Using CDP’s Disclosure Platform - Companies
For disclosure on climate change, forests, water security and supply chain
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Contents
Contents ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Version Control............................................................................................................................ 4
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 5
Troubleshooting & using Help Center support ............................................................................. 5
The basics ................................................................................................................................... 6
Register, confirm, and sign in ................................................................................................... 6
Your Response dashboard ...................................................................................................... 7
Changing language ................................................................................................................ 10
Guidance tool ......................................................................................................................... 11
My Account ............................................................................................................................ 12
Organization details (Main users only) ................................................................................... 14
User types ............................................................................................................................. 15
Changing the Main User ........................................................................................................ 17
Adding new users .................................................................................................................. 18
Removing users ..................................................................................................................... 19
Your request(s) – getting started ............................................................................................... 20
What are you being requested to do? .................................................................................... 20
Who has requested your participation? .................................................................................. 20
New authorities (from 2022) ................................................................................................... 20
When is the deadline? ........................................................................................................... 22
Activating your questionnaire(s) ................................................................................................ 22
Your dashboard after activating your questionnaire(s) ........................................................... 27
Your Online Response System (ORS) .......................................................................................... 29
The ORS homepage .............................................................................................................. 29
Navigating the ORS ............................................................................................................... 30
Accessing guidance ............................................................................................................... 32
Saving your response ............................................................................................................ 32
Copy Forward ........................................................................................................................ 33
Audit Log ............................................................................................................................... 34
Cultural settings ..................................................................................................................... 36
Introduction module(s) ........................................................................................................... 38
Leading questions .................................................................................................................. 38
Question types and additional question features .................................................................... 39
Framework alignment ............................................................................................................ 46
Further information ................................................................................................................. 46
Sharing your response ........................................................................................................... 47
Signing out ............................................................................................................................. 47
To return to the ORS .............................................................................................................. 48
Export your response(s) from the ORS ...................................................................................... 48
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Export to Word ....................................................................................................................... 48
Export to Excel ....................................................................................................................... 49
Reviewing questions in your Excel export .............................................................................. 50
How to edit your Excel export ................................................................................................ 50
Import your response (s) to the ORS ......................................................................................... 53
Excel import best practice: ..................................................................................................... 55
Submitting your response(s) ...................................................................................................... 55
Administrative fee .................................................................................................................. 55
Pre-submission checklist........................................................................................................ 55
Making your submission choices ............................................................................................ 56
How to submit your response (Main User only) ...................................................................... 56
Submission confirmation ........................................................................................................ 58
Later submission of your Supply Chain Questions (Main User only) ...................................... 58
Submission troubleshooting ................................................................................................... 58
Your dashboard after submitting your response ..................................................................... 60
Accessing your submitted response .......................................................................................... 61
In the ORS as a snapshotted response .................................................................................. 61
As a formatted response from Scores and Responses .......................................................... 62
Amending your response ....................................................................................................... 63
Further help ............................................................................................................................... 65
Using our new Help Center ....................................................................................................... 65
Knowledge Base articles ........................................................................................................ 66
My Support ............................................................................................................................ 67
Appendix I: Cultural Settings ..................................................................................................... 69
Appendix II: Questions with grouped options ............................................................................. 71
Appendix III: Mandatory questions............................................................................................. 72
Appendix IV: Rich text questions ............................................................................................... 73
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Version Control
Version Nr.
Revision Date
Released
Revision Summary
5.0
March 2021
March 2021
Updates for 2021.
5.1
August 2021
August 2021
Update to detail the senior stakeholder
field as editable (page 15)
Update to wording of submitting supply
chain module (pages 58-59)
5.2
December 2021
December 2021
URLs updated
6.0
March 2022
April 2022
New authority additions, submission
changes, additional guidance on imports
and exports, references to and guidance
on how to use our new Help Center
(page 65).
6.1
April 2022
April 2022
Addition of recommended internet
browsers supportive of the ORS (page
5).
7.0
March 2023
April 2023
Updates for 2023, references to useful
Help Center articles, admin fee changes
and removal of the EU pact question.
7.1
April 2023
April 2023
Copy forward exclusion list link updated.
7.2
May 2023
May 2023
Reporting date limits for introduction
module updated.
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Guide to using the disclosure platform
Introduction
Organizations are asked to respond to information requests from their stakeholders using CDP’s
disclosure platform. This is the only way to provide the requested data to CDP and the
requesting stakeholders. Organizations that do not receive a request to respond to their
stakeholders can also choose to respond as a self-selected company (SSC) by completing the SSC
registration form.
CDP’s disclosure platform consists of the dashboard and the Online Response System (ORS):
1) The dashboard is a portal containing information regarding which questionnaires your company
is being requested to respond to and a link to activate these, your user account page, the Guidance
tool and where relevant, supply chain member, reporter services member and investor dashboards.
2) The ORS is where you input information into your questionnaire(s) and submit your response.
This platform guidance document contains comprehensive instructions on how to navigate your CDP
dashboard and how to use and disclose via our Online Response System. If you require further
support or guidance, please refer to the next section on Troubleshooting or visit our Help Center.
Troubleshooting & using Help Center support
If you are experiencing difficulties using the platform (i.e. error messages on the website), we advise
you to follow these steps before contacting CDP:
1. Sign out of the ORS and the CDP website
2. Refresh your browser and try signing in again to your CDP account again
3. Whitelist/allow the following email domains to be accessed by your browser or organization:
cdp.net; cdpidentity.okta.com and cdp.credit360.com
4. Sign in again using one of the recommended browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge,
Apple Safari or Mozilla Firefox
Please note, we recommend you clear your cache only if you have been advised by CDP or if you're
having issues with loading your questionnaire.
If you are still experiencing issues, please visit our Help Center, where you can browse our
knowledge articles created to support your disclosure with CDP. For example, you may find the
following articles useful:
- Troubleshooting ORS/questionnaire loading issues
- How to clear your browser cache
- Questionnaire guidance for companies
- Scoring guidance for companies
If you have not found what you are looking for, please contact us via My Support. Please note, you
will need to be signed in to access My Support. Once you are signed in, you can access the Help
Center via the link at the top of the page on CDP’s website. Please see the section on using our new
Help Center for more guidance.
When contacting us regarding a platform issue, please provide us with details of the issue and
screenshots of any error messages. Alternatively, you can contact your local CDP contact or
Account Manager, details of which you can find at the bottom of the dashboard.
We recommend you use Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari or Mozilla Firefox
when accessing the Online Response System (ORS). Microsoft Internet Explorer will no longer
be supported from June 2022.
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The basics
Register, confirm, and sign in
At the start of each disclosure cycle CDP sends an invitation email to nominated contacts at
organizations requested to respond by stakeholders including investors, banks, and/or customers,
and self-selected organizations, with relevant information and an activation link.
If this is the first time you have used CDP, either because it is the first time your organization is
participating, or the first time you are responsible for supplying information on behalf of your
organization, the activation link will take you to the registration page (where you set up your
CDP account and create your password).
If you responded to a CDP questionnaire in a previous year, or you have registered via the
website independently, you will be in our database and the activation link will take you to the
sign in page (where you can sign in using your existing password).
If you are a new user and have not received an invitation email with the registration link to
respond for your organization, please complete this Join an Organization form in order to be
added as a new contact for your organization.
If you are using the activation link to register for the first time, please create a password, complete
the captcha, confirm you have read the terms & conditions/privacy policy and click ‘Register’. Your
email address, organization, and name will be prepopulated:
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After creating your password and clicking ‘Register’, you will be redirected to the screen shown
below. Next, you must complete your registration using the confirmation link emailed to the address
you used to create your CDP account. Please remember to check your junk or spam mail.
If you have not received the confirmation after 30 minutes, please use the Resend registration or
confirmation link, also found on the sign in page.
Clicking the confirmation link in the email will redirect you to the sign in page on the CDP website
where you will see a red notification banner. You can now sign in using the password you just
created.
To access your dashboard once registered, you can simply go to
https://www.cdp.net/en/users/sign_in, or www.cdp.net and click on ‘Sign in’ on the top right-hand
corner of the screen.
Your Response dashboard
If you are a nominated contact for the current disclosure cycle, once you have registered your
account and after signing in, you will see your response dashboard as shown below.
If you have any problems registering, if you have not received the invitation email, or would like
your organization to volunteer to respond, please contact our support team via My Support in
the Help Center or contact your local CDP contact or Account Manager.
Please note that you should not copy and paste your email or password into the fields as spaces
that may be copied in will mean your details are not recognized.
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The main page contains various features:
1. Help Center: link to our new Help Center, where you can find knowledge articles to support
you with your disclosure and contact our support team via My Support.
2. Language and location: allows you to change your dashboard language and update your
geographical location.
