ARE COMPANIES DEVELOPING

CREDIBLE CLIMATE
TRANSITION PLANS?
Disclosure to key climate transition-focused indicators
in CDP’s 2022 Climate Change Questionnaire

February 2023
 Contents

03 Key findings

04 Introduction

06 Disclosure to key transition-focused indicators

09 Industry trends

11 Geography trends

13 Element-level trends

20 Conclusion

21 Appendix

Important Notice

The contents of this report may be used by anyone providing acknowledgement is given to CDP Worldwide (CDP). This does not
represent a licence to repackage or resell any of the data reported to CDP or the contributing authors and presented in this report. If
you intend to repackage or resell any of the contents of this report, you need to obtain express permission from CDP before doing so.

No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given by CDP as to the accuracy or completeness of the information and opinions
contained in this report. You should not act upon the information contained in this publication without obtaining specific professional
advice. To the extent permitted by law, CDP does not accept or assume any liability, responsibility or duty of care for any consequences
of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this report or for any decision based on
it. All information and views expressed herein by CDP is based on its judgment at the time of this report and are subject to change
without notice due to economic, political, industry and firm-specific factors. Content for guest profiles in this report were provided by
the respective companies, and they reflect the views of their respective authors and not necessarily the views of CDP.

CDP, their affiliated member firms or companies, or their respective shareholders, members, partners, principals, directors, officers
and/or employees, may have a position in the securities of the companies discussed herein. The securities of the companies
mentioned in this document may not be eligible for sale in some states or countries, nor suitable for all types of investors; their value
and the income they produce may fluctuate and/or be adversely affected by exchange rates.

‘CDP Worldwide’ and ‘CDP’ refer to CDP Worldwide, a registered charity number 1122330 and a company limited by guarantee,
registered in England number 05013650.

© 2023 CDP Worldwide. All rights reserved.

 Key findings

1 In 2022, 18,600+ organizations disclosed through CDP’s climate change questionnaire, of which
4,100 of them disclosed that they had already developed a 1.5°C-aligned climate transition plan.

Of these 4,100 organizations, 81 of them reported sufficient detail to all 21 key indicators in

2 the climate change questionnaire that align with a credible climate transition plan. These 81
organizations represent 0.4% of the entire disclosure sample in 2022 (18,600+).

In our 2021 assessment of climate transition plan disclosure, 135 organizations met

3 the disclosure criteria to all key indicators. The reduction seen this year is based on CDP
strengthening the disclosure criteria for what constitutes a credible climate transition plan by
upholding them to 1.5°C alignment.

4
6,520 organizations reported that they plan on developing a climate transition plan within
two years.

Over 60% of all disclosing organizations fall within the ‘few’ threshold of credible climate

5 transition plan disclosure, i.e., these organizations disclosed to less than seven of the key
indicators of a credible climate transition plan.

More than a third of the disclosing organizations met the disclosure criteria for the risks &

6 opportunities element of a credible climate transition plan – this was followed closely by the
governance element (24%) and the policy element (19%).

In contrast, financial planning, targets, and strategy to achieve net-zero were the poorest

7 performing elements of a credible climate transition plan with 3%, 4% and 7% of organizations
meeting the disclosure criteria in these respective elements.

Across the 13 industries assessed, power generation and infrastructure were the front runners

8 with 2.2% and 1.7% of all organizations in each of these industries disclosing against all 21 key
indicators of a credible climate transition plan.

The apparel, fossil fuels, and hospitality industries had the poorest levels of disclosure with only

9
one organization in each of these industries disclosing against all the 21 key indicators of a
credible climate transition plan. Of the key industries identified, the best and worst performing
elements were consistent with the trends identified in key findings 5 & 6.

10 Whilst no geography had an outstanding record, Japan leads the regional assessment with 16
Japanese organizations disclosing to all 21 key indicators of a credible climate transition plan.

3
 Introduction

This report provides an overview of the current state of climate

transition plan information disclosed through CDP's 2022 climate
change questionnaire. The data analyzed in this report spans over
18,600 organizations in 13 industries and across 135 countries.

While this report is not an assessment of an organization’s climate transition towards a

1.5°C-aligned world – it is an evaluation of whether an organization’s disclosure is sufficient
and credible. By strengthening the criteria for what makes a credible climate transition plan
i.e. enforcing that a plan must be aligned to 1.5°C and have a rigorous target, CDP continued
to raise the bar in this year's assessment of what is considered a credible climate transition
plan. This report focuses on climate transition plans, but CDP recognizes that climate is
only a facet of a wider, environmental challenge and the critical need for organizations to
include nature in their thinking and broader transition planning. As such, we will include wider
environmental indicators when defining a credible transition plan in the future.

Across the globe in 2022 we saw an increase in value placed on organizations disclosing
and developing transition plans. In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) proposed climate disclosure regulation, including disclosure of climate targets
and transition plans. Regulation set to be implemented in the European Union (EU) will
also require disclosure of climate transition plans, as outlined in the draft European
Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Similarly, the publication of the International
Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) Exposure Drafts on climate and general
sustainability-related financial disclosures proposes a range of disclosures around an
organization’s transition plans. Other industry-led coalitions including the Taskforce on
Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net
Zero (GFANZ) are also applying pressure on organizations and financial institutions to
develop and disclose transition plans. Most recently at COP27 in November 2022, the
UK Transition Plan Taskforce (UK TPT - convened by the UK government post COP26)
released the first draft of its Disclosure Framework, outlining requirements from publicly
listed organizations and financial institutions in the UK to publish their climate transition
plans. In January 2022, the FCA introduced rules for listed companies and large regulated
asset owners and asset managers to disclose transition plans as part of their TCFD aligned
disclosures, initially on a comply or explain basis. The first disclosures under these rules
will be made in 2023. The UK TPT’s outputs will support UK firms and companies to publish
high quality plans under existing rules. Please see CDP's Technical Note for the alignment
between the identified elements of a credible climate transition plan and the various
incoming mandatory disclosure recommendations.

This evolution towards policy regulation demonstrates the increasing pressure on

organizations and financial institutions to improve and outline their transition plans.
Considering incoming regulation (as of December 2021) around transition disclosure, this
report also reflects global readiness amongst existing disclosers.

