CDP Forests Scoring Essential Criteria 2024

Full Forests Essential Criteria 2024: Version ControlVersion
numberRelease/revision date

Revision summary

1.0

14/06/2024

First version

1.1

31/07/2024

Additional criteria added relating to Financial services sector

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Introduction
To acknowledge organizations’ positive and effective actions to mitigate risks due to climatechange, water security and deforestation, CDP recognizes organizations awarded a highLeadership score via inclusion in the A List of their respective environmental issue area. In orderfor an organization to achieve A List status, they must ensure several items are included within
their response, as well as pass several checks carried out by CDP after the submission of theresponse. In 2024, CDP has introduced new A-list checks for each environmental issue,
reflecting the need for transformational, urgent and collaborative change in the face of everincreasing environmental concerns across the world.
Every year, CDP increases the ambition of its disclosure framework, recognizing the practices
that have been mainstreamed and, as a result, the changed criteria for what can be consideredas ‘leadership’ in terms of environmental disclosure and performance. In previous years, CDP
applied essential criteria in scoring to the A List only. In 2024, CDP is introducing an extra layerof essential criteria for forests at the Leadership level, that must be met for organizations
responding to the full corporate questionnaire for Forests to achieve a Leadership-level score (Aor A-). This will set a consistent baseline of reporting, ensuring that organizations include key
data points that are critical to understanding how they are assessing and responding toenvironmental issues. It also ensures that high scoring organizations are disclosing in the mostconsistent and comprehensive way, and clarifies the critical datapoints that organizations must
disclose on to earn leadership status.
Please note: in 2024, the Forests essential criteria will only be applied to organizations
responding to the Full Corporate Questionnaire, excluding those organizations with Financial
Services as their primary sector. Some essential criteria are specific to organizations in the Coaland Oil & gas sectors. For essential criteria that reference disclosed commodities, only the fourscored forest risk commodities are assessed (timber products, palm oil, cattle products andsoy). These essential criteria must be met for all of the scored commodities that theorganization is disclosing on.

How to use this document
This document aims to outline the essential criteria across levels below and including the A list.
This document is ordered to reflect the order of topics that arise in the 2024 Full Corporate
Questionnaire - Forests. For each essential criteria topic, there is a table that outlines thefollowing:
Essential criteria level – Essential criteria will be applied at Leadership or A list levels. Not alltopics will have criteria applied to both levels. If a criterion is applied to Leadership level and thecheck is not met, this will limit an organization’s final score to a B. Similarly, if the A-list criteria
are not met then the final score will be limited to an A-.
Question – Each essential criterion will be linked to a question or multiple questions from the2024 Full Corporate Questionnaire – Forests. Where two or more question numbers arereferenced, this indicates that a combination of questions are assessed to meet the overall

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essential criteria at that level. Question numbers that are combinedwith an ‘OR’ indicate that the essential criterion can be met through data points in either
question.
Scored data points – The essential criteria have been broken down into their individualcomponents based on key data points that they assess. In this column, each criterion isoutlined in detail. Organizations must meet all criteria within a level to meet the overall essential
criteria check, unless stated otherwise. Some criteria may specifically link to criteria that arepresent within the 2024 Full Corporate Scoring Methodology – Forests.

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Contents
Full Forests Essential Criteria 2024: Version Control.................................................... 2Introduction ................................................................................................................. 32024 Full Forests Essential Criteria.............................................................................. 6
Public response ....................................................................................................... 6
Reporting of portfolio activity [Financial services] .................................................... 6
Full commodity disclosure [General & all sectors excl. Financial services] ................ 6
Identification, assessment, and management of risks [General & all sectors excl.
Financial services].................................................................................................... 7
Board-level oversight [General & all sectors excl. Financial services] ....................... 7
Environmental policies [General & all sectors excl. Financial services] ..................... 8
CAPEX breakdown [Coal sector] ............................................................................... 8
CAPEX breakdown [Oil & gas sector] ........................................................................ 8
Engagement with suppliers [General & all sectors excl. Financial services] ............... 9
Emissions targets (near-term) [Coal sector] ............................................................. 9
Emissions targets (near-term) [Oil & gas sector] .................................................... 10
Exclusions from disclosure [General & all sectors excl. Financial services] ............. 10
Origin of forest risk commodities [General & all sectors excl. Financial services] ... 10Targets [General & all sectors excl. Financial services] ........................................... 11
Traceability [General & all sectors excl. Financial services] .................................... 11
Deforestation and conservation-free status [General & all sectors excl. Financialservices] ................................................................................................................ 11
Monitoring of deforestation and conversion footprint [General & all sectors excl.
Financial services].................................................................................................. 12
Engagement in external initiatives [General & all sectors excl. Financial services] .. 12Page 5 of 12@cdp | www.cdp.net

2024 Full Forests Essential Criteria
Public response
EssentialCriteria
Level
Leadership

Question

Scored data points

N/A The organization has submitted a public response to the CDP FullCorporate questionnaire.