3. Initials icon and account menu: clicking either the initials icon or ‘account menu’
displays the menu to navigate between:
My account: check your details, change your password, update your cultural settings
and pay the disclosure administrative fee (if applicable).
Response Dashboard: view your organization’s current requests, administrative fee
status, previous responses and files.
Guidance tool: access guidance materials across themes.
Sign out.
Main Users will see two extra options in the menu:
Organization Details: check and update details for your organization such as website
and address.
Primary Activity: view the classification for your company, and if applicable change.
4. Jump to… menu: use this to navigate to different sections of the dashboard.
5. CDP theme tiles: indicate the questionnaire themes that your organization is requested to
complete:
If you are requested the tile is clear and the arrow is colored.
If you are not officially requested, the tile is greyed out, ‘Volunteer’ will show at the bottom
of the tile for the Main User, and you can opt in.
Main User
options only
Click to
open menu
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6. Users block: displays all users associated to the current questionnaire and indicates your
permissions concerning the current questionnaire and indicates your permissions
concerning the current questionnaires. See the ‘User types’ section for more on user
permissions.
7. Payment block: If you have an investor request or are volunteering (self-selected
company) to respond to a questionnaire and your organization has an administrative
fee applicable for this year you will see the payment block when you sign in. You will
need to pay this before you can submit your questionnaire(s) as detailed here.
For more information on the administrative fee, please see our admin fee FAQ page.
For information on how to pay your administrative fee, please see our admin fee guidance.
8. Theme blocks: confirm your participation, access the ORS (after confirming participation),
and see which stakeholders have invited you to complete a specific questionnaire.
9. Scores and responses: a list of all questionnaires that your organization has been
requested to participate in, past (2010 onwards only) and present. You can click on the
response name to view any questionnaires that were submitted. If you would like
participation information for your organization before 2010 please contact your account
manager, local CDP contact or contact us via our Help Center.
10. Announcements block: important news and updates related to CDP and CDP initiatives
11. My Files: allows you to access any score feedback information available for your
organization. Additional files may be added in the future.
12. Search for Corporate Responses: search participation history for your, or any other,
organization.
13. Need help icon and information: contact details of your account manager, or local CDP
contact, that you should contact if you have any queries. Otherwise, please contact our
support team via My Support in our new Help Center.
Changing language
The plaform and the Online Respons System (ORS) is set up in all CDPs langauges including
English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese. If you wish to change
the language in which you see your dashboard and the ORS, you can do this from your dashboard
using the Language drop-down. You may need to sign out of the ORS, and enter it again from the
dashboard, for the change to occur.
Note: you can also adjust the display of dates, decimal places and thousand separators through
Cultural Settings. Please refer to the section on Changing your cultural settings for more guidance
on this.
You can continue to answer your questionnaire(s) in English even if you are viewing the
questionnaire in another language.
Click ‘Volunteer’ to be directed to the information page on how to request
participation in that specific questionnaire.
From 2023, responses submitted in English, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and
Spanish will be eligible for scoring provided all other scoring criteria are met.
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Guidance tool
To access the corporate guidance tool, which contains all of CDP’s corporate guidance documents,
recorded webinars, and translations, you will first need to sign in to the CDP website. Then, go to
your initials icon menu, and click ‘Guidance tool’:
The guidance tool enables you to search for guidance by:
Program: here you can filter CDP’s guidance by the theme to which you are responding to and
by year (e.g. Climate Change 2023).
Category: here you can specify the type of guidance you are looking for (e.g. ‘Questionnaires’,
‘Reporting Guidance’, ‘Scoring documents’, ‘Technical information’, ‘Recorded webinars’, etc.).
Keyword: if you already know what you are looking for, you can also search by keyword here.
List: scroll through an alphabetical list of guidance documents before or after refining your
search.
To access translated documents, please see the instructions on the guidance tool page.
You can also access a selection of CDP’s guidance and resources via the public guidance page.
You can access this by clicking on the ‘Guidance & Questionnaires’ link on the top right of the
dashboard screen or CDP website, then select the ‘Guidance for Companies page. You can also
access guidance documents from the expanded CDP thematic blocks:
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My Account
This page allows you to review your personal details, change your password, and (if applicable)
review payments for your organization.
Open your account page from the drop-down menu shown when you click on either:
Account menu or
Your initials icon
Your details
On the My Account page you can edit the following details:
First name
Last name
Business phone
Job title
Your cultural settings
Preferred email language (Please note that we cannot guarantee that our communications will
be sent in your preferred language.)
To edit any of these fields, make your changes and then click “Update details”.
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Your details
On the My Account page you can edit the following details:
First name
Last name
Business phone
Job title
Your cultural settings
Preferred email language (Please note that we cannot guarantee that our communications will
be sent in your preferred language.)
To edit any of these fields, make your changes and then click “Update details”.
On the My Account page can view the following details:
Email
Organization
To update these fields please contact us via My Support in the Help Center or contact your local
CDP contact.
Changing your password
On the My Account page, you can change your password.
You must provide your current password, your new password, and confirm your new password,
before clicking ‘Update password’.
After clicking “Update password” you will see a confirmation banner and will be redirected to the
CDP’s main website page:
Use the menu to return to your preferred page, e.g. Response Dashboard page (where you can
access the questionnaire).
There is also a ‘Forgotten your password?’ link on the sign in page.
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Payments
On the My Account page, you can review payments for your organization if your organization is
eligible for a fee. For more guidance on how to pay your administrative fee, please see here.
Please note, from 2023 CDP has made some changes to the administrative fee. For more
information on this, please see our admin fee FAQs.
Organization details (Main users only)
This page allows you to check the information that we have about your organization.
If you are the main user, open the organization details page from the drop-down menu shown when
you click on either:
Account menu or
Your initials icon
On the organization details page, you can view the following details:
your organization’s operation headquarters country.
If this field is incorrect, please contact your account manager, local CDP contact, or contact us via
our Help Center to update.
On the organization details page, you can edit the following details:
your organization’s website address
your organization’s Twitter name
your organization’s Senior Stakeholder
your organization’s addresses: See editing your organization’s addresses
If your organization’s country of operational headquarters is not populated, you
must make a selection in order to proceed with activating your questionnaire.
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Remember to click “Save” when you make any changes to your details or addresses.
After clicking “Save” you will see a confirmation banner and will be redirected to your dashboard:
Editing your organization’s addresses
You can add, edit, and remove your organization’s addresses on the organization details page. You
can have a maximum of 2 saved address.
To delete a saved address: Click ‘Remove address’
To change a saved address: Click ‘Edit’
To add a new address:
1. Click ‘Add new address’
2. Fill in all the fields. Fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory
3. Click ‘Update’. You must do this before trying to save.
User types
There are three user types, each with different permissions. User types are for the current year only,
therefore the listed contacts will not automatically be those user types the following year(s). This
means that main user from previous year will need to sign up for this role again at the beginning of
each disclosure cycle if they are still the appropriate contact. For further information please read the
User FAQs. There is no limit to the number of users that can be added to your account.
You can check the user types of contacts at your organization by expanding the ‘Users’ block on the
response dashboard:
Remember to click “Save” when you make any changes to your addresses.
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These are the permissions associated with each user type:
Main User:
The Main User is responsible for your organization’s response(s). There can only be one Main
User per organization and year. The Main User can:
access the response(s) in the ORS
enter, edit and save data
import and export data in the ORS
generate and share a ‘read only’ link
pay the administrative fee (only user with this permission)
submit the questionnaires (only user with this permission)
The Main User also controls user access rights to the ORS on behalf of the organization via
the user block. If you are the Main User, you can add or remove contacts for the current year.
You can also change the roles of users and nominate a new main user.
As the Main User, your contact details (name and email) will be stored in CDP’s systems for
record management.
Please note that the Main User for a questionnaire must always be a representative of
that organization and should not be a consultant. Consultants can be contributors.
Main User
functions only
Listed
contacts
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Changing the Main User
If you are the current Main User, go to the Users section of your dashboard and select ‘Make
Main User’ to nominate a contributor to become the Main User. They will receive an email
notification with instructions to follow and your role will change to contributor.
If the questionnaire has been activated but there is not currently a Main User and you are a
contributor, in the Users section you can click ‘Become Main User’. You will then be requested
to complete a confirmation screen.
Contributor(s):
Contributors can:
access the response(s) in the ORS
enter, edit and save data
import and export data in the ORS
generate and share a ‘read only’ link.
Contributors cannot to submit a response. Contributors can collaborate with multiple
colleagues, who can all directly access the ORS.
There is no limit on the number of Contributors and this type of user is suitable for a
consultant. For further information please read the User FAQs.
View Only user(s):
View only users can view responses in the ORS. View only users can be assigned to
colleagues for review or sign off purposes. They can export responses but cannot enter, save,
or submit data in the ORS.
There is no limit on the number of View only users. For further information please read the
User FAQs.