4
 In November 2021, CDP pioneered a discussion paper on climate transition plans, in which we identified the
following key elements that constitute a credible climate transition plan:

Governance Value chain engagement &

Scenario analysis Financial planning
low carbon initiatives

Scope 1, 2 & 3 accounting

Policy engagement Risks & opportunities Targets
with verification

These elements can be evidenced through the disclosure to 21 key indicators dispersed throughout the 2022
climate change questionnaire1 (see Appendix). The questionnaire collects data disclosed through these indicators,
and this is the basis on which CDP has established credible climate transition plan disclosure – please refer to
CDP’s Technical Note on climate transition plans for more detail.

A climate transition plan is a time-bound action plan that clearly outlines how an organization will achieve its
strategy to pivot its existing assets, operations and entire business model towards a trajectory that aligns with
the latest and most ambitious climate science recommendations, i.e., halving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050 at the latest, thereby limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Environmental
disclosure alone is not enough – it needs to lead to accountability and transformation; hence the relevance of
climate transition plans as part of a business’s strategy.

1. In the 2021 version of this report, the assessment outlined 24 key climate transition indicators in the 2021 questionnaire – however, due to the ongoing evolution of the climate change
questionnaire, these indicators have been streamlined to 21. Please note, despite these questionnaire revisions, the same (and in some cases, more) information can still be reported
on, in these 21 indicators, when compared to the 24 indicators in the 2021 assessment. These 21 indicators are only a core subset of a wider set of transition relevant indicators in the
climate change questionnaire

5
 Disclosure to key transition-focused indicators

4,100
organizations disclosed
Disclosure of climate transition plans and strategy
In 2022, 4,100 organizations disclosed through CDP that they have a
1.5°C-aligned climate transition plan2. Of the organizations who reported
through CDP that they
have a 1.5°C-aligned to have developed a 1.5°C-aligned climate transition plan, only 1,751 of
climate transition plan. them reported that it was publicly available, and that there was a well-
defined mechanism in place to collect feedback from shareholders. Even
Over among leading organizations more transparency is needed to be responsive

28%
to stakeholder feedback. Alarmingly, 3,341 organizations indicated that
their strategy has been influenced by climate, but they do not intend
to develop a 1.5°C climate transition plan. However, it is encouraging to
of all disclosing see that 6,520 organizations reported that they are developing a climate
organizations in the transition plan within two years. We expect to see significant improvement
power generation in the quantity and quality of transition plans over the coming years.
industry reported
developing a public Over 28% of all disclosing organizations in the power generation industry
climate transition plan reported developing a public climate transition plan with a shareholder
with a shareholder
feedback mechanism in place, the highest of any industry. This represents
feedback mechanism
in place. a promising trend from one of the most important industries to lead the
climate transition. Similarly, 26% of all disclosing financial institutions
reported developing a public climate transition plan with shareholder
feedback mechanisms in place, signaling strong ambition from an industry
with great influence over the whole economy’s transition. Conversely,
manufacturing, services, food & beverage, hospitality, and biotechnology
are lagging with less than 9% of disclosing organizations in these industries
reporting a public climate transition plan with shareholder feedback
mechanisms in place.

In 2022, 5,552 organizations disclosed that climate issues have influenced

(or that evaluation was in progress) their supply chain and/or value
chain, products and services, operations, and investment in research &
development (R&D). Of these, less than half also reported developing a
climate transition plan aligned to a 1.5°C world, and only 1,307 of these
are publicly available with shareholder feedback mechanisms in place.
This suggests that many organizations have not yet developed a climate
transition plan that will demonstrate to capital markets, customers, and
other stakeholders how they plan to mitigate climate risks and realize
opportunities of aligning with a 1.5°C world. This represents a gap of 444
organizations that do not support their climate transition plan with robust
disclosure on how it will impact each aspect of their business strategy.

2. This statistic references data which was extracted from the CDP platform, as of 18 October 2022.

6
 Summary of disclosure to all key indicators
Along its sustainability journey, an organization will typically set emissions reduction targets, commit to monitoring
its progress on climate, and reduce its exposure to climate-related risks. Over the past 20 years, CDP has played
a transformational role in driving disclosure and action from businesses, capital markets, cities, and governments
around the world – through its disclosure platform and scoring methodology. Further to these actions, a climate
transition plan serves as a strategic planning instrument that helps organizations align their various climate
actions. An organization should disclose sufficient details to all 21 key climate transition-focused indicators to
demonstrate the robustness and credibility of its climate transition plan and track the progress of its transition to a
1.5°C world.

Although this level of disclosure is critical, many organizations are failing to disclose to all the key indicators. 12.6%
of the organizations reporting through CDP have many elements of a credible climate transition plan, however
only 81 (0.4%) of them disclosed sufficient detail to all key indicators. Whilst over 4,100 organizations disclosed
that they had developed a 1.5°C-aligned climate transition plan, only a small minority of these are demonstrating
through their disclosure, that they have a credible plan in place. With a 40% increase in overall disclosure when
compared to the 2021 disclosure cycle, it is rational to expect the new organizations to be at the start of their
transition journey and therefore not yet have a credible climate transition plan. Going forward, as these disclosures
and their implementation mature, we expect their quality to also improve. CDP regularly raise the bar for what
qualifies as environmental leadership in line with emerging science, feedback from stakeholders, and market needs
for greater environmental transparency. This is evidenced by the reduction seen in the number of organizations who
disclosed against all the key indicators in the climate change questionnaire (135 in 2021). This reduction is due to
more stringent criteria on 1.5°C alignment from companies.

7
 Distribution of disclosure to all 21 key indicators

Figure 1. 2022 disclosure to climate transition plan indicators – by disclosure tier

12,737 3,541 2,244

81

Few (0-33%) Some (33-66%) Many (67-99%) All (100%)

# Total number of organizations

Organizations have been categorized into four tiers, based on their level of credible disclosure against the 21
key indicators – please see Appendix for a detailed breakdown of these relevant tiers. The ‘few’ tier represents
organizations that have disclosed against up to 33% of the key indicators, the ‘some' tier represents organizations
in the 34%-66% range, the ‘many’ tier represents organizations in the 67%-99% range and the ‘all’ tier represents
organizations who disclosed to 100% of the key indicators of a credible climate transition plan.