A-listN/A

 No additional essential criteria; Leadership-level essential criteria
also apply.

Reporting of portfolio activity [Financial services]
Essential
Criteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

1.10

 The organization undertakes at least one of the following
portfolio activities;o Banking (Bank),o Investing (Asset manager),o Investing (Asset owner),o Insurance underwriting (Insurance company)

Full commodity disclosure [General & all sectors excl. Financial services]
Essential
Criteria
Level
Leadership

Question

Scored data points

1.22

 The organization has disclosed on all scored commodities thatthey produce and/or source.
OR Where the organization is not disclosing on all scoredcommodities that they produce and/or source, an acceptablereason for not disclosing on each commodity is provided.

A-listPage 6 of 12N/A

 No additional essential criteria; Leadership-level essential criteria
also apply.

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Identification, assessment, and management of risks[General & all sectors excl. Financial services]
Essential
Criteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

2.2.1

 The organization has a process for identifying, assessing andmanaging environmental risks.

1.22
AND
2.2.2

 The organization provides details on the process for identifying,assessing and managing forests-related risks with all information
required as per the Management level criteria in the CDP Full
Corporate Scoring Methodology – Forests. This also includes anindication of the process coverage.
 If the organization is disclosing on any commodities they source(as reported in question 1.22), then the process covers both theirdirect operations and their upstream value chain. If theorganization is disclosing only on commodities that they produce
and do not source, then the process covers at least their direct
operations.
 Only row(s) where ‘Forests’ is selected in column ‘Environmental
issue’ are assessed.

Board-level oversight [General & all sectors excl. Financial services]
Essential
Criteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

4.1
AND
4.1.2
AND
4.2

 If the organization has a board of directors or an equivalent
governing body: The organization identifies the positions of individuals orcommittees on the board with accountability for forestsrelated issues.
 The organization has board-level competency on forestsrelated issues.
 Only row(s) where ‘Forests’ is selected in column‘Environmental issue’ are assessed.

ORPage 7 of 12

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4.1
AND
4.3
AND
4.3.1
AND
4.4

 If the organization does not have a board of directors orequivalent governing body: The organization has management-level responsibility offorests-related issues, and identifies the highest senior
management-level position or committee withresponsibility for forests-related issues.
 The organization has management-level competency onforests-related issues.
 Only row(s) where ‘Forests’ is selected in column‘Environmental issue’ are assessed.

Environmental policies [General & all sectors excl. Financial services]
Essential
Criteria
LevelA-list

Question

Scored data points

4.6
AND
4.6.1

 The organization has a publicly available forests-related policy
which includes at least one of the following: Commitment to no-conversion of natural ecosystems
 Commitment to no-deforestation
 Commitment to no deforestation, to no planting on peatlands,
and to no exploitation (NDPE)
 Only row(s) where ‘Forests’ is selected in column ‘Environmental
issues covered’ are assessed.

CAPEX breakdown [Coal sector]
Please note: This essential criterion references questions within the Environmental Performance – Climate
Change module. This criterion applies to scoring for this sector in all three environmental issue areas.
EssentialCriteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

5.6

 The organization is not involved in the development or expansionof any new coal mines.

CAPEX breakdown [Oil & gas sector]
Please note: This essential criterion references questions within the Environmental Performance – Climate
Change module. This criterion applies to scoring for this sector in all three environmental issue areas.

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Essential
Criteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

5.6

 The organization is not involved in any explorations of new oil or
natural gas fields.

Engagement with suppliers [General & all sectors excl. Financial services]
Please note: This essential criterion does not apply if the organization is disclosing only on commodities
that they produce and do not source (as reported in question 1.22).
Essential
Criteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

5.11

 The organization engages with its suppliers on forests-related
issues.

5.11.6OR
5.11.7 The organization reports at least one forests-related
environmental requirement that suppliers have to meet as part oftheir purchasing process.
 Only row(s) where ‘Forests’ is selected in column ‘Environmental
issue…’ are assessed.
OR The organization reports at least one type of engagement with
their suppliers on forests-related issues.
 Only row(s) where ‘Forests’ is selected in column ‘Environmental
issue…’ are assessed.

