Continuous Platform Innovation Transforms How Customers Drive Data Consistency and Assurance for Global ESG Reporting Requirements
Workiva Inc. (NYSE:WK), the world’s leading cloud platform for assured integrated reporting, today announced that CDP, widely regarded as the leading disclosure system for measuring environmental impacts, has been incorporated into the Workiva platform to advance customers’ ESG programs. This latest innovation leverages Workiva’s ESG Program and ESG Explorer to streamline customer responses to CDP questionnaires, empowering companies to manage their sustainability data more efficiently and effectively, and drive positive environmental impact and business outcomes. According to CDP, more than 18,700 companies, representing half of global market capitalization, disclosed environmental data through its online response system in 2022, an increase of 38 percent over the previous year.
"Having one single source of truth drives consistency, transparency, and auditability, which ultimately reduces costs and builds trust with stakeholders. As the technology company 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 significant and 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.”
Responding to CDP questionnaires and other ESG-related frameworks is often a time-consuming and complex undertaking involving multiple teams across different departments. Workiva simplifies this process through its centralized hub for reporting collaboration and automated data collection, saving companies time and resources while ensuring accuracy, consistency, and assurance.
“Customers tell us that some of their biggest challenges involve collecting data and aligning to global ESG frameworks and standards with rapidly changing reporting requirements. The new CDP reporting capability is an extension of our industry-leading ESG reporting solution and leverages Workiva’s unrivaled, integrated reporting platform that connects disparate data sources and supports our customers’ unique reporting needs,” said Paul Volpe, Senior Vice President of Growth and Head of ESG Solutions at Workiva. “There’s no time to wait. 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 around the world manage and scale their positive environmental and social impact.”
Workiva’s new 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 customers 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 also supports responses to the organization’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.
For more information, watch “Hot Topics for Sustainability, Reporting and Disclosure in 2023,” a free webinar recording featuring insights from leaders at CDP and Workiva.
About CDP
CDP is a global non-profit that enables companies to disclose environmental information at the request of investors, customers and other stakeholders. Founded in 2000 and working with more than 740 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. 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.
About Workiva
Workiva Inc. (NYSE:WK) is on a mission to power transparent reporting for a better world. We build and deliver the world’s leading cloud platform for assured integrated reporting to meet stakeholder demands for action, transparency, and disclosure of financial and non-financial data. Workiva offers the only unified SaaS platform that brings customers’ financial reporting, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), and Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) together in a controlled, secure, audit-ready environment. Our platform simplifies the most complex reporting and disclosure challenges by streamlining processes, connecting data and teams, and ensuring consistency. Learn more at workiva.com.
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