The largest proportion of all disclosing organizations fall within the ‘few’ tier, representing 68% of all
organizations that disclosed through the climate change questionnaire in 2022. The ‘few' tier is followed by the
‘some’ tier with 19% of disclosing organizations falling within this tier. Combined, these bottom two tiers represent
87% of all disclosing organizations, demonstrating that a large group of disclosers are failing to disclose to many
or all of the transition-relevant indicators. This leaves 13% of organizations that disclose to many of the climate
transition plan indicators and 0.44% disclosing to all indicators. Most organizations have a long way to go to
improve transition-relevant disclosures in their CDP climate change response.

Organizations that disclosed that they have developed a public 1.5°C-aligned climate transition plan with defined
shareholder feedback mechanisms predominantly disclosed to many indicators of a credible climate transition
plan, with 949 organizations disclosing within this tier.

8
 Industry Trends

Summary of industry trends

The top industries that made up the 81 organizations who reported against all key indicators include: services,
manufacturing, materials, and infrastructure. Influential organizations in high-emitting industries are not changing
their business models fast enough. This risks making global targets unachievable unless they accelerate their rate
of change.

To better understand climate transition plan disclosure performance across various industries, CDP analyzed
overall industry disclosures.

Figure 2. Industry breakdown across disclosure tier - climate transition plan indicators

Percentage
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Apparel 457

Biotech, health care & pharma 479

Financial services 662

Food, beverage & agriculture 1038

Fossil Fuels 271

Hospitality 111

Infrastructure 719

International bodies 8

Manufacturing 7443

Materials 1670

Power generation 228

Retail 870

Services 3717

Transportation services 930

0 2000 4000 6000 8000

Number of organizations

Few Some Many All Total organizations

9
 Power generation and infrastructure had the highest disclosure rate3 with 2.2% and 1.7% of all organizations
in each of these industries disclosing to all 21 key indicators of a credible climate transition plan. This
demonstrates a significant gap within all industries. Apparel, fossil fuels and hospitality had the poorest rate of
disclosure with only one organization in each of these industries disclosing to all key indicators.

However, there are some promising trends. The industries with the strongest disclosure rates to many or all of the
key indicators were power generation with 38% and financial services with 35%. It is critical that power generation
organizations and financial institutions continue to develop more robust and credible climate transition plan
disclosures in order to facilitate and finance a transparent climate transition.

To negate the risk of not meeting our global climate ambitions, more pressure needs to be applied to organizations
in the fossil fuels industry. In 2021, fossil fuels were among financial services and power generation as the leading
industries in climate transition plan disclosure with 5% of organizations in their industry disclosing to all key indicators.
However, the decrease in transparency from fossil fuel organizations (now with only one organization disclosing
to all key indicators) in this year’s analysis is concerning, as they are falling behind key value chain partners (power
generation and financial services). With global energy demand expected to rise by population and economic growth
particularly in developing economies, it is vital that there is an increase in disclosure to help mitigate the transition
being derailed in an attempt to meet increased energy demand.

3. Disclosure rate = Total number of disclosures in the threshold as a proportion of total disclosure (across all thresholds), per industry.

10
 Geography Trends

We recognize the complexity of assessing regional disclosures, hence this section of the report does not present
any analysis on the underlying factors/broader implications of the trends identified from this regional assessment.

Summary of geography trends

Organizations headquartered in over 135 countries disclosed through CDP in 2022. When evaluated for disclosure
to all key indicators of a credible climate transition plan, Japan was the leader with 16 organizations. Japan was
also the leading country in the 2021 assessment of the disclosure of credible climate transition plans.

Please see Figure 3, below, for a regional breakdown of disclosure performance to the key climate transition plan
indicators.

Figure 3. Disclosure performance, by country/region (Top 20)

100% 4000

90% 3718

80%
3000

Number of organizations
70%

60%
Percentage

50% 2000
2037

40% 1695

1448
30% 1310
1000
20% 975

578 547
10% 500 481
425 390 378
322 244 224 193 186 183 172 166
0% 0
Ire t

il

ly

ce

na

da

en

nd
a

or o an

lia

ey

d
Br d

na
n ea

az

an

nd
di

re
ic

in

ai
n

an
ic
Ita

rk
ra
an

ed
N m p

hi

na
la

la

hi
er

ex
Ch

Sp
In
er Gr

Ko
rm

rla
d do Ja

nl
Tu
st
,C

er

,C
Fr
Am

Sw
Ca
M

Fi
th f

Au
he
itz
Ge

of
an

ng
Sw

et
of

ic
w

Ko
N
bl
i
Ta
es

pu

ng
an ng
at

Re

Ho
in Ki
St

ita ed
d
ite

Br it
Un
Un

Few Some Many All Total organizations

11
 G20 narrative
According to The Climate Transparency 2022 Report, the G20 is responsible for approximately 75% of GHG
emissions. In 2022, research found that energy emissions rebounded 5.9% to above pre-pandemic levels. To
prevent the global temperature rising above 1.5°C and halve emissions by 2030, the G20 has an important role to
play. Worryingly, no organizations from countries in the G20 other than Portugal, had a disclosure rate higher than
2% when assessed for disclosure to all 21 key indicators. Several organizations from countries such as Canada and
China had no disclosures meet the criteria on all key indicators. However there are more encouraging signs when
looking at disclosure to many (14 - 20) of the key indicators. Please see the Appendix for total regional disclosure
(and tier breakdown).

UK
Given that the UK government will be making disclosure of transition plans for publicly listed organizations and
financial institutions mandatory in 20234, a marked increase in UK climate transition plan disclosure is expected.
Out of the 1,448 UK organization that disclosed through CDP in 2022, 28% (404) reported having developed a
1.5°C-aligned climate transition plan. Of these 404 organizations, six disclosed to all 21 key indicators. 15% (212)
of all UK organizations disclosed to many of the key indicators. Concerningly, most UK organizations (960) were in
the few threshold, having disclosed to less than a third of the key indicators.

CDP has worked and continues to collaborate with the UK TPT in its mandate to establish best practice for firm-
level transition plans. CDP’s research, data and disclosure guidance aims to support the UK TPT’s ambition to help
UK organizations and financial institutions to improve the quality of transition plan disclosure.

