Workiva Inc., one of the leading cloud platform for assured integrated reporting, announced that CDP, widely regarded as the leading disclosure system for measuring environmental impacts, has been incorporated into the Workiva platform to advance clients’ ESG programs.
What does the CDP integration mean for clients?
This leverages Workiva’s ESG Program and ESG Explorer to streamline client responses to CDP questionnaires, empowering firms to manage their sustainability data more efficiently and drive positive environmental impact and business outcomes. According to CDP, over 18,700 firms, representing half of global market capitalization, disclosed environmental data through its online response system in 2022, an increase of 38% over the previous year.
Responding to CDP questionnaires and ESG-related frameworks is often time-consuming and complex involving multiple teams across different departments. Workiva simplifies this process through its centralized hub for reporting collaboration and automated data collection, saving firms time and resources while ensuring accuracy, consistency, and assurance.
Workiva’s capability supplements a separate disclosure API pilot led by CDP. A Gold Accredited Solution Provider, Workiva was selected to pilot a new disclosure API that will enable clients to automatically transfer data from the Workiva platform into CDP’s online response system.
For the 2023 disclosure cycle, the CDP API pilot is restricted to climate data, but Workiva’s CDP innovation supports responses to the firm’s forests and water security questionnaires. From 2024 onwards, CDP hopes to be able to work with providers to make it available to responding cities, states and regions and look forward to expanding its reach and impact.
What does the partnership mean for Workiva?
“Having one single source of truth drives consistency, transparency, and auditability, which reduces costs and builds trust with stakeholders. As the tech firm uniting financial reporting, ESG, audit and controls, Workiva is uniquely positioned to streamline the disclosure process while applying the same rigor and investor-grade assurance to climate data that’s expected of financial data,” said Paul Dickinson, Founder and Chair, CDP and ESG advisor, Workiva.
“This is a timely addition to Workiva’s ESG reporting solution, and I believe it will be a game-changer—not only for sustainability professionals, but for the finance, audit, and risk management teams that are now responsible for corporate climate disclosures as well.”
“Clients tell us that some of their biggest challenges involve collecting data and aligning to global ESG frameworks with rapidly changing reporting needs. The new CDP reporting capability is an extension of our ESG reporting solution and leverages Workiva’s integrated reporting platform that connects disparate data sources and supports our customers’ unique reporting needs,” said Paul Volpe, SVP of Growth and Head of ESG Solutions at Workiva.
“ESG reporting is quickly becoming a board-level mandate. Not only are organizations tasked with meeting their ESG commitments and science-based targets, leaders are making critical business decisions by evaluating both financial and ESG data together. Workiva is committed to investing in continuous innovation and working with partners like CDP to help more companies worldwide manage and scale their positive environmental and social impact.”
For more information on the solution, watch “Hot Topics for Sustainability, Reporting and Disclosure in 2023,” a webinar recording featuring insights from leaders at CDP and Workiva.