Subsidiary contact:
This type of user role is only relevant where a parent company is responding on behalf of a
To become the Main User for your organization, please follow the steps outlined in
step 3 of ‘Activating your questionnaire’.
If your questionnaire is already activated see the section on changing the main user.
If the original Main User has left the organization please contact your CDP Account
Manager, local CDP contact, or contact us via our Help Center to update this.
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subsidiary company who has also been requested to respond to CDP. Contacts from the
subsidiary organization will have this user role and will be listed on the Users block but will
only be able to see the thematic blocks of the parent company. Users with this role do not
have access to the ORS and cannot activate or contribute to the company’s response(s).
If a subsidiary contact requires access to the ORS they can request the Main User to change
their role to contributor via CDP.
Please note that subsidiary contacts will see information in the ‘Scores and Responses’
section relating to their own company, not their parent company.
Adding new users
Main Users can add new users to the invitation via the user block on their dashboard. You can see
if you are the Main User when you expand the user block. If you are the Main User you will also see
the ‘Add New User’ button:
To add a new user (Main User only):
1. click ‘Add New User’
2. complete all the fields and select whether you want the user to be a Contributor or a View
Only contact
3. click ‘send invite’
4. You will see a banner notification at the top and the new user will receive an email notifying
that they have been added as a user and instructions to register, with the Main User in copy.
The new user will now appear in the Users block.
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Removing users
Main Users can remove users from the invitation via the Users block on their dashboard. You can
see if you are the Main User when you expand the user block.
To remove a user (Main User only):
1. Expand the Users block
2. Click ‘Remove User’ next for the contact you want to remove
3. Click ‘OK’ on the confirmation screen
4. The removed user will receive an email notifying that their access has been removed, with
the Main User in copy.
The user will no longer appear in the Users block nor have access to the ORS.
You can only add new users to the current year’s invitation whilst the ORS is open. You
cannot add any new users to the dashboard once the ORS has closed for the year. If you
need to update your details outside of this period, please contact us via our Help Center.
The steps below will remove the user’s access to the CDP disclosure platform. If the user
needs to be removed from your organization please contact us via My Support in the
Help Center or contact your Account Manager or local CDP contact.
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Your request(s) – getting started
Organizations need to activate their questionnaire(s) each year and for each requested theme
(climate change, water security and/or forests). CDP will notify you when this can be done.
What are you being requested to do?
As explained in the ‘Your response dashboard’ section, you can see which questionnaire(s) you are
requested to respond to via the thematic tiles. You will also only see theme blocks for the
questionnaires you are requested to complete.
Who has requested your participation?
In the theme block you can see who has requested you to provide environmental information for that
thematic questionnaire.
Click “All requests” to find details on which stakeholders have requested you.
You may have been requested by:
Panel of 745+ CDP’s investor signatories; and/or
Customers: organizations are requested by their customer(s) – one or more of CDP’s Supply
Chain Member(s).
New authorities (from 2022)
RE100 – requests for companies signed up to the RE100 initiative, Climate Change
questionnaire only
Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM) – requests for financial institutions, Climate
Change questionnaire only
The Banks Program – requests from your bank lender specifically, any questionnaire theme
To expand the block, click All requests. To view the full list of your requesting authorities, click “More
information”, which will provide you with a table view of all of the requests for the theme of the block
you are in.
Where can you find information on your requesting stakeholders?
Click “All requests” to find details on which stakeholders have requested you. You will be able to see
which particular Customer and/or Bank requested you.
You will also be able to contact your requesting stakeholders from this menu.
If you are responding as a Self-selected company, you will see the information for
submission to CDP’s investor signatories.
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All requests – logo view
More information - list view
By clicking more information you will be able to see the full list of all your requesting authorities.
The list view will show five columns. Hover over the icon for more information on each
column.
the names of the requesting authority
the authority type
the date each request was added
the authority’s email address
the name of the requested organization (this may be your subsidiary company).
You can sort the list view by any of the four columns by clicking on the column header.
You can download a copy of the list view to a CSV file by clicking the download button.
Authority logo or name will display here
Authority names and dates will display here
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When is the deadline?
The deadlines are shown in the relevant theme block:
Activating your questionnaire(s)
Organizations need to activate their questionnaire(s) each year before they can start responding to
the questionnaire. Follow the below steps to activate your response.
Step 1: Get Started
Organizations need to confirm participation before they can access their questionnaire.
1. Click Get Started in the questionnaire block. Any contributor can confirm participation.
2. Confirm whether you intend to submit a response by either ticking the intention box, clicking
Confirm or clicking Not sure yet to choose this later via your dashboard.
You will see this pop-up if you are confirming participation to the climate change or water
security questionnaire. Please note, there is only one option to submit to all authorities or
none this year. Therefore, you cannot choose to submit to one authority but not another.
If you have arranged an extension with CDP this will also be displayed here.
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You will see the below pop-up with additional commodities question options to select if you are
confirming participation to the Forests questionnaire:
Step 2: Confirm Main User
You will be asked to confirm if you are the Main User for your organization. Read the provided
information on the responsibilities of the Main User. If you are the nominated Main User tick that
you are authorized to be the Main User and click ‘OK’.
If you click ‘not be the Main User’ you will be redirected back to the corporate/response dashboard.
Your ‘Users’ block will show you as a ‘Contributor’ and you will need to wait until the Main User has
confirmed participation to continue. The person that should be the Main User can continue the
Participation confirmation can be changed from the response
dashboard by the main user or contributor (if no main user).
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process from step 3. Once the Main User has confirmed participation you can continue straight to
the ORS.
If you change your mind and do wish to be the Main User, click ‘Continue’ in the theme block to carry
on from step 2 to 3.
Step 3: Check organization details
The next page is your ‘Check organization details’ page.
If your organization’s operational headquarters are not populated, you must make a selection in
order to proceed.
Organization Website and Twitter name can be viewed or edited.
Senior stakeholder information can be viewed and edited.
Addresses can be edited. More details available here.
Please confirm the information is correct and click ‘Next’:
Step 4: Confirm questionnaire version
The next step is to confirm your organization’s revenue and/or the version of the questionnaire
you will complete, either minimum or full.
If you use the ‘Return to dashboard’ link, the theme block will show that you have
confirmed participation and will have a ‘Continue’ button for you to complete your
organization details later.
If the operation headquarters are incorrect, please contact us via My
Support in the Help Center or contact your Account Manager or local CDP
contact.
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If your organization needs to confirm its revenue you will see the screen below:
If you click ‘Yes’ OR you are responding for the first time for this theme (climate change,
forests or water security) you will be given the option to choose between the full or minimum
version of the questionnaire.
If you click ‘No’ AND you are not responding for the first time for this theme you will see a
message informing you that you will be completing the Full version.
If your organization is not eligible to complete the minimum version, you will not see
these pages (skip to step 5).
No sector-specific questions are included in the minimum version. Responses to the
minimum version will only be scored in certain circumstances. Please see our
Scoring Introduction for more information on scoring eligibility.
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If you use the ‘Return to dashboard’ link at this stage, the theme block will show that you have
confirmed participation and will have a ‘Next’ button at the previous stage for you to continue
later.
Step 5: Select or review your organization’s CDP-ACS
The final page contains information on your organization’s classification and questionnaire
sector. Please see the FAQ for more information about CDP’s activity classification system
(CDP-ACS).
You will see one of the following versions of this page depending on your organization’s status:
If CDP has already classified your organization, you will see your organization’s primary
questionnaire sector and primary CDP-ACS activity. If applicable, you will see any
subsequent classifications and sectors.
If you are responding to your customers or the Banks program only and your organization
has not been classified, you need to select your organization’s CDP-ACS.
1. Select your organization’s Industry, Activity Group, and Primary Activity
2. Once selected you can see which sector specific questions you need to answer in the
information below the table.
If you are responding only to investors, RE100 or NZAM, please contact your account
manager or local CDP contact to discuss changing your Primary Activity.
If you are responding to customers or the Banks program only, you can change your
primary activity by clicking Change primary activity and following the steps.
Option for users responding
to customers only
If you are eligible to complete the minimum version, the main user can change your
selected tier at any stage prior to submission via your questionnaire block.
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3. Once selected Start Questionnaire button will turn red and you can move forward.
Step 6: Start questionnaire
Clicking Enter Questionnaire opens your questionnaire in the Online Response System (ORS)
in a new tab or window.
Your dashboard after activating your questionnaire(s)
Back on your dashboard your theme block will now look like a version of this:
Click banner to expand
Date and tick when completed
If you are responding to your customers or the Banks program only, the main user
can change the classification via the ‘primary activity’ page in the account menu.
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Changing participation confirmation
Main Users (and Contributors if there is not yet a Main User) can change the answers for
participation confirmation any time before submitting.