4. From 2023 – 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to consult on changes to its Listing Rules to reference ISSB standards, expected to be adopted in the UK once finalized.
The FCA intends on considering UK TPT outputs as a basis to strengthen its transition plan disclosure expectations of listed companies, asset managers and FCA-regulated asset
owners.

12
 Element-level trends

Figure 4 shows the percentage of all disclosing organizations that disclosed sufficient detail for each individual
element of a credible climate transition plan. The chart compares disclosure trends using two groups:

{ Group 1 – Entire disclosure group: The 18,600 + organizations who disclosed through the climate change
questionnaire in 2022

{ Group 2 – Climate transition plan disclosure group: The 4,100 organizations who reported to have developed a
1.5°C-aligned climate transition plan

Figure 4 – Disclosure to the climate transition plan elements

Risks & Opportunities

Governance

Policy engagement

Scenario Analysis

S123 accounting with

Element

verification

Value chain engagement

Strategy to achieve net zero

Targets

Financial planning

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Percentage (%)
Entire disclosure sample (Group 1) Climate transition plan disclosure sample (Group 2)

Although there may be unique cases, the trend of disclosure and implementation of a credible climate transition
plan follows a journey which is initiated by identification of risks & opportunities, establishment of governance
structures to guide progress of the transition, strategizing through robust scenario analysis, implementation of a
plan by setting science-based targets (SBTs) and establishment of resources (financial and otherwise) to achieve
set targets. This should be continually validated by an ongoing audit of the plan’s performance.

This journey is consistent with the data assessed in this report as more than a third of the disclosing
organizations met the disclosure criteria for the risks & opportunities element of a credible climate transition
plan – this was followed closely by the governance element (24%) and the policy engagement element (19%).

In contrast, financial planning, targets, and strategy to achieve net-zero were the poorest performing elements
of a credible climate transition plan with 3%, 4% and 7% of organizations meeting the disclosure criteria in these
respective elements. It is essential that disclosure to each element increases at pace.

13
 The following sub-section demonstrates the progression along this journey and further analyzes the
disclosures within each individual element:

Risks & opportunities Governance

A climate transition plan should outline an organization’s Good governance means an organization has board-level
process for minimizing identified climate-related risks and oversight on the climate transition plan and that there
maximizing climate-related opportunities. Organizations are defined governance mechanisms in place to ensure
should disclose any identified climate-related risks and/ implementation of the plan. Over one-third of all disclosing
or opportunities with the potential to have financial or organizations reported having board-level oversight
strategic impact on their business and their plans to of climate transition plans. Additionally, more than
manage them. Where these risks or opportunities have one-quarter of disclosing organizations reported having
not been identified organizations should disclose why they incentives in place for the management of climate related
consider their business to not be exposed to these climate- issues. Less than a quarter of disclosing organizations have
related risks and/or opportunities. both board-level oversight and incentives in place.

When examining these governance indicators among

Disclosure of potential climate-related risks or, where
organizations that reported having a public 1.5°C-aligned
appropriate, disclosure of a reason for why risks have
climate transition plan with shareholder feedback
not been identified was strong with 40% of organizations
mechanisms in place, more than 68% also have board-level
disclosing sufficient detail. Disclosure of potential climate-
oversight and offer incentives. While most organizations
related opportunities, or where appropriate, disclosure of
with strong climate transition plans report having
a reason for why opportunities have not been identified these governance practices in place, there are many
was slightly stronger with 42% of organizations disclosing organizations that need to improve their governance.
sufficient detail. Similarly, organizations without climate transition plans are
less likely to have robust governance practices in place. The
For organizations to disclose sufficiently to this element, data suggests that organizations with climate transition
they should disclose on both their risk and opportunities plans tend to have better governance practices than
management processes. It is encouraging that 32% of organizations without climate transition plans.
disclosing organizations disclosed sufficient detail
of their process for managing risks and realizing
opportunities. In contrast, only 6% of organizations that Scenario analysis
disclosed that they have a 1.5°C climate transition plan
with a defined shareholder feedback mechanism also A climate transition plan should be underpinned by robust
disclosed sufficient detail of their risk and opportunities scenario analysis — to identify potential substantive
management processes. climate-related risks and opportunities, enhance critical
strategic thinking, and help an organization understand
It is essential that organizations disclose their risk how it might perform in different future states. Of the
and opportunities management process, and that any 18,600+ organizations that disclosed in 2022, just 3,315
climate transition plan manages risks and plans to realize organizations disclosed a robust scenario analysis
opportunities if they have been identified. A climate process. Of the 1,751 organizations that reported a
transition plan demonstrates how an organization plans to public 1.5°C-aligned climate transition plan with a defined
continue to be relevant (i.e., profitable) in a 1.5°C-aligned shareholder feedback mechanism in place, about 63%
world. The risk and opportunities element of a credible (1,111 organizations) also disclosed details which
climate transition plan is where an organization can demonstrate robust scenario analysis. It is critical that
organizations engaged in climate transition planning
demonstrate this business-related planning element.
implement scenario analysis as an important strategic
planning tool. To learn more about scenario analysis and
best practices for disclosure, see CDP's Technical Note on
Scenario Analysis.

14
 Targets
SBTs are a vital part of a credible climate transition plan. A climate transition plan should contain time-bound, and
where possible, verified SBTs which are in line with the latest climate science. Organizations should set near-term
SBTs to halve emissions by 2030 and should also set a net-zero long-term target – by 2050 at the latest. CDP
assessed disclosed targets and investigated three key indicators: (1) absolute targets, (2) intensity targets, and (3)
net-zero targets. For analysis of this element, there were 2,597 organizations that could not be assessed this year –
please see Appendix for more detail.

For analysis of this element, two assessment routes were considered:

{ SBTi route: This assessment route aligns with the underlying methodology of the Science Based Targets
initiative (SBTi) for setting credible science-based targets.

{ CDP route: For organizations who do not have SBTi validation, CDP offers an alternative way to assess
leadership within disclosure of targets. For more information, please see here.

Of the three target indicators assessed within this element, reported net-zero targets met the disclosure criteria
most, followed by absolute targets, and then intensity targets – see Figure 5, below.

