CDP, the international environmental reporting platform, has announced a major organizational overhaul aimed at making it leaner, more tech-enabled, and more focused on innovation, sector insights, and more extensive support for stakeholders across financial systems and global supply chains. The restructuring represents a turning point for the organization as it becomes more agile, faster, and more cost-effective in its ability to provide decision-relevant environmental information.

As part of the reorganization, CDP will decrease its global workforce by about 20%. The move is an indication of the organization's strategic focus on operational efficiency, digitalization, and long-term value creation. The reorganization is due to increasing market needs for real-time, consistent, and comparable environmental information that can further enable sustainable business practice and global economic transformation.

Sherry Madera, CDP CEO, reiterated that the move is intended to support the strengthening of the organization's mission as well as equip it for resilience and innovation in the future. "The restructure announced today will allow CDP to invest in tomorrow's resilience and innovation – a reflection of our commitment to our partners and stakeholders throughout the ecosystem," said Madera. We are trusted to provide consistent, comparable information that allows quicker, wiser decisions – for sustainable business and the broader economy. We are proud to enable organisations to act in a way that protects the planet – and the bottom line."

CDP's new strategy is built around simplifying the reporting burden on companies by automating manual tasks, eliminating data duplication, and providing real-time sector-specific insights through a new use-case approach. This strategy is set to increase the effectiveness of the disclosure process, making it more convenient and worthwhile for over 22,700 companies that reported to CDP in 2024—an 8% year-on-year growth. By streamlining its operations and narrowing its focus on impact, CDP seeks to serve better over 700 financial institutions and 300 significant supply chain owners who rely on its platform.

Established in 2000, CDP has emerged as a world leader in environmental data gathering with the world's sole independent environmental disclosure system and the largest database of self-reported environmental data. The organization is critical to facilitating environmental transparency and accountability, supporting corporations, investors, and governments in addressing the complex sustainability issues.

As part of its new direction, CDP will focus resources on priority areas such as Product, Growth, Operations, and Customer Success. This organizational restructure is designed to make the organization more agile to respond quickly to the changing demands of stakeholders. By resourcing its position as a key ESG infrastructure provider, CDP is positioning itself to enhance the support it provides to develop financial products, investment research, ratings, and policy decisions aligned with climate and sustainability objectives.

The restructuring also echoes CDP's wider commitment to joining international climate reporting standards. In 2024, CDP moved to align its framework with the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group's (EFRAG) ESRS E1 standard, so that disclosures are more aligned with global regulatory requirements and investor demands. This alignment further feeds into CDP's continued work to simplify complexity and make environmental data more useful across markets.

While making the tough call to cut its staff, Madera recognized the commitment and service of CDP employees. "We continue to be centered on our mission, our partners and our people – enabling a whole-of-economy approach to planet and profit," she said. "It is with deep appreciation that we thank our CDP team and acknowledge their important contributions in working towards our ambitious vision."

CDP's evolution coincides with the fast-growing demand for trustworthy ESG data. Markets globally increasingly depend on solid environmental metrics to inform sustainable investment, facilitate risk management, and drive policies. With climate risks still deepening, CDP's new strategy aims to close the loop between environmental action and economic success in order to keep its platform as a core tool in building a sustainable future.

With its refreshed focus and leaner organization, CDP is setting a course for increased agility, influence, and long-term value creation. By equipping organizations with smarter data and richer insights, CDP is working to drive impactful environmental action at scale—benefiting both the health of the planet and the prosperity of the global economy.