1. Click Change Answers
2. Make changes
3. Click Confirm
4. If successful, you will see a red banner: ‘Success! Participation intentions saved’.
Changing questionnaire version
Main Users can change the selected questionnaire version between the full and minimum version,
if your organization is eligible, any time before submitting.
1. Select the version you want to complete (Full or Minimum)
2. Click save
3. If successful, you will see a red banner: ‘Success! Questionnaire version updated. Please
launch the questionnaire again to update the ORS’.
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Your Online Response System (ORS)
Clicking ‘Enter Questionnaire’ on the theme block will take you to the ORS. The ORS opens in a new
tab or window, therefore please ensure that pop-up blockers are switched off.
The ORS homepage
The first page you see is the ‘Welcome’ page for that questionnaire:
You can see the following main features here that you will also see throughout the ORS:
1. Exit ORS: signs you out of the ORS. You can then close that tab or window. Please note,
you may still be signed into the dashboard.
2. Dashboard links: link back to the relevant parts of your dashboard, where you can perform
the action required.
3. Save, share, and Submit: depending on your user type you may see all, some, or none of
these permissions. See the ‘User types’ section for more on user permissions. Using ‘Save’
displays a warning for parts of questionnaire not yet completed, or that have an error.
Please note that it can take up to a minute for the questionnaire to load up.
9
1
6
10
7
5
3
2
4
8
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4. Import Answers/Export Response: These buttons allow users to export and import the
questionnaire, including all responses entered, as a Word or Excel document. Please see
the Exports and Imports section below for more information.
5. Audit Log: This button takes the user to the audit log. It allows users to track all changes
made in the ORS by any user. Please see the Audit Log section below for more information.
6. Floating blue progress bar: This indicates the number of questions you have saved an
answer for so that you can track your progress. Depending on your answers, the total number
of questions may fluctuate. This is for your own tracking purposes only, you can submit
your response even if the progress bar is not at 100%. Some questions are not counted in
the progress bar, however questions on the ‘Submit your response’ page are counted.
7. Navigation menu: Click the arrow and use the menu to jump between modules and pages.
It will also show you which sections have unanswered questions.
8. Previous, Next, and skip buttons: for moving between neighboring pages or skipping to
the start or end of the questionnaire. You should use these rather than your browser buttons.
Make sure your page is saved before moving on. The ‘Submit your response’ page has a
greyed out Next button as there is no next page.
9. Questionnaire version: The questionnaire version that you are completing (full or minimum)
will display here.
10. Copy Forward: If you submitted a response to the 2022, 2021, 2020 or 2019 questionnaire,
your answers have been auto-populated in to your 2023 questionnaire where applicable.
This icon will show for answers that have auto populated: See the copy forward section
below for more information.
Please review the auto-populated answers carefully. It is your responsibility to ensure your
answers are updated for the accuracy and completeness of your 2023 response.
Navigating the ORS
Users can navigate around the ORS in two ways:
Navigation menu:
Clicking on the ‘Navigation’ button will open a menu on the left detailing the questionnaire
sections available. Click on the relevant section to be taken directly to that page. The navigation
menu will auto-hide after you click your destination or if you click the cross in the corner.
Contact your account manager, local CDP contact, or contact us via the Help Center
if you see the message:
It looks like something went wrong with the setup of your questionnaire. Please
contact CDP.
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The navigation menu has a tab which shows the number of unanswered questions within each
section in red. Select the ‘All unanswered’ button to display how many unanswered questions
there are in each section. You can expand the sections to see a further breakdown within
subsections. Depending on your answers, the number of questions may fluctuate. Please note,
the number refers to unanswered questions rather than individual cells or data points. This is for
your own tracking purposes only and you do not need to answer all questions in order to
submit.
Navigation buttons:
You can use the ‘Previous’ and ‘Next’ buttons under the progress bar to move between pages
(see below in orange). The skip buttons (see below in green) allow you to jump to the ORS
homepage and the submission page.
No. of unanswered
questions in section
Click to
expand
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Please make sure you save regularly, before moving page and before logging out, as unsaved
data cannot be recovered.
Accessing guidance
Reporting guidance
Throughout each thematic questionnaire, you can access that theme’s reporting guidance via ‘Click
here for guidance for this question’. When you click the option, choose the question number you are
interested in and a new tab or window will open with the relevant guidance.
Information icon
For questions which are ‘Select all that apply’, you can also click the information icon for further
guidance.
Saving your response
‘Save’ button
The save button is located on the top left corner of each page. Please click the ‘Save’ button
regularly, before moving page and before logging out, and particularly after entering significant
data or attaching/removing documents. If you are planning to leave the response inactive, please
use the ‘Save’ button before moving away, as the system may time-out after a long period of inactivity
and data would subsequently be lost.
It is advisable to do this frequently to avoid the loss of data, e.g. due to time-outs. The green pop up
messages, as shown below, will confirm once your data has been saved.
The guidance link will always open in English. To change the language when
the link opens, click “language” in the top-right corner.
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Autosave
There is an autosave function in the ORS in addition to the ‘Save’ button. The icon will
appear next to questions where you entered data as you move through a page.
Please do continue to use the ‘Save’ button when entering large amounts of data, adding or removing
attachments, navigating through pages, and before exiting the ORS.
In addition to the green ‘Saved’ icon, you may see a blue ‘Save in Progress’ icon.
Please wait for that icon to change to the saved icon before continuing. If it does not change,
there may be an issue with your internet connection or your log in session may have timed out, and
the data you have recently entered will not be saved. Please sign out of the ORS and sign back in
to continue with your response.
Copy Forward
If you submitted a response to the 2022, 2021 or 2020 questionnaire, your most recent answers
have been auto-populated into your 2023 questionnaire where applicable. A copy forward icon
will show for auto-populated answers. Once the response has been copied into your questionnaire,
you can add, edit and amend the data as necessary.
When you click the copy forward icon you will see an overlay of your previous answers from the last
year that you reported. In the overlay you will see the previously reported answers even if they are
not copy forward.
Any question marked with a red cross cannot be copied forward. Either the question
is not configured to allow copy, or the row/column no longer exists in the survey.
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If you did not previously submit a response to a question or this is a new question no answers will
copy forward. If you click the copy forward icon a message will appear outlining that no previous
answers have been found.
Not all questions are suitable for copy forward. Comments are not auto-populated, however, if you
press the copy forward icon, the comment from your previous response can be manually copied
forward. Attachments cannot be copied forward.
Click ‘Copy previous response’ to manually copy your answer into this year’s questionnaire. If you
have edited the question already for 2022 clicking ‘Copy previous response’ will override the data
already entered.
Please be aware that if a de-selection is made for a leading question in the current year
questionnaire, follow up questions may still contain the prior year response and will need to
be edited, as necessary.
Please review auto-populated answers carefully, it is your responsibility to ensure your answers are
updated for the accuracy and completeness of your response.
CDP has tried to ensure copy forward from your previous response is available where possible,
however, some questions have been modified from last year’s questionnaire, and therefore not all
fields may copy over. As a result, your data might only be available on specific fields within table
questions. We encourage you to double check the response after copying to ensure
that the response is complete and up to date.
Please see the ORS Copy Forward exclusions list for a full list of the datapoints in the questionnaires
which do not have the Copy Forward functionality enabled.
Audit Log
The Audit Log button is located at the top of the screen, there are two elements to the Audit Log:
Answer Audit log
Workflow Audit log
The Audit Log button is located at the top left of the screen, the user can see all changes made to
the full response.
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Answer Audit log
The Answer Audit log displays all changes made to the answers in a response. In the Answer Audit
Log the following will show:
Date – the date the change was made
Time – the time the change was made
User – the name of the user who made the change will display
Source – where the change was made. UI (User Interface) if a user has made the change
directly in the ORS. excel Import or Copy Forward campaign if these functions were used.
Question – the question which was changed. If it is for a table question, then the column
name will also be displayed.
Change type – the type of change made. This could be option added, option removed or
value
Previous value – the previous answer for the question. This can be blank if it is the first time
a change is made
Change – the new answer for this question
You can view the Audit Log for a specific question. This allows you to see all the changes made to
one question. Select the Audit log icon next to a question to view this.
Workflow Audit Log
The workflow audit log shows changes to the overall status of your response. Once you have made
a change to the whole of your response e.g. you have submitted then workflow audit log will be
updated, and the summary column will show this transition from Draft to Submitted. The User column
shows who has made the change. Note that ‘API_User’ is when CDP has made a change to the
overall status of your response due to a request from a user, e.g. the response was re-opened or
amended.
In this page you can view your response for each time the whole response was submitted by
selecting ‘‘View’’ in the row of the submission you are interested in. Please note that this will be a
static, view only response. Any changes made to tags won’t be reflected in this view.
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Cultural settings
Cultural settings allow you to choose how data is formatted and displayed in the ORS. Cultural
settings are only applied in the ORS and affect how numbers and dates are displayed to you only.