Figure 5 – Distribution of disclosed targets data

16,990
15,908
16000 14,786
Number of organizations

12000

800

400 2,597 2,597

1,220 1,613
98
0
Absolute targets Intensity targets Net-zero targets

Disclosure did not meet criteria Not assessed Disclosure met criteria

672 organizations met the disclosure requirement for targets i.e., these organizations credibly disclosed either
an absolute or intensity target and a net-zero target, amounting to 4% of the total sample. Over half of these
organizations (384) also disclosed that they have a 1.5°C transition plan with a defined shareholder feedback
mechanism. Although organizations may disclose that they have ambitious emissions reduction targets via other means,
CDP views the SBTi as the gold standard for setting credible SBTs. This is because the SBTi follows an independent,
rigorous, verified and science-aligned process aimed at driving ambitious climate action in the private industry.

15
 Of the 672 organizations that met the disclosure criteria for the targets element, three-quarters of them have some
level of SBTi status - see Figure 6 for distribution of these SBTi targets.

Figure 6 – Breakdown of SBTi status amongst 672 organizations who met the disclosure criteria for credible
targets element level disclosure

Net-zero target distribution Near-term target distribution

216 94 69

406 313

50 29

Net-zero committed Near-term target committed

Net-zero target approved Near-term target approved 1.5oC
No net-zero status Near-term target approved well below 2oC
Near-term target approved 2oC

Out of the 672 organizations, 313 of them have a 1.5°C SBTi approved near-term target, with 50 of these also
having an SBTi net-zero approved target. The data highlights a discrepancy between the number of disclosed
targets and transition plans in general. Even though organizations demonstrate that they have science-based
targets, the data suggests that this is not always supported by a credible climate transition plan demonstrating how
they will achieve them.

16
 Financial planning

As part of its strategy to pivot to a 1.5°C-aligned world, an organization should outline time-bound financial planning
details required to achieve its climate transition. 35% of organizations disclosed broad details on how climate
issues have impacted their financial planning. Stakeholder demand is rapidly increasing for transparent and
granular reporting on Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and other financial planning details. All emerging transition
plan frameworks recommend organizations to disclose financial planning information to report on the impacts of
climate-related risks and opportunities on their business and strategy.

In 2022, CDP introduced a new question to collect granular, forward-looking information on Revenue, CAPEX,
Operating Expenditure (OPEX), or other financial metrics in alignment with the transition to 1.5°C for the reporting
year and planned for 2025 and 20305. Only 581 organizations (just over 3%) provided financial figures AND a
methodology explaining the estimation used to calculate any reported financial metric. Approximately 407
of these organizations with strong financial planning disclosure also reported a public 1.5°C-aligned climate
transition plan with feedback shareholder mechanisms in place. This demonstrates that many (approximatley
174) organizations that reported having developed a 1.5°C-aligned climate transition plan are in fact missing this
essential aspect of credible climate transition plan disclosure.

Disclosure to the financial planning element was the weakest with on average 3% of organizations disclosing
sufficiently to these indicators across the entire disclosure sample. Yet nearly 15% of organizations in the power
generation industry provided robust disclosures on the current and future planned financial planning in alignment
with their 1.5°C climate transition plan, the most of any industry. This is a promising trend from an important
industry. From all other industries, less than 8% of organizations disclosed these details, and manufacturing and
services industry disclosure rate was 2%.

5. In 2021, only organizations in certain high-emitting sectors were requested to report on industry-specific questions regarding CAPEX plans or investment in R&D.

17
 Value chain engagement & low carbon initiatives

A climate transition plan should include time-bound actions to decarbonize business processes (and those of
its value chain), with time-bound KPIs. This includes three distinct elements: (1) value chain engagement; (2)
increasing share of revenue from low-carbon products and services; and (3) implementing emissions reduction
initiatives for its direct and indirect operations. The key indicators assessed within this element include the
disclosure of supply chain engagement strategy and the disclosure of details and revenue from low-carbon
products and/or services.

Value chain engagement enables an organization to effectively transition across its wider operations and drive
down emissions that are located within its value chain. Whilst such actions are essential to any credible transition
and central to a credible climate transition plan, organizations disproportionately failed to disclose details of
their supply chain engagement strategy. Only 16% of organizations disclosed details on their supply chain
engagement strategy, which requires organizations to disclose the type of engagement, description of the impact,
percentage of coverage over supplies and procurement spend, and a rationale for engagement.

Driving down emissions within an organization’s direct operations through increasing the portfolio of low-carbon
products and/or services is another feature of this element. Organizations should disclose the percentage of revenue
they receive from their low-carbon products and/or services and elaborate with a comment. Only 11% of disclosing
organizations disclosed sufficient details on their low-carbon products and/or services. Discouragingly, fewer
organizations disclosed details on their products and/or services than supply chain engagement strategies.

Disclosure of this element was particularly poor. Organizations that disclosed details on both their supply chain
engagement and low-carbon products and/or services only represent 8% of the entire disclosures to the climate
change questionnaire in 2022. Similarly, only 3% of those organizations that disclosed that they have a public
1.5°C-aligned climate transition plan with a defined shareholder feedback mechanism in place, disclosed details on
both their supply chain engagement and low-carbon products and/or services, more work is needed.

Policy engagement

A climate transition plan should demonstrate that an organization's public policy engagement aligns with its climate
ambition and strategy. Any existing or planned engagement should contribute toward creating an accommodative
policy environment with climate-positive policies that support an organizational and an economy-wide transition.

Organizations should disclose whether their engagement activities are in line with the Paris Agreement and details
on their processes in place to ensure engagement activities are consistent with their overall climate change
strategy. 19% of organizations disclosed such details on their policy engagement including an explanation of why
such direct or indirect engagements were not taking place. Concurrently, 81% of organizations disclosing via
the 2022 climate change questionnaire failed to disclose sufficient details of their policy engagement. Most
organizations that disclosed that they have a 1.5°C climate transition plan with a defined shareholder feedback
mechanism were not transparent with their policy disclosure, with only 6% disclosing sufficient detail of this crucial
element of credible climate transition plans.

