• Reporting this information publicly.

Based on the information the cities provide in their response, CDP assigns the city a score within one of four scoring bands: Disclosure – cities starting out in climate disclosure, Awareness – cities with an understanding of climate impacts, Management – cities taking climate action, and Leadership – cities demonstrating strategic best practice.

In addition, cities that report publicly all have access to Cities Analytics. This is an interactive benchmarking tool based on data collected from responses to the Cities questionnaire. Cities can compare their efforts to other cities and what actions they could be taking to address specific challenges.

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General information | ICLEI CDP collaboration | Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy | ACEEE CDP partnership

ICLEI CDP collaboration

1. What are the benefits of the ICLEI/CDP collaboration
2. How do I report to WWF’s One Planet City Challenge in 2020?
3. What happens if I reported through CDP’s platform before but not through carbonn Climate Registry (cCR)?
4. What happens if I reported through both CDP’s disclosure platform and carbonn Climate Registry (cCR) in 2019?
5. What happens if I reported through carbonn Climate Registry (cCR) before but not through CDP’s disclosure platform?
6. How is our historical reporting data handled?
7. As a reporting subnational state or region, how does this collaboration affect me?

What are the benefits of the ICLEI/CDP collaboration

Since April 2019, local and regional governments have been reporting climate action data through one unified reporting system. In so doing, they give their permission to both CDP and ICLEI to use their publicly reported data, and in return gain access to a host of services and support offered by both organizations.

Crucially, local and regional governments only have to report once on CDP’s platform. Publicly reported data is automatically shared with ICLEI.

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How do I report to WWF’s One Planet City Challenge in 2020?

The WWF One Planet City Challenge is not running in 2020 but will resume in 2021 when you will able to take part by submitting your response through the CDP disclosure platform.

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What happens if I reported through CDP’s platform before but not through carbonn Climate Registry (cCR)?

You can continue reporting as usual. If you report publicly, your data will be shared with ICLEI, for more information on reporting non-publicly please refer to the terms and conditions.

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What happens if I reported through both CDP’s disclosure platform and carbonn Climate Registry (cCR) in 2019?

You now only have to report once through CDP’s disclosure platform, and your data will be shared with ICLEI.

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What happens if I reported through carbonn Climate Registry (cCR) before but not through CDP’s disclosure platform?

You should report through CDP’s disclosure platform in 2020, and the data will be automatically shared with ICLEI. The services you previously received from ICLEI will remain the same and in addition you will receive tools and scoring feedback from CDP.

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How is our historical reporting data handled?

If a local or regional government has reported their data publicly through CDP or cCR already, it will be automatically shared with the other.

Your historical report will be used by ICLEI to show an overview of trends and allow ICLEI to offer specific guidance for scaling up climate action.

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As a reporting subnational state or region, how does this collaboration affect me?

This collaboration does not affect states and regions that have previously reported through CDP’s disclosure platform, including members of the Under2 Coalition, hosted by The Climate Group, or the RegionsAdapt initiative, hosted by nrg4SD.

States and regions that have previously reported through the carbonn Climate Registry will now be invited to report through ourunified reporting system.

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General information | ICLEI CDP collaboration | Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy | ACEEE CDP partnership

Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy

1. What if my city is committed to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy?
2. What if my city is committed to the EU Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy?

What if my city is committed to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy?

Cities committed to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) agree to make key data publicly available via regular reporting in order to track progress in achieving the aims of the alliance.

Our unified reporting system is one of two recognised reporting platforms, along with the My Covenant platform of the EU Covenant of Mayors. It fully integrates GCoM’s Common Reporting Framework (CRF), which means that any data point required by the CRF can be reported through the system.

Once you receive your results and feedback from CDP-ICLEI, any badges will be officially awarded by your Regional Covenant and showcased on the GCoM website.

Please refer to the GCoM-specific FAQ and our ‘How-To’ guidance available in your city’s dashboard for more information.

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What if my city is committed to the EU Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy?

If you are committed to the EU Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, you can either report through the CDP-ICLEI unified reporting system or the My Covenant platform.

If you report through the CDP-ICLEI unified reporting system, your data will be shared with the EU Covenant of Mayors. You will continue to be able to access your online profile and receive all benefits.

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General information | ICLEI CDP collaboration | Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy | ACEEE CDP partnership

ACEEE CDP partnership

CDP and ACEEE partner for ACEEE’s 2020 City Clean Energy Scorecard: FAQs

1. What is the partnership between CDP and ACEEE?
2. Why is this partnership for the 2021 City Clean Energy Scorecard happening?
3. How does this collaboration strengthen subnational data in the United States?
4. What does this mean for the cities invited to participate?

FAQs for invited cities

1. What happens to our data once we report?
2. What happens if I reported through CDP’s platform before but have not previously participated in ACEEE’s City Scorecard?
3. What happens if I have participated in ACEEE’s City Scorecard before but not reported to CDP?
4. How can I check previous responses to ACEEE and update my information?
5. Who do I contact if I need help accessing or responding to the CDP platform?
6. How is our historical data reported to ACEEE handled?
7. What is the timeline for reporting for the 2021 City Clean Energy Scorecard?