These settings do not apply to your formatted response or the dates on the dashboard.
In the ORS you will see the following question types adapt to the cultural setting selected:
Date questions: Dates will be displayed in a format specific to the cultural setting selected. The
cultural setting determines the order of the Days, Months and Years. You can see the format
required in the answer box before an answer is entered. E.g.
Numeric questions: Numbers will be displayed in a format specific to the cultural setting
selected. The cultural setting determines which decimal separator or group separator is used
(i.e. a decimal point or other) and determines which group separator is used (i.e. a comma or
other).
For example, the decimal separator for English (UK) is a decimal point, and the group separator
is a comma. Two-thousand and a half should be entered and displayed as 2,000.5
If you change the culture setting to French (France), the decimal separator is a comma, and the
group separator is a space. Two-thousand and a half is displayed as 2 000,5.
For Portuguese, the thousand separator is a full stop and the decimal separator is a decimal
place. Two and a half thousand will be displayed as 2.000,5.
English US vs. English UK
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In summary, the number formats will be presented as follows depending on the language selected:
English (UK/US): 2,000.5
French: 2 000.5
Portuguese: 2.000,5
You can see the format required in the answer box before an answer is entered as a greyed out
123456.
E.g. the decimal separator for English (UK) is a decimal point, and the group separator is a
comma. Two-thousand and a half is displayed as 2,000.5
Changing your cultural settings
You can change your cultural settings on your My Account page.
1. Navigate to “My account” page.
2. Click the field for a dropdown of all the available cultural settings.
3. Make your selection.
4. Click ‘Update details’. You will see a red banner message indicating you have been
successful.
To update your settings, you must first exit the ORS, change the
selection, and open the ORS again from your dashboard.
English (US) vs. French (France)
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Your selected cultural setting does not affect other users working on the same questionnaire. If a
user does not select their cultural settings, they default to a cultural setting depending on the
language selected and the location of the user.
See Appendix 1: Cultural settings for more information on cultural settings including a list of the
default settings, a list of the cultural settings available and the full breakdown of how the cultural
settings display in the ORS. Note that these settings do not apply to your formatted response or the
dates on the dashboard.
For information on how cultural settings behave when exporting responses, please see the sections
for Word and Excel exporting.
Introduction module(s)
The first module of the questionnaire is the introduction. The introduction should be completed and
saved before you complete the rest of the modules. This is particularly important for leading
questions in the introduction.
In the introductions of the questionnaires there is a lower and an upper limit for the mandatory
reporting year questions (C0.2, W0.2, F0.2). The lower limit is January 1,2017. The upper limit is
September 27, 2023. If you exceed these dates you will not be able to submit. There are also limits
for the length of reporting year.
Leading questions
These are questions that will impact which questions or options will show later in the questionnaire.
Please be aware of leading questions and check the corresponding reporting guidance for the
pathways illustrating ‘leading’ questions and what impact they have on the rest of the questionnaire.
Changing your cultural settings will not change your language settings; you can set
different language and cultural settings. If you do not make a selection, the default
cultural settings will correspond with your language settings.
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Question types and additional question features
Attachments
Some questions allow, or specifically request, attachments to be added to that question directly.
Please click the information icon for direction for that question. The character counter indicates
the number of characters added to the field, not how many files are attached.
To attach a file:
1. Click the paperclip icon to open the file attachments pop-up for that questions.
2. Add your file via the right of the pop-up. You can upload more than one file at a time.
3. Once attached you will see the files listed under ‘Files attached to this question’ on the left.
4. Once finished, click ‘Close’. The paperclip icon will now be blue.
5. Click the ‘Save’ button after attaching or removing documents to ensure you do not lose any
data.
There is a file size limit of 30MB. Ensure file names do not contain invalid
characters (e.g. + % $ &), otherwise the file will not attach.
We do not advise uploading attachments with characters in the file name. If the
attachment has a character in the file name, the character will be lost when
uploaded.
If you have difficulty uploading your files, contact us via My Support in the Help
Center, your account manager or local CDP contact.
Click or drop to add files
Use to remove files
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You cannot see directly from the ORS which files are attached. Click the paperclip icon to see your
files, or to remove files.
Auto-calculation function
For some questions, there are numeric datapoints which the ORS will auto-calculate using applicable
figures inputted in to other numeric datapoints of the same question. These may be additions,
multiplications, or divisions. The auto-calculated datapoint has a calculator icon next to the field, and
it is read-only. Please see the reporting guidance which will detail what data points are used for the
calculation.
If any of the applicable fields have not been completed (i.e. are left blank rather than containing ‘0’)
it will not auto-calculate and will display: Fields used in this calculation are unanswered
If you receive an error message, please check/correct the figures you have inputted alongside the
reporting guidance for the question.
Character limits
Some questions ask for responses to be completed in text fields. There are character limits set for
these fields which varies between questions.
The character limits that apply to each question are displayed on the text field with a counter for your
convenience. If the limit is exceeded the counter and text box will turn red and you will not be able
to submit your response.
When copying and pasting text into a question the same character limits will also apply as above.
Comment fields
Some questions have an ‘add comment’ field, accessed by clicking on the speech bubble icon.
Additional comments are not required for your response to CDP. The comment boxes provide
additional space for you to give reference to the quality of your data, source or any other notes you
wish to share.
Organizations are advised to enter their response to text fields into the ORS
before gaining management/legal approval as character counts made within the
ORS may differ slightly from those in Microsoft Word (due to formatting).
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Date fields
In date fields, only digits and / are accepted. You can either click the calendar icon in the field and
select the date, or you can free type the date based on your cultural. To delete a date, hover over
the box and click the small cross.
Please note if a date field does not have any data entered, a greyed out ‘MM/DD/YYYY’ (depending
on your cultural settings) will display as default.
Mandatory questions
There are some questions in the questionnaires that are mandatory and will need to be answered
for you to proceed to the next page in the questionnaire and will get the error message:
If they are not completed, you will be blocked from submitting. Please see Appendix III: Mandatory
Questions for a list of applicable questions.
Click icon
Icon displays as blue and with ellipsis…
Add comment and click OK
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If you are completing the Forests questionnaire, depending on your sector, you may initially only
see the sections below:
To see and proceed through the questionnaire, you will first need to fully complete both columns of
the mandatory question F0.4.
Numeric and percentage fields
In numeric fields, only digits (and decimal points if applicable) are accepted. Group separators will
be added automatically based on your set cultural settings. There can be rules set on the maximum
number of digits and decimal places in these fields, which vary between questions. These are clearly
listed in the reporting guidance.
For percentage fields, there is no need to enter the percent symbol ‘%’, as this is indicated in the
question for you.
Please note if a numerical field does not have any data entered, a greyed out ‘1,234.56’ will display
as default, with the group and decimal separators displaying based on your cultural settings.
Pick lists
Some questions and data fields have a pre-defined list of options to select from. These come in a
variety of formats:
Single-select buttons
Single option questions only allow you to make one selection. The selected option’s circle will
turn blue with a dot. If you wish to remove your selection, click ‘clear selection’.
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Multi-select checkboxes
Multiple option questions allow you to make more than one selection. Click an option to select
or to unselect. The selected options’ checkbox will turn blue with a tick.
Single-select drop downs
For some questions, you can select options from a drop-down list. If it is single select, then your
answer is restricted to one option from a drop-down menu. If an option is not showing in full,
hover over it for a speech balloon to display the full text. Selected options will resize once
selected.
You can dynamically search for an option by typing in the box. Alternatively, you can scroll
through the list.
If you need to delete your selection, hover your cursor in the box for the delete button (a small
x) to show and click to remove your current selection.
Organizations should select the option that best describes their situation. For a description of
the meaning of each option in the list please consult the reporting guidance. Only select ‘Other’
when none of the listed options are appropriate as this greatly assists data analysis.
If organizations choose the option to select ‘Other’, a text box also appears. You can use this
field to specify details.
Multi-select drop downs
For some questions, you can select options from a drop-down list. If it is multi-select, then you
can select as many options that apply. If an option is not showing in full, hover over it for a
speech balloon to display the full text. Selected options will resize once selected.
You can dynamically search for an option by typing in the box. Alternatively, you can scroll
through the list.
Enter your answer here
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If you need to delete one of your selections, click the delete button (a x) against the option.
Questions with grouped options
A selection of dropdown questions in the Climate Change and Water Security questionnaires have
grouped options to avoid long dropdown lists. The ‘options’ available will depend on the selection
made in the associated ‘group’ field within the same question. The options field will be greyed out
until you make a selection in the group field. Please note, a selection must be made for both fields
within a grouped option. Your data will not be saved if one field is left blank.
Please see Appendix II: Grouped Dropdown Questions for a list of applicable questions.
E.G. if the group ’current regulation’ is selected, only the options that relate will appear in the
dropdown below.