18
 Scope 1, 2 and 3 accounting with verification

A climate transition plan should be accompanied by an annual Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions inventory that is
complete, accurate, transparent, consistent, relevant, and verified by a third-party. In this year’s analysis, we
assessed the disclosure of indicators within this element and identified that of all three scopes of emissions
reported, Scope 2 disclosures most met the disclosure criteria (99%), followed by Scope 1 (71%) and Scope 3 (22%)
- see Figure 7, below:

Figure 7 – Scope 1, 2 and 3 accounting with verification

20,000 180

5,240
16,000
Number of organizations

12,000 14,383
15,928

800
13,363 18,423

400
4,220
2,675
0
Scope 1 Scope 2 Scope 3 Third party verification
Sub-element
Disclosure met criteria Disclosure did not meet criteria

As you cannot manage what you do not measure, a robust emissions inventory with third party verification is the
bedrock of the transition journey and the foundation of setting science-based targets which underpin a credible
climate transition plan. Of the entire group assessed, 1,750 organizations met the disclosure criteria for this
element i.e., these organizations disclosed robustly to all three scopes of emissions and reported the existence
of a credible third-party verification system. Interestingly, the data shows that of the 4,101 organizations who
reported to have developed a climate transition plan, less than half (approximately 43%) of them had a credible
and third party verified emissions inventory, which accompanied their plan. Although this element is not a direct
indicator of climate transition plans, credible climate transition plans must be accompanied by robust and complete
disclosure of GHG emissions to track progress.

19
 Conclusion

With only 0.4% of all disclosing organizations

reporting details of a credible climate transition
plan, it is clear that better quality disclosure is
needed, but pivoting towards a 1.5°C-aligned
trajectory is a journey. This report shows
encouraging signs and interest in the uptake of
climate transition plans from various stakeholders
and organizations.
Over 30% of all disclosing organizations reported that they intend
on developing a 1.5°C-aligned climate transition plan in the next two
years. There are encouraging signs that signal a substantial number
of organizations are on the journey to improve their transition-relevant
disclosure. Further, with a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape seen
across the UK, the EU and the US, forthcoming legislation on transition
plans will be a key driver of increased (and improved) climate transition
plan disclosure.

It should be emphasized that although there were only 81 organizations

who met the criteria for all the indicators of a credible climate transition
plan in this year’s assessment, there was also a subset of over 2,000
organizations who reported to many (14–20) of the key climate
transition plan indicators. CDP recognizes that climate transition plans
are a vital mechanism for transition to a 1.5°C-aligned world. This is why
transition planning features in the CDP 2021–2025 strategy, placing
transparency and accountability at its heart. CDP's disclosure platform,
disclosure guidance and thematic research seeks to incentivize the
disclosure of credible climate transition plans as they catalyze ambition
from disclosure & oversight to action plan.

20
 Appendix

Assessment methodology & key transition-focused indicators in the 2022 climate change questionnaire

Climate
CDP 2022 climate change question
transition plan Relevance to climate transition plans Assessment methodology
and question code
element

An organization should have board-level Organization discloses the frequency

oversight of its climate transition plan with which climate-related issues are a
(C1.1b) Provide further details on the
with defined governance mechanisms scheduled agenda item, the governance
board’s oversight of climate-related
in place to ensure delivery of the plan. mechanisms into which climate issues
issues.
Climate issues should be a scheduled are integrated and elaborate with an
item at all or some board meetings. explanation.

Governance To incentivize conscious action and

commitment in realizing the plan’s Organization discloses who is entitled to
(C1.3a) Provide further details on the
goals, it is recommended that executive the incentives, the type of incentive and
incentives provided for the management
management incentives are aligned with the activity incentivized, and elaborated
of climate related issues.
the organization’s climate transition plan with a comment.
goals.

Organization discloses on its use of

Robust scenario analysis is an
(C3.2a) Provide details of your climate-related scenario analysis,
important strategic planning tool that
organization’s use of climate-related scenario analysis coverage, temperature
Scenario can be used to inform the development
scenario analysis. alignment of scenario, parameters,
analysis of a climate transition plan.
assumptions, and analytical choices.

Financial planning is crucial when Organization reports on at least one

(C3.4) Describe where and how climate-
demonstrating that an organization is area of its financial planning that
related risks and opportunities have
aligning with climate goals (as elaborated has been influenced by climate and
influenced your financial planning.
in its climate transition plan), and that describes its influences.
it will be relevant (i.e., profitable) in a
1.5°C-aligned world. Climate transition
plans should include a demonstration Organization must select at least
of how they have aligned/intend to align one financial metric and disclose
Financial (C3.5a) Quantify the percentage share the percentage share of the selected
their financial planning with their climate
planning of your spending/revenue that is aligned financial metric which is aligned with a
transition plan in the reporting year and
with your organization’s transition to a at milestone years ‘2025’ and ‘2030’. 1.5°C world in the reporting year, 2025,
1.5°C-aligned world. Financial details may describe revenue, 2030 and description of methodology
CAPEX, and/or OPEX projections used to identify spending/revenue that is
which are crucial for realizing the plan’s aligned with a 1.5°C world.
ambition.

Organizations are facing resiliency

risks in the value chain that have
material environmental and financial
implications; hence, value chain
engagement plays a significant role
Organization discloses the type of
in realizing a climate transition plan.
supplier engagement, details of the
Organizations with significant emissions
engagement, a description of the
in their supply chain can leverage
(C12.1a) Provide details of your climate- impact of the engagement, including
their buyer power and engage their
related supplier engagement strategy. measures of success, a figure in both
suppliers towards a 1.5°C-aligned
the % of suppliers by number and % of
transition. A climate transition plan
Value chain procurement spend, and a rationale for
should include time-bound actions to
engagement the cover of its engagement.
decarbonize business processes within
& low carbon
the value chain, including supply chain
initiatives
engagement that covers at least 25% of
its suppliers by procurement spend or
Scope 3 emissions.

A climate transition plan should include Organization discloses details of its low-
(C4.5a) Provide details of your products
time-bound actions to decarbonize carbon products and services, as well as
and/ or services that you classify as low-
business processes, such as growing a non-zero figure for the % revenue from
carbon products or that enable a third
the revenue earned from its products that product in the reporting year and
party to avoid GHG emissions.
and services portfolio. elaborate with a comment.

