CDP splits into two separate bodies

Disclosure platform to sell commercial arm to private equity firm

CDP has announced it will spin off its commercial activities into a private equity-owned company. 

The environmental disclosure platform announced today that it will split into two separate organisations: CDP and CDP Foundation. 

The former will be majority-owned by private equity house Permira, and will oversee the environmental data and disclosure services CDP is best known for. 

It’s understood that Permira will provide the new entity with a cash injection as part of the deal. 

“For disclosers and data users, this means a more focused CDP with greater capacity to invest in the tools, data services and insights they rely on to assess risk, build resilience and inform sustainability strategy,” said CDP in a statement. 

It added that CDP was “sharpening its focus, enabling stronger science-led disclosure and greater investment in technology to simplify the disclosure experience and deliver more decision-useful insights”.

Meanwhile, the CDP Foundation will remain a charitable organisation, but will focus on driving “the strategic principles for disclosure”. 

“The CDP Foundation will look beyond standard market practice, harnessing frontier environmental indicators aligned to planetary health, to drive impact,” it said in a statement on Thursday

“This new model provides the Foundation with the agency to focus on the needs of the planet, channeling them through the world’s most comprehensive and pioneering disclosure system.”

CDP Foundation will be a shareholder of the commercial CDP venture, and will be represented on its board. 

Tough times 

Founded in 2000, CDP became the go-to reporting platform for companies wishing to satisfy investor appetite for information on emissions, forestry and water. 

Its scores and data have served as the basis for many third-party ESG ratings, shareholder engagement efforts and investment criteria. 

But in recent years, the organisation has been crowded out by regulatory reporting standards and other initiatives.  

Thermo Fisher Scientific’s sustainability director recently revealed that it may stop applying for a CDP score, because science-based targets are now a “clearer signal of ambition”, and regulation has made some of the disclosures duplicative. 

Writing on LinkedIn, Matthew Yamatin said the biotech firm would still provide core climate data to the platform, to meet customers’ demands, claiming the move “could reduce resourcing by 75%, freeing up 80+ hours to focus on actual impact”.

Some consultants in the social media discussion said “stepping away from CDP is coming up more and more” with companies. 

CDP has historically been funded through a combination of customer fees and philanthropy. 

Last year, it announced a restructure to become “leaner” and reduce the reporting burden on companies.