Unlocking Value with Environmental Data
Learn how CDP is using environmental data to reveal risks, unlock opportunities, and drive an Earth-positive economy.
Environmental Disclosure: The Foundation for Opportunity
In today’s rapidly changing world, the urgency to adapt to escalating global risks is impossible to ignore. From record-breaking floods in Pakistan to wildfires across North America, environmental risks are disrupting societies and reshaping economies. For companies, investors, and policymakers, one thing is clear: action and opportunity depends on information. Without trusted data, leaders cannot see the full picture of risks, opportunities, or progress.
This is where CDP plays a vital role. As the world’s leading independent environmental disclosure platform, CDP enables nearly 25,000 companies, cities, states, and regions representing around two-thirds of global market capitalization, to disclose their environmental impacts. By transforming raw data into decision-useful insights, CDP helps organisations integrate vital knowledge into their strategies and capital allocation.
How Environmental Disclosure Protects Business Value
The scale of the financial implications revealed by CDP disclosure data is striking. Nearly 70% of companies report environmental risks with substantive financial effects. The cost of addressing these challenges, estimated at $1.4 trillion, is far lower than the potential $6.5 trillion cost of inaction.
Water is a particularly urgent issue. One in four companies disclosing to CDP identify water-related risks, with the cost of mitigating them ($58.7 billion) far outweighed by the potential $339 billion in damages. Yet, systemic blind spots remain. For instance, two-thirds of new data centres built since 2022 are located in areas of high-water stress. These insights show how disclosure highlights vulnerabilities and, crucially, points towards opportunities for resilience and innovation.
Environmental Disclosure Unlocks Capital and Opportunity
Capital markets are increasingly recognising the importance of robust environmental disclosure. Investors depend on consistent, comparable data to evaluate risk and reward, and to direct capital towards credible transition plans. CDP supports this shift by aligning with global standards, ensuring that disclosures are not only widespread but also interoperable across jurisdictions.
At the same time, disclosure uncovers opportunities. Companies reporting through CDP identified over $1.4 trillion in water-related opportunities, compared with only $87 billion in costs to capture them, a 16:1 return ratio . This underlines how transparency can directly unlock business value.
Looking Ahead: An Earth-Positive Future
As global pressures intensify, disclosure will remain the foundation of progress. Expanding the quality of data, embedding it into financial and policy decisions, and ensuring accessibility for stakeholders across the value chain will accelerate the shift to an earth-positive economy.
For companies, investors, and governments alike, the lesson is clear: disclosure is not a burden but a powerful tool. It enables better decisions, strengthens resilience, and ensures prosperity is aligned with the health of our planet. Through CDP’s work, environmental disclosure is turning information into action, and action into lasting impact.
Find out more about the Climate Week Campaigns