21
 Climate
CDP 2022 climate change question
transition plan Relevance to climate transition plans Assessment methodology
and question code
element

Organization should disclose whether it

has a direct or indirect engagement that
could influence policy, law, or regulation
For many organizations, a successful that may impact climate, whether it
climate transition will depend on an has a public commitment or position
accommodative policy landscape, thus statement to conduct its engagement
(C12.3) Does your organization engage organizations should advocate for activities in line with the goals of
in activities that could either directly climate-positive policies that impact the Paris Agreement, describe the
Policy or indirectly influence policy, law, or their relevant industry(s). A climate process(es) it has in place to ensure that
engagement regulation that may impact the climate? transition plan should demonstrate its engagement activities are consistent
that an organization’s public policy with its overall climate change strategy
engagement aligns with its climate and where relevant, a reason (and
ambitions and strategy. explanation) for not engaging in
activities that could directly or indirectly
influence policy, law, or regulation that
may impact the climate.

Developing a climate transition plan

provides certainty to data users that a
company is aligning to the long-term Organization discloses that it has
(C3.1) Does your organization’s strategy climate goals and that its business a publicly available 1.5°C climate
include a transition plan that aligns with model will continue to be relevant in a transition plan with a well-defined
a 1.5°C world? net-zero carbon economy. Collecting feedback mechanism in place, to track
feedback on the transition plan allows progress.
shareholders to review and raise
resolutions related to progress.
Strategy
A climate transition plan should outline Organization describes how climate
how an organization will achieve has influenced, has not influenced,
(C3.3) Describe where and how climate-
its strategy to pivot its products or how they are considering climate’s
related risks and opportunities have
and services, supply/value chain, influence to their products and services,
influenced your strategy.
investment in R&D, and operations to a investment in R&D, operations, and
1.5°C-aligned world. supply/value chain.

Organization reports details of at least one

(C2.3a) Provide details of risks identified climate-related risk identified, including
with the potential to have a substantive the potential financial impact and cost to
financial or strategic impact on your Disclosing details of material climate respond to the risk.
business. risks posed to an organization, including
the potential financial impact and the However, if an organization has not
(C2.3b) Why do you not consider your cost to respond to these risks, indicates disclosed to C2.3a, it must have disclosed
organization to be exposed to climate- a robust climate transition plan is in to C2.3b, by providing an explanation why
related risks with the potential to have a place. it does not consider itself to be exposed
substantive financial or strategic impact to climate related risks with the potential
on your business? to have a substantive financial or strategic
impact on its business.
Risks & Organization reports details of at least
opportunities one climate-related opportunity identified,
(C2.4a) Provide details of opportunities including the potential financial impact and
identified with the potential to have a Disclosing details of material climate cost to realize the opportunity.
substantive financial or strategic impact opportunities posed to an organization,
on your business. including the potential financial However, if an organization has not
impact and the cost to realize these disclosed to C2.4a, it must have disclosed
(C2.4b) Why do you not consider your opportunities, indicates a robust to C2.4b, by providing an explanation why
organization to have climate-related transition plan is in place. it does not consider itself to be exposed
opportunities? to climate related risks with the potential
to have a substantive financial or strategic
impact on its business.

22
 Climate
CDP 2022 climate change question
transition plan Relevance to climate transition plans Assessment methodology
and question code
element

The criteria for credible targets

disclosure within a credible climate
transition plan require an organization to
disclose: (1) its target to have a science-
based status, (2) details on intensity or
absolute emissions targets (3) that it
has a 1.5°C-aligned target.
(C4.1a) Provide details of your absolute
emissions targets and progress made A climate transition plan should be
For this year's assessment, we
against those targets. underpinned by ambitious near-and
leveraged the CDP scoring methodology
long-term science-based targets which
and resultantly, 2,597 organizations
(C4.1b) Provide details of your are in line with the latest climate science
could not be assessed for several
emissions intensity target(s) and to achieve a 1.5°C-aligned world.
operational reasons such as:
progress made against those target(s).
Late submissions, minimum tier
Targets
responses with Investor request only,
HQ in Russian Federation/Belarus,
Forests only - Coal OR Metals & mining
companies, Forests only - didn’t
respond to any commodity, Unpaid
administration fees.

A climate transition plan should aim to

Organization reports on whether it is
achieve science-based net-zero targets
(C4.2c) Provide details of your net-zero reporting a net-zero target, whether it is
in line with the latest climate science to
target(s). science based – and if so, it also reports
achieve a 1.5°C-aligned world by 2050 at
details on its net-zero target.
the latest.

(C6.1) What were your organization’s

Organization discloses a figure for its
gross global Scope 1 emissions in
Scope 1 emissions.
indicator tons CO2e?
A climate transition plan should
(C6.3) What were your organization’s be accompanied by a complete, Organization discloses a figure for its
gross global Scope 2 emissions in accurate, transparent, consistent, and Scope 2 location-based or market-based
indicator tons CO2e? relevant inventory of all three scopes emissions.
of emissions. Organizations should
calculate and disclose all material For each category of Scope 3 emissions,
Scope 1,2,3 categories of Scope 3 and provide an the organization discloses a figure
(C6.5) Account for your organization’s
Accounting explanation for categories that are not for any “relevant, calculated” or “not
gross global Scope 3 emissions,
with relevant. relevant, calculated” categories,
disclosing and explaining any
verification or provides an explanation for any
exclusions.
categories “not relevant, explanation
provided”.

A climate transition plan should be

(C10.1) Indicate the verification/
accompanied by a complete annual Organization reports verification is in
assurance status that applies to your
inventory Scope 1, 2, & 3 emissions that place for its Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
reported emissions.
is verified by a third party.

23
 Threshold breakdown

Name Threshold Meaning

All 100% Organizations in this tier disclosed to all 21 key indicators of a credible climate transition plan.

Organizations in this tier disclosed between 14 and 20 of the key indicators which comprise a
Many 67 - 99%
credible climate transition plan.

Organizations in this tier disclosed between 7 and 13 of the key indicators which comprise a
Some 34 – 66%
credible climate transition plan.

Organizations in this tier disclosed less than 7 of the 21 key indicators which comprise a credible
Few 0 – 33%
climate transition plan.