CDP and ACEEE partner for ACEEE’s 2021 City Clean Energy Scorecard: FAQs

What is the partnership between CDP and ACEEE?

CDP is partnering with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) on data collection for its City Clean Energy Scorecard; data iscollected through CDP’s platform, which started in 2019. The 100 cities selected are from cities in the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. This data will be included in ACEEE’s 2021 City Clean Energy Scorecard. City staff will receive email invitations to participate from CDP and ACEEE in February 2020.

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Why is this partnership for the 2021 City Clean Energy Scorecard happening?

This partnership builds on the successful partnership started last year for the 2020 City Clean Energy Scorecard. It is intended to improve, standardize and streamline efforts to collect data on how cities are advancing clean energy in their communities. CDP Cities provides a global platform for municipal governments to disclose greenhouse gas emissions, climate change risks, and mitigation and adaptation strategies.The CDP-ICLEI unified reporting system is used by ICEI, Global Covenant of Mayors (GC0M), C40 Cities Leadership Group and WWF, among other partners.

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How does this collaboration strengthen subnational data in the United States?

All data that is reported for cities will be represented in ACEEE’s City Clean Energy Scorecard and posted on ACEEE’s State and Local Policy Database after release. This is the only U.S. assessment of city-led energy and climate actions. It is intended to be a resource for cities and their partners as they seek to track progress and identify peer examples and leading practices. It also eases the reporting burden on cities, especially if they have participated in CDP or any of our partner data collection efforts, as the platform is streamlined and user-friendly. By building partnerships with key partners, CDP is better able to support cities in reporting their environmental data.

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What does this mean for the cities invited to participate?

The 100 cities selected are from the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. They will be invited to submit their city’s information via ACEEE’s data request on CDP’s website, by logging in at www.cdp.net. For cities that have previously reported to CDP, they will be able to access their ACEEE City Clean Energy Scorecard data request from the same dashboard as their CDP response. For cities that have never reported to CDP, they will access their ACEEE Scorecard data request from the CDP dashboard.

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FAQs for invited cities

What happens to our data once we report?

Once a city submits its ACEEE data response to CDP, CDP will pass the information to ACEEE. ACEEE will use this information to produce city scores and analyze local government trends for the 2021 City Clean Energy Scorecard. ACEEE will also post city policies and actions on the Local and State Policy Database after release. Cities will receive an advance copy of the City Scorecard draft report and updated Database to review in Summer 2021.

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What happens if I reported through CDP’s platform before but have not previously participated in ACEEE’s City Scorecard?

The CDP questionnaire and ACEEE scorecard are two separate questionnaires; they are not integrated as currently exists for CDP’s other city data collection efforts like Global Covenant of Mayors (GCOM), etc. The 100 cities targeted for the ACEEE Clean Energy Scorecard will receive an invitation from CDP that ACEEE’s data request has launched in February 2021. Cities can log into CDP’s platform and begin reviewing and updating ACEEE’s data request. ACEEE will have pre-populated some questions with publicly available information or data collected through ACEEE’s external review process, which cities are asked to edit or update alongside.

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What happens if I have participated in ACEEE’s City Scorecard before but not reported to CDP?

The CDP questionnaire and ACEEE scorecard are two separate questionnaires. Cities invited to participate in ACEEE’s City Clean Energy Scorecard have an option to additionally participate in CDP’s annual questionnaire disclosure. ACEEE’s data request will be available on CDP’s platform. The data request will include pre-populated data from previous editions of the ACEEE City Clean Energy Scorecard. Cities will be asked to review and update this information as needed.

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How can I check previous responses to ACEEE and update my information?

CDP will send participating cities’ staff invitations to log into the platform. Once logged in, cities will be able to see information from their city pre-populated in the data request. This information has been collected from ACEEE as part of past editions of the City Clean Energy Scorecard. Cities will need to review the information, edit or update any misrepresentations, and fill in any gaps.

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Who do I contact if I need help accessing or responding to the CDP platform?

Please email CDP ([email protected]) for queries relating to the disclosure platform or ACEEE (Kate Tanabe, [email protected]) for questions relating to ACEEE and/or the data request.

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How is our historical data reported to ACEEE handled?

ACEEE has pre-populated the data platform with the most current information that you have previously submitted to ACEEE or that it has collected about your city. The goal of this effort is to make sure that data is updated this year.

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What is the timeline for reporting for the 2020 City Clean Energy Scorecard?

ACEEE’s data request for the 2021 City Clean Energy Scorecard will launch on CDP’s online platform in February 2021. Included cities will receive an invitation then and will be able to log onto the platform to begin review. The deadline to submit in 2021 will be March 12th, 2021 at 11:59 pm PST. If you have any questions about the upcoming timeline, please email [email protected] directly.

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