Tables
Table columns can have any of the characteristics of other question types. Character limits and
number ranges will be displayed. This includes leading questions within columns and rows.
There are 2 types of tables – fixed and dynamic:
Fixed tables
These table questions have a fixed number of rows.
Dynamic tables
These table questions allow you to add additional rows.
The ‘Add row’ function will be displayed where you can add extra rows.
Group
Options
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To delete a row click ‘delete’ or the cross.
Please note that tables can be displayed in one of two formats:
Grid format - a standard table view
Vertical format or repeating sections - In vertical format tables, rows are separated by a line
Text boxes
Text boxes will automatically extend as you enter text, either manually or via pasting. There is
no limit to the size of the text box.
Rich text boxes will automatically extend vertically. They cannot be manually adjusted.
If you add more than 25 rows the table will be paged. This icon will appear at the bottom
of the table so you can switch between the pages:
‘Row’ separator
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Plain text boxes will automatically extend vertically and horizontally. You can also manually
adjust the box - click and drag the right bottom corner. If you make the text smaller a scrollbar
will appear.
Some text boxes have a pop-out function. Click the box icon to activate. Click close when you
have finished entering data.
Buttons
All clickable buttons will go blue when the mouse hovers over.
Framework alignment
The Framework Alignment icon indicates if the question has a connection to any other frameworks
external to CDP. For example, with the TCFD, SDGs, or the DJSI.
Further information
At the end of the questionnaire, in the Signoff section, there is an opportunity to provide any
additional information or context that you feel is relevant to your organization’s response. This field
is optional and not scored (this includes any attachments added to the ‘FI’ field).
When copying and pasting answers formatting will not be retained, except for
rich text questions.
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Sharing your response
Main Users and Contributors can generate a read-only link that can be shared with colleagues
who are not users by clicking the share button at the top of the page in the ORS. This will generate
a URL that will allow other users to see a ‘view-only’ version of your response.
Please note that these links have expiry dates. If your colleague needs to be able to view the
response at any time before submission, they should be added as a user.
You can also share your response with other colleagues by exporting your response as a:
Word export
Excel export
Signing out
To sign out of the ORS, save your current page and click ‘EXIT ORS’ in the top right corner.
You will receive the following message and you can now close the tab/window in which it appears.
However, you may still be signed into the dashboard. You can sign out of your dashboard by
returning to the tab/window you may still have open, or by going to http://www.cdp.net/, and selecting
‘Sign out’ in the top right drop-down menu.
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To return to the ORS
To continue working on your questionnaire(s), please sign into your dashboard at
https://www.cdp.net/en/users/sign_in and click ‘Enter questionnaire’ in the relevant theme block.
Export your response(s) from the ORS
You can Export your questionnaire response to:
Word
Excel
Export to Word
Users can download their response from the ORS into Word, which will show your response exactly
as it is in the ORS, i.e. it will show which questions are shown/hidden. This function is for viewing
and sign off purposes only, you will not be able to import any changes made in word back into the
ORS. Please note the word export timestamp is GMT+1 (UK time).
How to export to Word
Click the Export dropdown and then select word.
The following screen will appear. Select either Portrait or Landscape, CDP recommends exporting
to word in portrait format. Click ‘OK’, the export of your response will now download. This can be
saved and shared in a read-only format.
Open the menu
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Export to Excel
Users can download their response from the ORS to a specially formatted excel. This enables you
to edit your response in Excel, save and reimport it into the ORS.
The Excel export shows every question in the questionnaire. Therefore, you may see questions
which are hidden in the ORS due to conditional logic (e.g. some lead questions not answered).
Please use the CDP Guidance to determine whether each question is relevant to your response.
How to Export to Excel
Click the Export dropdown and select Excel.
You can choose to export one section, the entire questionnaire, or certain specific questions. Note
that in some cases multiple questions may appear on a worksheet named for a specific question.
If you have already entered data and/or comments into the ORS and want to remove these from the
export, then you can untick ‘Include data’ and/or ‘Include comments’. However, if you want the data
and/or comments to be exported into the excel spreadsheet, then the relevant boxes should remain
ticked.
After selecting the options, click ‘OK’ and wait for the excel spreadsheet to download. The download
speed will vary and the download may take several minutes to complete.
Please make sure you have set your language before exporting your response to excel if
you wish to import it after making changes.
When exporting to Word, numbers will display as per the format of your ORS cultural
setting. However, dates in the body of your response will revert to English-US format.
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Reviewing questions in your Excel export
The Excel extract will show you every question in the questionnaire, each section of the
questionnaire and some specific questions will be spilt into separate worksheets within the excel.
Please use the CDP Guidance to determine whether each question is relevant to your response.
Help text is still available in the excel export. It will appear in an italicized grey font to differentiate it
from the question text which is in black font. Please note links to guidance documents will not be
displayed.
You can also find the question pathway in the excel file help text. For example, in the question
shown below, you should only respond to C2.2g if you have selected ’No’ in response to C2.1.
How to edit your Excel export
Text fields
You can type text directly into the text boxes. However, if you would like to copy and paste text
from another source (e.g. Word or PDF document), please use the ‘Formula Bar’.
Due to a system limitation, the C7 emissions breakdown module in the Climate Change 2023
questionnaire can only be exported as individual questions, or by exporting the whole
questionnaire.
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Please note that if you have entered information into the ORS in a rich text field (i.e. a text field that
allows formatting) and exported it to excel, the cell will be locked in excel and you will see the
message:
Please see Appendix IV: Rich Text Questions for a list of applicable questions.
If rich text fields are blank on export, then they are editable in the excel document and the answers
can be re-imported. Formatting can then be added in the ORS after. Excel will not support all types
of formatting.
On text field there are character limits, which you can see to the right-hand side of each text field. In
the example shown below, the character limit for question 1.0 is 5000 characters.
Date fields
Dates will display or need to be entered based on your default excel country settings.
Once you import the file back into ORS, the data will display as per your ORS cultural settings.
Where a full date is required, if you just enter a year an error will occur, so please ensure that you
enter the field in correctly.
Numeric fields
For questions that ask for a numeric value, please note the range that the value should fall into which
is displayed either to the right or underneath the field. In the example below, the numbers entered in
these fields should be higher than 0 and less than 999,999,999.
Numbers will display as per your default excel country and number format settings. Once you import
the file back into ORS, numeric data will display as per your ORS cultural settings.
Some questions contain calculation fields which are only displayed in the ORS and not in the excel.
These calculation fields are displayed as ‘Import to view calculation’ text.
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Drop-down selection fields
To select a drop-down field, first select the field and then select the arrow on the right to see the full
list of options. Please note when selecting 'Other' an additional text box will appear beneath the field,
where you are encouraged to provide an explanation.
Check-box fields now appear in the Excel export as in the ORS.
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Add-row table questions
Add-row tables will appear with a pre-defined number of blank rows. This allows you to complete
more rows of data as needed. You can identify the blank rows as those with 'New row 1', 'New row
2' etc. row headers. Rather than clicking 'Add row' as you would do in the ORS, simply complete the
data directly in the blank rows made available. Note, that if you remove data from an existing row in
the Excel spreadsheet, upon import the data will be removed, but not the row itself. You will need to
re-enter the ORS and click the “x” sign in the table to remove the row itself.
Questions with grouped options
Questions with grouped options will display in your excel export with the group field and related
options field side-by-side. If you select an option within the group field, the related options field will
go orange, and only the applicable options will display in the dropdown. Once you select a valid
option, the box will go white.
Attachments
Attachments are not visible in the Export.
Adding comments
Comments are not required for your response to CDP. The comment boxes provide additional space
for you to give reference to the quality of your data, source or any other notes you wish to
share. Please note that comments submitted on public responses will be public on your CDP
response. Comments can be added into the excel file where you see a small red arrow in the top
right-hand corner. You will have a maximum of 1,000 characters.
Import your response (s) to the ORS
To reimport your response from excel into the ORS:
1. Select Import Answers at the top of the screen.
If you change your selected group field, please double-check the
related option is still applicable and correct.
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2. Use the file finder to upload your Excel file and click OK. Ensure your excel document you
are re-importing is saved as the format of ‘xlsx’.
3. Select ‘All worksheets’ or the section you wish to import and tick the checkbox below if you
wish to overwrite empty fields in the response.
4. Click OK.
5. If the import has been successful you will see the following screen. Please note that even if
some fields fail, the successful fields will still have imported into the ORS.
If the import fails, please download the import results file. In the import results file, look for the cells
with the red triangle in the corner as this indicates an error. Please review and amend these
responses and reimport. Ensure mandatory questions are completed when importing into the ORS.
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Please be aware some questions in the excel may be hidden in the ORS if your answer to the lead
question renders them hidden in the ORS. In the excel it is possible to enter invalid dropdown
answers that will be hidden by conditional logic once imported to the ORS. Please check through
answers carefully once imported.
