Key takeaway
The Introduction module is mostly unscored. Almost every question in it earns zero points by itself. And yet it is the most important module of the entire questionnaire, because the answers you give here decide which other questions you have to answer, what scoring criteria apply to your sector, and how the grader interprets every later number. Get Module 1 wrong and the rest of your response can be miscategorised, mis-scored, or invalidated. This lesson walks you through what each question is really asking and the moves that protect your score downstream.
What Module 1 is for
CDP cannot grade your response without context. A 10,000 tCO2e Scope 1 figure means very different things from a 200-employee software company versus a 50,000-employee cement manufacturer. A "yes" on board oversight means something different in a public limited company versus a closely-held family business.
Module 1 is where you give CDP that context. The questions cover:
- Reporting period and currency
- Sector activity classification (your CDP industry)
- Financial filing references
- Value chain (which suppliers, which customers, what products)
- Materiality assessment overview
- Connection to other frameworks (CSRD, IFRS S2, BRSR)
Most of these questions are "Not scored" individually, but they gate every later module. Get them right, the rest of the questionnaire flows. Get them wrong, you spend the entire submission cleaning up cascading errors.
Analogy
Think of Module 1 like setting up a tax filing. The first page asks for your name, filing status, dependents, and address. None of those answers affect your refund directly. But if you put the wrong filing status, every deduction calculation downstream is wrong. Module 1 is the filing status of CDP.
Sector activity classification, the most consequential answer
Question 1.4 asks you to select your sector activity from CDP's controlled list of around 60 categories (Aviation, Cement, Energy utilities and power generators, Financial services, Food beverage and tobacco, Real estate, Steel, etc.). This is not a marketing choice. It is a structural one.
Your sector classification decides:
- Which sector-specific scoring rules apply to every question
- Which sector-specific modules you have to answer (Module 12 for Financial Services, sector deep-dives for Oil and Gas, agricultural commodity questions for Food and Ag)
- The point allocations and tier thresholds on around 60 percent of scored questions
Worked example
A multinational with multiple business lines. A diversified Indian conglomerate with operations in steel, energy, and consumer goods has to decide: what is the primary sector? CDP's rule is to classify based on revenue contribution, with the primary sector being the one that contributes the largest share of revenue. Disclose secondary sectors elsewhere in the response.
If they classify as Steel, they get the steel-specific scoring rules and have to answer steel sector deep-dive questions. If they classify as Consumer Goods, they avoid those steel-specific questions but lose the credit for being a serious decarboniser in steel.
The right move depends on where their CDP audience is. If most investor and customer pressure is on the steel side, they classify as Steel even at some scoring cost. If the consumer business is the strategic priority, classify there.
Financial filing references, what to put
Question 1.5 asks you to reference your most recent published financial report. This is where the disclosure team typically points to:
- Your annual report (mandatory for public companies)
- Your integrated annual report (Tata Steel, Reliance, Mahindra all have these)
- The 10-K, 20-F, or equivalent regulatory filing
- The CSRD sustainability statement (for EU-headquartered or EU-listed companies under CSRD scope)
The reason CDP wants this is so the grader can cross-check anything you claim in CDP against your audited financials. If your CDP says "we invested 200 crores in renewables this year" but your annual report shows no such capex line, the grader flags it.
The practitioner move: use the integrated annual report or sustainability statement consistently throughout your CDP response. Quote page numbers when you reference specific data points. This signals to the grader that your CDP and your financials are aligned.
Value chain framing, deciding your scope
Several questions in Module 1 ask about your value chain (Q1.7, Q1.10, Q1.24). This is where you describe:
- Tier 1 suppliers (number, geography, key relationships)
- Tier 2 and beyond, where you have visibility
- Direct customers and end users
- Major product or service categories
The answers here shape your Scope 3 inventory in Module 7. If you say in Module 1 that purchased goods are 80 percent of your value chain emissions, but in Module 7 your Scope 3 Category 1 (Purchased Goods and Services) is empty, the grader treats that as inconsistency.