Total industry disclosure (and threshold breakdown)

TIERS

Industry Few Some Many All Total

Apparel 324 91 41 1 457

Biotech, health care & pharma 285 116 75 3 479

Financial services 143 284 233 2 662

Food, beverage & agriculture 678 211 143 6 1,038

Fossil fuels 147 64 59 1 271

Hospitality 47 35 28 1 111

Infrastructure 377 135 195 12 719

International bodies 4 4 8

Manufacturing 5,571 1,304 553 15 7,443

Materials 1,019 350 288 13 1,670

Power generation 84 57 82 5 228

Retail 519 214 133 4 870

Services 2,854 533 314 16 3,717

Transportation services 685 143 100 2 930

Grand total 12,737 3541 2244 81 18,603

24
 Total country/region disclosure (and tier breakdown)

Country/region Few Some Many All Total Country/region Few Some Many All Total

United States 2,678 705 330 5 3,718 United Arab

50 9 3 62
Emirates
China 1532 416 89 2,037
Chile 34 2 8 44
Japan 835 467 377 16 1,695
Greece 24 11 7 1 43
United Kingdom 960 276 206 6 1,448
Romania 39 4 43
Brazil 1,114 118 77 1 1,310
Hungary 37 4 1 42
Germany 700 171 103 1 975
Saudi Arabia 37 3 40
Italy 447 78 49 4 578
New Zealand 14 12 13 39
France 335 91 116 5 547
Czechia 34 5 39
Taiwan, China 266 143 87 4 500
Viet Nam 33 2 35
India 328 95 53 5 481
Philippines 18 8 7 33
Republic of Korea 278 44 101 2 425
Israel 19 7 3 29
Mexico 324 50 15 1 390
Ecuador 26 1 1 28
Spain 279 38 56 5 378
Egypt 22 5 1 28
Canada 166 115 41 322
Kuwait 24 1 25
Sweden 143 59 41 1 244
Pakistan 16 7 1 24
Switzerland 123 61 35 5 224
Luxembourg 6 7 9 22
Netherlands 111 51 27 4 193
Slovenia 16 5 21
Hong Kong, China 123 47 16 186
Russian Federation 5 8 7 20
Australia 114 43 26 183
Bangladesh 15 4 19
Turkey 87 25 57 3 172
Slovakia 15 2 1 18
Finland 105 31 29 1 166
Qatar 17 1 18
Denmark 109 30 21 160
Costa Rica 15 1 16
Poland 98 30 1 129
Peru 8 8 16
Ireland 51 29 36 116
Kazakhstan 13 1 1 15
Singapore 77 20 13 110
Nigeria 12 3 15
Belgium 62 15 28 1 106
Lithuania 11 2 1 14
Norway 47 17 35 4 103
Bermuda 4 6 2 12
Austria 61 24 18 103
Oman 12 12
Indonesia 78 16 7 101
Uruguay 11 1 12
Malaysia 78 18 3 99
Guatemala 9 2 11
Thailand 65 13 17 2 97
Trinidad and
11 11
South Africa 29 28 34 91 Tobago
Argentina 64 8 1 73 Macao, China 9 1 10
Portugal 47 7 11 4 69 Iraq 10 10
Colombia 53 7 7 67 Algeria 8 8

25
 Country/region Few Some Many All Total Country/region Few Some Many All Total

Estonia 6 2 8 Nicaragua 2 2

Panama 7 1 8 Paraguay 2 2
Cayman Islands 3 2 2 7 Guernsey 1 1
Bulgaria 5 1 1 7 Marshall Islands 1 1
Sri Lanka 6 1 7 Afghanistan 1 1
Croatia 7 7 Åland Islands 1 1
Iceland 1 3 2 6 Bahrain 1 1
Guyana 5 1 6 British Virgin
1 1
Serbia 5 1 6 Islands

Kenya 4 1 5 Brunei Darussalam 1 1

Ukraine 5 5 Cameroon 1 1

(blank) 5 5 Congo 1 1

Dominican Republic 2 2 4 Côte d’Ivoire 1 1

Ghana 4 4 Equatorial Guinea 1 1

Malta 1 2 3 Eritrea 1 1

Cyprus 2 1 3 Eswatini 1 1

Angola 3 3 Fiji 1 1

Bolivia Greenland 1 1
(Plurinational 3 3
State of) Isle of Man 1 1

Cambodia 2 1 3 Jamaica 1 1

El Salvador 2 1 3 Monaco 1 1

Honduras 3 3 Mongolia 1 1

Jersey 1 2 3 Mozambique 1 1

Jordan 3 3 Myanmar 1 1

Madagascar 3 3 Namibia 1 1

Mauritius 1 2 3 Norfolk Island 1 1

Puerto Rico 3 3 San Marino 1 1

Tunisia 2 1 3 Senegal 1 1

Uganda 2 1 3 South Sudan 1 1

Morocco 1 1 2 Turkmenistan 1 1

Belarus 2 2 United Republic of

1 1
Tanzania
Georgia 2 2
United States
Lebanon 2 2
Minor Outlying 1 1
Libya 2 2 Islands

Mauritania 2 2 Yemen 1 1

26
 DISCLOSURE INSIGHT ACTION

Authors Data team

Amir Sokolowski Ben Simpson

Global Director, Climate Change Senior Data Analyst - Transitions
[email protected] [email protected]

Tatiana Boldyreva
Associate Director, Climate Communications Lead
[email protected]
Maddy Bravery
Emma Jenkins-Long Communications Manager
Associate Director - Transition Plans [email protected]
[email protected]

Sylvester Bamkole
Senior Climate Analyst, Climate Change
[email protected]

Scott Twigg
Campaign Project Officer
[email protected]

CDP Worldwide
4th Floor,
60 Great Tower Street,
London EC3R 5AZ
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)20 3818 3900

www.cdp.net
[email protected]

If you are looking for more information on Climate Transition Plans

please email [email protected].

ABOUT CDP

CDP is a global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental

disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions.
Founded in 2000 and working with more than 680 financial
institutions with over $130 trillion in assets, CDP pioneered using
capital markets and corporate procurement to motivate companies
to disclose their environmental impacts, and to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests.
Nearly 20,000 organizations around the world disclosed data
through CDP in 2022, including more than 18,700 companies worth
50% of global market capitalization, and over 1,100 cities, states and
regions. Fully TCFD aligned, CDP holds the largest environmental
database in the world, and CDP scores are widely used to drive
investment and procurement decisions towards a zero carbon,
sustainable and resilient economy. CDP is a founding member of the
Science Based Targets initiative, We Mean Business Coalition, The
Investor Agenda and the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative.

Visit cdp.net or follow us @CDP to find out more.