Your imported answers will now be displayed in the ORS. Your imported answers will be reflected
in the Answer Audit Log.
Excel import best practice:
Only use the Excel import sheet once to avoid duplicate rows being created in the ORS. If
you need to import more data, please take a new excel export first and edit this version before
importing.
Only use the Excel import sheet for the response you exported it from. Sheets cannot be
shared between responses. Do not unprotect sheets as this will cause the import to fail.
If it has been a long time since you took your Excel export and your import fails, then you
may need to take a new export.
The language of ORS must match that of the import (do not change the ORS language
between exporting and importing.)
Ensure mandatory questions are completed when importing into the ORS
Make sure to double-check your data before importing.
Submitting your response(s)
If you have been requested to respond to multiple themes (climate change, forests, water security),
the associated questionnaires must be submitted separately. Please note, from 2022 the submission
will be combined to all of your requesting authorities. This means that you are not able to submit to
one authority but not another, you only have the option to submit to all authorities or none.
If you no longer wish to submit your response this year, you can decide to untick the field Confirm
intention to indicate that you will no longer be responding.
Administrative fee
If your organization is required to pay the disclosure administrative fee, the Main User will need to
complete this before being able to submit your response. They will not be able to submit a
response if the fee has not been paid.
Please note, CDP has made some changes to the administrative fee structure from 2023. For more
information on this, please see our admin fee FAQ page. For guidance on how to pay the
administrative fee, please see the how to process the disclosure administrative fee guidance.
Pre-submission checklist
Prior to submitting a questionnaire, you are strongly encouraged to review the content, paying
attention to:
Spelling, grammar, and figures (if applicable, e.g. emissions figures) are correct.
Your answers adhere to the relevant reporting guidance document.
Answers to questions are not provided in the ‘Further Information’ field, or as attachments,
unless specifically requested.
Web links and cross references are not used to answer questions.
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The value ‘Other’ is selected in the drop-down list only if no other option fits your required
value. If you imported your response from Excel, check the questions expected are displaying
and contain your answers.
Making your submission choices
Before you can submit your response, you will be required to confirm:
The language you are submitting your response in
Acceptance of the terms for responding
You agree to submit your response to all requesting authorities
How to submit your response (Main User only)
1. Navigate to the ’Submit your response’ page at the end of the online questionnaire:
2. Select the language you are submitting your response in:
3. Confirm that you are submitting your response to all requesting stakeholders.
From 2023, responses submitted in English, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and
Spanish will be eligible for scoring provided all other scoring criteria are met.
Only the Main User can submit the response and is therefore the only user that can see
the submit button. If you need to change the Main User, the current Main User can do
this via their corporate dashboard, otherwise please contact your account manager, local
CDP contact, or contact us via our Help Center.
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If you haven’t yet paid your administrative fee you will not be able to submit your response
until you have paid your administrative fee.
4. Indicate if you wish your response to be public or non-public:
For more information on the differences between a public and a non-public response, please
see the FAQ and the Terms that apply to the response you are submitting. You may also wish
to view the Privacy Policy. Please note that public responses will still be shared with your
requesting stakeholders.
5. Confirm you have read and accept the terms:
6. Scroll to the top of the page and click ‘Submit’:
7. Click confirm on the pop-out screen, confirming you want to submit.
If you have been requested by your customers, you must submit your supply chain
questions together with your main response this year. You will not have the option
to submit your supply chain questions later.
Please note, from 2022, it is not possible to submit to some stakeholders and not others
from this year. Therefore, you only have the option to submit to ALL requesting authorities.
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Submission confirmation
Clicking ‘Submit’ will submit your response and take you to the ‘Thank you for your submission…’
page.
The Main User will receive an email confirming the submission. Please set ‘@cdp.net’ as a safe
domain, otherwise the email may not be successfully delivered.
Your response is now submitted and is no longer editable. If you need to amend your response
please see the section Amending your response.
Please see Your dashboard after submitting your response for an example of how your dashboard
will look after submitting.
Later submission of your Supply Chain Questions (Main User only)
From 2022, you will no longer be able to submit your supply chain questions module after
submitting your main response. Therefore, you must make sure you complete the supply chain
module before you submit your whole response.
Submission troubleshooting
Only the Main User can submit the response and is therefore the only user that can see the
submit button. If you need to change the Main User, the current Main User can do this via their
corporate dashboard, otherwise please contact us via My Support in the Help Center or your local
contact.
You can submit your response even if the progress bar is not at 100%.
If you are required to pay the disclosure administrative fee, this must be completed by the Main User
before the submit button will be enabled. Please see the section on the administrative fee.
Errors and warnings
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If the ORS detects errors or warnings in your response the Errors and Warnings box will be flagged
for you to rectify the issue. If you try to submit with errors in your response you will see a red ‘submit
failed’ notification in the corner. This will occur if you try to submit:
without having completed all mandatory fields.
with fields that have a value that is out of range.
with fields that exceed the character limit.
If you try to proceed through the questionnaire before completing the mandatory questions on the
page, you will receive an ‘unable to navigate forward’ notification.
If you click on the errors and warnings button, a pop-out box will show the list of errors (red) and
warnings (yellow). If you click an error or warning it will take you to that field in the ORS for you to
amend. Once the error or warning is resolved it will disappear from the errors and warning list.
You will be able to submit once all errors are resolved. Note that warnings will not prevent you from
submitting.
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Your dashboard after submitting your response
After submitting your response dashboard under the relevant theme block you can see that you have
successfully submitted your response by the ticks as shown below. Please note this can take a few
minutes to update after your submission and you will see circles instead of ticks.
You can see your submission details and response under the ‘Latest Submission Details’ section.
All users can view this information.
If you do not see ticks within 1 hour of submitting please contact us via My Support
in the Help Center or contact your Account Manager or local CDP contact.
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Accessing your submitted response
After submitting you can view your submitted response in two ways:
In the ORS as a snapshotted response
If you wish to view your response in the ORS, first navigate to your response dashboard. Expand
the questionnaire block and click the option to ‘view submission’.
Submission details section
Successfully submitted
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Once in the ORS, to ensure you are viewing your submitted response correctly, navigate to the
workflow audit log.
From here you can view your submission. You may see multiple submissions, e.g. if you have
submitted amendments, so you can choose which submission you wish to view. Please note that
the audit log is in chronological order with the newest changes at the top.
As a formatted response from Scores and Responses
You can view your submitted response in a web page viewable format (known as a ‘formatted
response’) from your dashboard, under the ‘Previous Score and Responses’ block. Please allow up
to 48 hours after submission for this to be processed. Once scores are released these are also
accessible from here as well.
Navigate to the ‘Previous Scores and Responses’ block and click on the questionnaire within the
‘Response’ column. The response will open in a new window, in a web page viewable format (known
as a ‘formatted response’) on your dashboard. This provides a formatted webpage of all information
you have provided. If you have submitted a response in a previous year (2010 onwards) you will be
able to view these responses here.
You will be able to see your whole response, including the submission page, and the Supply Chain
module (if relevant). Please note that:
2
nd
submission
1st submission
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The submission page will always be hidden to any users viewing your response who are not
within your organization, including requesting authorities.
The Supply Chain module will be viewable to your requesting customers (Supply Chain
Members) only. Please note that for certain questions, data will only be shared with the relevant
customer. For more information on the difference between public and non-public responses,
and for how the Supply Chain module is shared with customers, please see the Terms for
responding.
The response will include all questions which were shown to you in the ORS even if no information
was entered. Additionally, if a row or column was not shown to you in a table, e.g. a row for a
particular sector that does not apply to your organization or because a previous selection determined
that the column was hidden, it will appear in the formatted response as <Not applicable>.
The menu on the left-hand side is expandable, click on the arrows to view questions within that
module and navigate around your response. You can also export your response to PDF.
Amending your response
After submission, you may be able to re-open and amend your response up to July 24 23:59
International Date Line West, 48 hours before the scoring deadline. This is a new feature in 2023
and will be available to the Main User only.
Please note, your questionnaire response must be re-submitted by the scoring deadline on July 26
23:59 International Dateline West, to be scored. You must re-submit your response by the
deadline for your response to be eligible for scoring.
If your organization wishes to make changes to the Supply Chain, you can complete a partial re-
open, which will only allow changes to the SC module.
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To amend your corporate response, follow the steps below.
1. Sing in on your dashboard and expand the questionnaire block by clicking on the arrow next
to the questionnaire to be changed:
2. In the expanded view, you will see the option to Amend Submission as pictured below:
➢ After clicking the Amend Submission option, you should see a red banner appear at the
top of the screen letting you know that you are now able to edit your response:
3. Click on the Enter Questionnaire button, which will take you to the ORS and to the reopened
questionnaire.
4. After making the necessary changes to your response navigate to the submission page and
click on the Submit amendments to resubmit your questionnaire.