Most companies' largest environmental impacts sit upstream and downstream, not in their direct operations. A consumer goods firm's Scope 1+2 might be 5 percent of their footprint; the other 95 percent is in suppliers, packaging, transport, and consumer use. CDP's view is that good environmental disclosure has to address the full value chain, not just the slice you control directly. That is why Module 1 spends time mapping your value chain, even before you get to performance.
Materiality assessment overview
Question 1.24 asks whether you have conducted a double-materiality or financial-materiality assessment, and what you found. This is increasingly important because of the alignment with CSRD and IFRS S2.
If you have done a materiality assessment, attach it. CDP graders read these. The Leadership-tier criteria in later modules often reference your stated material topics. A company that says "climate is material" and then provides no transition plan loses points more visibly than a company that does not claim climate is material in the first place.
If you have not done a materiality assessment, say so honestly. Saying "no" is not a scoring penalty in Module 1. Pretending to have done one and then producing nothing in the appended evidence is.
Worked example
Sundar Foods Ltd, India. First-time CDP responder. They have not formally done a double-materiality assessment under CSRD-style methodology, but they have a sustainability report that lists priority topics. They answer Q1.24 truthfully: "informal materiality review conducted, formal double-materiality planned for FY2026-27." This is more credible than fabricating a sophisticated assessment, and it sets up Q1.24 in next year's response to show progress.
Schneider Electric, France. A mature responder. They reference their CSRD-aligned double-materiality assessment, attach the matrix, list 12 material topics with thresholds and stakeholder weighting. This sets up every subsequent module with a clean basis for "this is why we focused on these issues."
Connection to other frameworks
Several Module 1 questions (Q1.X) ask whether your response uses information from your CSRD reporting, IFRS S2 disclosures, BRSR, or TCFD-aligned reports. If you are reporting under any of those, say yes and reference the document. CDP graders are friendly to companies that are clearly using their CDP response as a curated extract of broader regulatory disclosure rather than treating CDP as an isolated exercise.
The practitioner pattern: map every Module 1 reference once, in a master document, and reuse the same references everywhere. Inconsistent citations across modules make the grader wonder which version is the real one.
The protective answer pattern
For Module 1 specifically, the moves that protect your downstream score are:
- Be precise about sector. No marketing-driven reclassifications.
- Match the financial filing exactly. Currency, reporting period, consolidation principle.
- Describe the value chain accurately, even if it is messy. "We have visibility into Tier 1 suppliers but limited visibility into Tier 2" is a stronger answer than "we have full traceability" if the latter is false.
- Reference your materiality assessment if you have one. Attach it. Quote it.
- Lock the module before starting the others. Once Module 1 is set, do not change answers without re-reviewing every later module.
Key Takeaways
- Module 1 questions are mostly unscored individually, but they gate scoring for every later module
- Sector activity classification (Q1.4) decides which scoring rules apply to 60 percent of the questionnaire
- Use your financial filing as a consistent anchor; CDP graders cross-check claims against audited financials
- Describe the value chain honestly, including gaps in visibility, rather than overclaiming traceability
- Lock Module 1 first and do not change it once you start drafting later modules
Knowledge Check
Test what you just learned
6 questions · check each one as you go
Why is Module 1 (Introduction) so important even though most of its questions are 'Not scored'?
How should you classify a multi-business conglomerate's primary sector?
True or false: Your CDP response should be aligned with your audited financial statements where they share data points.
What is the right answer if you have not conducted a formal materiality assessment?
Which value chain detail does CDP want in Module 1?
Select all that apply
Match each Module 1 question theme to its purpose.
Match each item to its pair
Sector activity (Q1.4)
Financial filing reference (Q1.5)
Value chain framing (Q1.7, Q1.10)
Materiality assessment (Q1.24)