CDP Splits Into 2 Entities With Permira Backing as 22,000 Companies Used Its Platform
Updated
Updated · ESG Today · Jun 11
CDP Splits Into 2 Entities With Permira Backing as 22,000 Companies Used Its Platform
3 articles · Updated · ESG Today · Jun 11
Summary
CDP will separate into two linked organizations: a Permira-backed commercial business that will run its disclosure platform and data products, and an independent charitable CDP Foundation focused on science-led disclosure principles.
Permira’s investment—its first from a new Energy Transition strategy—will fund hiring, technology and product upgrades aimed at simplifying corporate reporting and improving insights for investors and sustainability teams.
The overhaul follows CDP’s 2025 restructuring, when economic pressure pushed it to cut costs and staffing while pursuing a strategy to streamline disclosures and reduce reporting burdens on companies.
More than 22,000 companies disclosed through CDP in 2025, underscoring the scale of a platform that now spans climate, forests, water security, biodiversity, plastics and oceans.
Will private equity backing compromise the integrity of CDP's environmental scoring system?
Is CDP's split a move toward better climate data or a new era of costly compliance software?
CDP’s Landmark 2026 Split: New Commercial and Charitable Entities Aim to Redefine ESG Reporting
Overview
In 2026, CDP announced a major restructuring, splitting into two entities: a commercial business and a charitable arm called the CDP Foundation. This move follows a significant investment from Permira and aims to deepen CDP’s priorities, deliver stronger science-led disclosure, and use new technologies to simplify the disclosure experience. The commercial CDP will focus on deploying a comprehensive disclosure system to surface Earth-positive information and drive tomorrow’s economy, while the CDP Foundation will translate frontier science into actionable disclosure methods, ensuring the system stays at the forefront of environmental reporting.