To amend your Supply Chain module only, follow the same steps except clicking on Amend Supply
Chain module button instead. This will allow you to re-enter your questionnaire response and to edit
the supply chain module questions only.
To make a change after the deadline has passed, users will no longer be able to re-open their
response from their dashboard and any amendments submitted will not be considered for scoring.
However, CDP allows organizations to request amendments for the purpose of correcting errors
made in their submission for the current disclosure cycle.
To submit and amend, the Main User must complete CDP’s Corporate Amendment Request Form
and contact our support team via My Support in Help Center, attaching the form to the case
(category: ‘Questionnaire response’, Sub-category: ‘Amend my response’).
Amendments can be made to a submitted Climate Change, Forests or Water Security response and
must be requested by November 17, 2023.
Please note that an amendment fee may be charged for amending your questionnaire after
submission. Please refer to the amendment information on our FAQ page for further details.
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Further help
For more information on responding through CDP please see the FAQs for companies, the guidance
tool, and the corporate guidance page of our website. Please also visit our new Help Center, where
you can find articles to support you with your disclosure and contact us via My Support (see below).
If you experience issues accessing or using the ORS contact us via our My Support in the Help
Center with full details (and screenshots) of your issue.
Information on CDP’s reporter services program can be obtained by contacting the team at
reporter.services@cdp.net. This membership program provides one-to-one support from a
dedicated CDP account manager to help you improve your CDP reporting and environmental
practises via data and insights.
CDP has several accredited solutions providers who can assist you in your response. We work with
leading service and software providers that can support organizations in the collection,
measurement, assurance, reporting and management of their climate and sustainability data. They
can also support organizations in developing and implementing an appropriate climate change
strategy to reduce their environmental impact and exposure.
All CDP operational partners have been selected based on partner, tool and service criteria. A full
list of our accredited service providers is available here.
To offer feedback on this platform guidance document and how we can support your disclosure
further, please contact us via My Support in the Help Center. You will need to be signed in.
Using our new Help Center
If you have not found the information you are looking for in the guidance tool from your dashboard,
the guidance for companies on our website or the company FAQs, you can visit our new Help
Center, where you will find articles providing information to support your disclosure further.
To access this, you will need to be signed in. Once you are signed in to your account, you can
access the Help Center via link at the top of the page.
Once you click on the Help Center link, you will be taken to the Help Center site:
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Knowledge Base articles
You can search for knowledge articles to find an answer to your question using the “Search”
function, browsing Most Popular articles or by clicking on the link for the Knowledge Base.
In the Knowledge Base, you can select a category of articles you are interested in and expand the
menu to see the articles available:
The expanded view of the Knowledge Base category will show you the available articles.
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Click on the title of the article to view the information and guidance in full.
My Support
If having searched the Knowledge Base using different key words you have not been able to find the
information you are looking for, contact our support team via My Support in the Help Center.
Click on My Support in the Help Center, which you will see if you are signed in.
Clicking on My Support will take you to the following page where you can raise a case regarding
your query.
You can also search for knowledge articles here in the search bar, or click on Contact Support,
which will open up the following screen:
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Please make sure you enter the following for your case:
Enter the subject
Select the category and sub-category
Enter your question or query into the description field
If you are having a technical issue, please provide as much detail as possible and attach
any screenshots as needed
Once complete, click Submit, which will send your query to our support team.
You will the get a confirmation screen and an email will be sent to your inbox with your case
number. It will also appear listed in your Open Cases as long as the query is active.
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Appendix I: Cultural Settings
For more information on how cultural settings work, please see the section here.
Default cultural settings based on language/location:
Language
Cultural Setting
English
Within UK & EU:
English (United Kingdom)
Outside of EU:
English (United States)
Spanish
Spanish (Spain)
Portuguese
Portuguese (Brazil)
Chinese
Chinese (Simplified)
Japanese
Japanese (Japan)
French
French (France)
Korean
Korean (Korea)
All cultural settings available for selection including a full breakdown of the display formats:
Cultural setting
Decimal
separator
Group
separator
Example of
numeric
question
Date format
Chinese (Simplified)
.
,
1,234,567.89
YYYY/MM/DD
Chinese (Traditional)
.
,
1,234,567.89
YYYY/MM/DD
English (India)
.
,
12,34,567.89
DD/MM/YYYY
English (Trinidad and
Tobago)
.
,
1,234,567.89
DD/MM/YYYY
English (United
Kingdom)
.
,
1,234,567.89
DD/MM/YYYY
English (United
States)
.
,
1,234,567.89
MM/DD/YYYY
French (France)
,
1 234 567,89
DD/MM/YYYY
German (Germany)
,
.
1.234.567,89
DD/MM/YYYY
Indonesian
(Indonesia)
,
.
1.234.567,89
DD/MM/YYYY
Italian (Italy)
,
.
1.234.567,89
DD/MM/YYYY
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Japanese (Japan)
.
,
1,234,567.89
YYYY/MM/DD
Korean (Korea)
.
,
1,234,567.89
YYYY/MM/DD
Portuguese (Brazil)
,
.
1.234.567,89
DD/MM/YYYY
Portuguese (Portugal)
,
1 234 567,89
DD/MM/YYYY
Spanish (Latin
America)
,
.
1.234.567,89 *
DD/MM/YYYY
Spanish (Spain)
,
.
1.234.567,89 *
DD/MM/YYYY
* Group separator is only applied to numbers with 5 or more digits in this cultural setting.
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Appendix II: Questions with grouped options
For more information on questions with grouped options, please see the section here.
Please note, a selection must be made for both fields within a grouped option. Your data will not be
saved if one field is left blank.
Climate Change
Question
Sector
Group field
Related options field
C2.3a
All
Risk type
Primary climate-related risk
driver
C3.2a
All
Scenario type
Climate-related scenario
C4.2b
All
Target type: category
Metric (numerator if reporting
intensity target)
C4.3b
All
Initiative category
Initiative type
C4.5a
All except
Financial
services
Category
Product/service type
C-FS4.5a
Financial
services
Asset class
Product/service type
C12.1b
All except
Financial
services
Type of engagement
Details of engagement
C-FS14.2a
Financial
services
Asset class
Product/service type
FW-FS2.3a
Financial
services
Risk type
Primary risk driver
FW-FS2.4a
Financial
services
Opportunity type
Primary opportunity driver
Water Security
Question
Sector
Group field
Related options field
W2.1a
All
Country/Area
River basin
Type of impact driver
Primary impact driver
W2.2b
All
Country/Area
River basin
W-MM3.2
Metals &
mining
Country/Area
River basin
W-MM3.2b
Metals &
mining
Country/Area
River basin
W4.1c
All
Country/Area
River basin
W4.2
All
Country/Area
River basin
Type of risk
Primary risk driver
W4.2a
All
Country/Area
River basin
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Type of risk
Primary risk driver
Risk response type
Primary response to risk
W5.1
All
Country/Area
River basin
Appendix III: Mandatory questions
For more information on mandatory questions, please see the section here.
Climate Change
Forests
Water Security
C0.2
F0.2
W0.2
C-FS0.7
(Only applicable to
Financial services sector)
F0.4
(Not applicable to Metals &
mining, or Coal sector)
All questions in section ‘Submit your response’
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Appendix IV: Rich text questions
For more information on rich text questions, please see the section here.
Climate Change
Forests
Water Security
Question
Sector
Question
Sector
Question
Sector
C0.1
All
F0.1
All
W0.1
None All
C1.2a
All except
Financial
services
F3.1a
All except
Metals &
mining; Coal
W1.4c
All
C2.1b
All
F-
MM10.3a/F-
CO10.3a
Metals &
mining; Coal
W-CH3.1
Chemicals
C-FS3.6c
Financial
services
F-
MM11.2a/F-
CO11.2a
Metals &
mining; Coal
W-EU3.1
Electric
utilities
C-CO4.2d
Coal
F-FI
All
W-FB3.1
Food,
beverages,
& tobacco
C-OG4.2d
Oil & gas
W-OG3.1
Oil & gas
C4.3d
All
W3.3b
All
C-CO4.6
Coal
W4.1a
All
C-EU4.6
Electric
utilities
W6.5a
All
C-OG4.6
Oil & gas
W-FI
All
C-CO4.7a
Coal
C-OG4.7a
Oil & gas
C-CO4.7b
Coal
C-OG4.7b
Oil & gas
C-CO4.8
Coal
C-OG4.8
Oil & gas
C8.2k
All
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C-OG9.2b
Oil & gas
C-CO9.4a
Coal
C-OG9.8c
Oil & gas
C-
CN9.11/C-
RE9.11
Constructio
n; Real
estate
C11.1d
All except
Financial
services
C12.1d
All
C12.1e
All
C-FI
All
SC0.0
All
SC1.2
All
SC1.4a
All
SC1.4b
All