Emissions targets (near-term) [Coal sector]
Please note: This essential criterion references questions within the Environmental Performance –Climate Change module. This criterion applies to scoring for this sector in all three environmental issue
areas.
EssentialCriteria
Level
A-listPage 9 of 12Question

Scored data points

7.53.1
OR
7.53.2 The organization discloses an organization-wide Scope 1 and 2
emissions reduction target that either is validated by the Science
Based Targets Initiative OR that is fully aligned with a 1.5⁰C
scenario (at least a 4.2% absolute annual emissions reduction
between base year and target year).

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Emissions targets (near-term) [Oil & gas sector]
Please note: This essential criterion references questions within the Environmental Performance –Climate Change module. This criterion applies to scoring for this sector in all three environmental issue
areas.
EssentialCriteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

7.53.1
OR
7.53.2 The organization discloses near-term Scope 1, Scope 2 andScope 3 emissions targets that are aligned with best practice as
outlined on either the Science Based Targets Initiative Route OR
the 1.5⁰C aligned CDP Route in the Leadership level criteria in the2024 Full Corporate Scoring Methodology - Climate change.

Exclusions from disclosure [General & all sectors excl. Financial services]
EssentialCriteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

8.1.1

 The organization does not have any significant exclusions fromtheir disclosure.
 Where the organization reports exclusions from their disclosure: A description and reason for each exclusion is provided.
 The commodity volume that is excluded is provided, whereapplicable.
 Exclusions due to recent mergers or acquisitions are exempt
from the above criteria and will not be considered as significant
exclusions, as long as:
 The organization indicates that the merger or acquisition
occurred within the reporting year.
 The organization indicates that the forests-related data will
be incorporated in their disclosure in the next reporting year.

Origin of forest risk commodities [General & all sectors excl. Financial services]
Essential
Criteria
Level
A-listPage 10 of 12Question

Scored data points

8.2
AND
8.3
AND/OR
8.5

 The organization specifies the produced and/or sourced volumesof all scored commodities that they are disclosing on.
 Where organizations are disclosing on commodities theyproduce, details are provided on all country(ies) or area(s) used
for commodity production. Reporting an unknown origin will not
be accepted. The volume(s) reported must sum to 100% of the@cdp | www.cdp.net

total produced volume for the commodity as reported in question
8.2 (with max 5% variance).
 Where organizations are disclosing on commodities they source,details are provided on the country(ies) or area(s) that thecommodities are sourced from. The volume(s) reported mustsum to 100% of the total sourced volume for the commodity asreported in question 8.2 (with max 5% variance).

Targets [General & all sectors excl. Financial services]
Essential
Criteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

8.7
AND
8.7.1

 The organization has a no-deforestation and/or a no-conversion
target for each disclosed commodity, with a cutoff date no later
than 2020 and a target date no later than 2025.

Traceability [General & all sectors excl. Financial services]
Essential
Criteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

8.8
AND
8.8.1

 The organization has a traceability system for each disclosed
commodity, with at least 70% of the sourced volume for eachcommodity traceable to the production unit and/or sourcing area.

Deforestation and conservation-free status [General & all sectors excl. Financialservices]
Essential
Criteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

8.9

 The organization has assessed either the deforestation andconversion-free (DCF) or the deforestation-free (DF) status foreach disclosed commodity.
 The organization reports the percentage of the disclosure volume
determined as DCF/DF in the reporting year for each disclosedcommodity.

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Monitoring of deforestation and conversion footprint [General& all sectors excl. Financial services]
Essential
Criteria
Level
A-list

Question

Scored data points

8.10
AND
8.10.1

 The organization monitors or estimates the deforestation andconversion footprint for each disclosed commodity.
 Where organizations are disclosing on commodities they
produce, the deforestation and conversion footprint is monitored
for the land owned, managed and/or controlled by theorganization.
 Where organizations are disclosing on commodities they source,
the deforestation and conversion footprint is monitored in theorganization's value chain and/or estimated based on thesourcing area.

Engagement in external initiatives [General & all sectors excl. Financial services]
EssentialCriteria
Level
A-listPage 12 of 12Question

Scored data points

8.15
OR
8.16

 The organization either engages in landscape or jurisdictional
initiatives, or engages in other external activities to support theimplementation of their policies and commitments.

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