As the global economy moves toward a net‑zero, nature‑positive future, the latest CDP Corporate Health Check 2026 shows a small group of companies pulling clearly ahead.
Of the 10,397 companies assessed, 15% reached CDP’s Leadership level. These leaders are cutting emissions at a 4% average compound annual growth rate (CAGR), four times faster than the 1% CAGR reduction seen across all others. They also reported significant financial benefits, identifying US$218 billion in environmental opportunities last year.
CDP’s analysis shows that engaging across the value chain is one of four practices that consistently sets these leaders apart. The other three are Linking executive pay to environmental performance, ensuring senior leadership is incentivised to deliver on climate and nature goals, Establishing robust processes for managing environmental dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities, equipping companies to navigate long‑term uncertainties and capitalise on environmental opportunities, and Developing a 1.5°C‑aligned climate transition plan with ambitious environmental targets, providing credible, near and long term direction for decarbonisation.
The takeaway
The 2026 CDP Corporate Health Check delivers a clear message: environmental leadership creates competitive advantage. The companies at the forefront are cutting emissions faster, innovating more effectively, delivering stronger financial outcomes, and building the resilience needed for a rapidly changing world.
And at the centre of their progress lies a simple truth: no company reaches net zero alone. The organisations advancing furthest are those working deeply across their value chains by reshaping systems, strengthening partnerships, and creating value for both business and the planet.
Where the data comes from
In 2025, more than 22,000 companies, representing over half of global market capitalisation, voluntarily disclosed data through CDP. From these, CDP analysed the 10,397 companies that completed the full questionnaire and were scored across climate, water, and forests. This provides the world’s most comprehensive snapshot of corporate environmental management and decarbonisation progress.
CDP’s four maturity levels
CDP assesses companies using a four‑stage environmental maturity journey, covering governance, DIROs (i.e. dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities), targets, and strategy. These map to four scoring levels. Companies assessed at Leadership level are those scoring A/A‑, for best‑practice transparency, strong governance, credible strategies, and measurable progress.
Links to the Exponential Roadmap Initiative’s (ERI) work
The findings of CDP’s 2026 Corporate Health Check strongly reinforce the Exponential Roadmap Initiative’s long‑standing focus on value‑chain action as a cornerstone of credible decarbonisation.
From the outset, ERI has recognised that companies cannot reach net zero in isolation. Deep, structured engagement along the value chain, upstream and downstream, is essential for driving emissions reductions at scale. This is why ERI established the Supply Chain Leaders group: to bring together pioneering companies committed to jointly accelerating supplier engagement, sharing practical lessons, and publishing guidance that helps the wider market overcome common barriers.
These insights now feed directly into ERI’s broader framework for corporate climate performance. Each year, ERI assesses all member companies on the depth and breadth of their value‑chain efforts, which sit at the heart of Pillar 2 of the Exponential Framework. This ensures that companies are evaluated not only on their internal targets and strategies, but on their ability to mobilise the partners essential for system‑wide progress.
CDP’s analysis highlights four practices that consistently differentiate climate leaders. While all four matter, their data shows that value‑chain engagement has become a defining feature of top performers. For companies leading the transition, working with suppliers and customers is no longer a peripheral activity, it is a strategic capability that enables earlier risk detection, anticipates regulatory shifts, accelerates innovation cycles, and opens new market opportunities.
Where the four levers appear in the 2026 Exponential Roadmap Initiative’s Climate Performance Review (CPR)
These alignments demonstrate how CDP’s insights are fully embedded in ERI’s Climate Performance Review framework for assessing climate action by our members.
