CDP Restructures To Ease Sustainability Reporting

In an important move to redesign its operating model, climate science and environmental disclosure platform CDP has revealed a strategic restructuring that could result in a 20% cut in its staff. The restructuring, announced on May 14, 2025, is the latest in a long-term plan to reduce the burden of sustainability reporting on companies and optimize its global disclosure system.

Founded in 2000, CDP has emerged as a flagship for environmental disclosure, providing a solid platform for businesses, investors, and policymakers to obtain essential information on climate change, forest protection, and water scarcity. The reach and impact of the organization have expanded significantly over the years, with a record high of 22,700 companies reporting their environmental information via CDP in 2024, an 8% rise from the previous year. In spite of this expansion, the company now faces a crossroads, confronting economic downturns and increasing operating expenses.

The reorganization, CDP said, is called for to establish a more nimble and cost-efficient organization, with a leaner structure driven by technology and strategic collaboration. The official statement said that realignment is anticipated to enhance CDP's core strengths, with an even greater focus on innovation, customer success, operations, growth, and product development. Resources will be reallocated into areas that are able to enhance the long-term contribution of the organization so that CDP becomes a credible source for sustainability disclosure across industries.

CDP CEO Sherry Madera stressed that the restructuring demonstrates the organisation's dedication to creating resilience and driving innovation. "Today's restructure will allow CDP to invest in tomorrow's resilience and innovation – echoing our promise to our partners and stakeholders throughout the ecosystem," she explained. Madera underlined the significance of providing stable and equivalent data to enable more intelligent and quicker decision-making for sustainable businesses, as well as the economy as a whole.

Part of its new strategy, CDP is focusing on simplification and elimination of inefficiencies and complexity in corporate environmental disclosure. One of the key aims is to simplify reporting processes for businesses, eliminating duplication, reducing manual data entry, and enhancing overall data usability. This is viewed as a major change since most businesses have complained in the past about the time, effort, and resources needed to meet sustainability disclosure requirements.

In addition to simplification, CDP is implementing a use-case-driven framework intended to deliver actionable, sectoral insights. This model intends to better serve stakeholders such as the financial markets, regulatory agencies, and the broader public with decision-useful information that is standardized, of high quality, and easily available. Through enhanced provisioning and inter-operability of environmental data, CDP aims to enable more decision-makers to use the tools necessary to achieve sustainability outcomes.

Madera reiterated the organization's core purpose and thanked the CDP team for their ongoing commitment throughout the transition. "We stay committed to our mission, our partners and our people – enabling a whole of economy approach to planet and profit. It is with profound gratitude that we thank our CDP team and acknowledge their important contributions in pursuit of our ambitious vision," she said.

In spite of the impending reduction of workforce, restructuring is presented as a proactive effort towards building up CDP's long-term capability to achieve its mission. The action emphasizes changing times for environmental reporting when needs for timely, accurate, and easy-to-use data remain unabated for investors, regulators, and those espousing sustainability.

CDP's announcement is a turning point for the organization, which has been leading the way in environmental data collection and reporting for many years. As sustainability becomes a more and more important component of corporate strategy and financial planning, CDP's new direction may have a significant impact on how companies and stakeholders tackle the challenging landscape of climate action and accountability.