Key takeaway
The energy cluster of the climate module covers how much energy your company consumes, what types, and how much of it is low-carbon. CDP also asks for emissions intensity metrics. Together these questions test whether your decarbonisation is real (visible in energy data) or accounting-only (visible only in offsets). This lesson explains the energy disclosure structure, what counts as low-carbon energy under CDP's rules, and how intensity metrics can either help or hurt your scoring.
What the cluster covers
The energy cluster runs roughly five questions:
| Question | What it asks |
|---|---|
| Q7.30 (energy consumption) | Total energy consumption in MWh, broken down by fuel/energy source |
| Q7.30.1 (energy generated) | Energy you generate (on-site or off-site), with categorisation |
| Q7.30.2 (low-carbon energy) | Detail on the renewable and low-carbon portion |
| Q7.40 (emission intensity) | Emissions per unit of revenue or production |
| Q7.45 (renewable consumption breakdown) | Detail on solar, wind, hydro, biomass, etc. |
The cluster carries 15 to 25 points depending on sector. The non-disclosure penalty is meaningful but smaller than Scope 1+2.
Q7.30 - Total energy consumption
Q7.30 asks for total energy consumption broken down by source. The expected categories:
- Natural gas
- Coal (thermal coal, coking coal as relevant)
- Oil products (diesel, fuel oil, propane, etc.)
- Purchased electricity
- Purchased heat / steam / cooling
- Renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass, hydro, biogas, etc.)
- Other (specify)
A scoring-quality answer:
- Total in MWh (or TJ)
- Per-source breakdown
- Comparison with prior year, with explanation if there is significant change
- Methodology: how energy was measured (direct meter, fuel invoice based, estimated)
Energy data is usually easier to disclose than emissions data because most companies have utility bills and fuel purchase records. The question scores well for companies with disciplined operational data.
Q7.30.2 - Low-carbon energy detail
This is the most important question in the cluster for any company pursuing renewable electricity. CDP asks for breakdown of low-carbon energy consumption.
CDP's definition of "low-carbon energy" includes:
- Solar (PV and thermal)
- Wind (onshore, offshore)
- Hydroelectric (large and small)
- Geothermal
- Biomass (with some exclusions for unsustainable feedstocks)
- Biogas
- Nuclear (treated as low-carbon by CDP, though some companies prefer to disclose separately)
- Green hydrogen (produced from low-carbon electricity)
For each source consumed, the disclosure expects:
- The volume in MWh
- The procurement method (PPA, on-site generation, EAC purchase, residual mix coverage)
- The country of generation (for EAC quality assessment)
- Whether the certificates are bundled with the electricity or unbundled
CDP scores procurement quality. Bundled PPAs and on-site generation score higher than unbundled EACs purchased on the spot market. Long-term PPAs score higher than annual contracts.
Analogy
Think of low-carbon energy procurement like buying organic food. You can buy organic from your local farmer (highest quality, you know the source). You can buy organic in the supermarket (good, traceable to a certified farm). You can buy generic-brand organic in bulk (works, but you have less idea where it comes from). All three count as organic, but the value signal is different. CDP's low-carbon energy scoring works the same way: PPAs are local-farmer level, EACs are bulk-organic level, and residual-mix coverage is somewhere in between.
RE100 alignment
Companies that have committed to RE100 (100 percent renewable electricity) face additional disclosure requirements through their RE100 pathway membership. The CDP energy cluster asks similar questions but in the unified questionnaire format. Coherence between RE100 reporting and CDP energy cluster is expected.
The Leadership-tier signal for an RE100 company:
- Clear progress trajectory toward 100 percent renewable
- Diverse procurement portfolio (mix of PPAs, on-site generation, and EACs)
- Geographic coverage across all major operations
- Quality criteria for renewable contracts (additionality, vintage, geography)
Q7.40 - Intensity metrics
Q7.40 asks for emission intensity: emissions per unit of revenue, per unit of production, or per unit of value-added.
Intensity metrics are tricky. They can make an emissions story look better or worse than reality, depending on what is in the denominator.
| Intensity metric | Where it works | Where it does not |
|---|---|---|
| Emissions per revenue | Useful for comparison across years if the business is growing organically | Misleading if revenue growth is driven by price increases rather than volume |
| Emissions per tonne of product | Most operationally meaningful for manufacturing | Not applicable to service businesses |
| Emissions per employee | Useful for service businesses | Misleading if FTE count includes part-time workers or contractors |
| Emissions per square foot | Useful for real estate and retail | Misleading if facilities are diverse in type |
| Emissions per energy unit | Useful for energy producers | Not applicable to most other sectors |
CDP rewards companies that disclose both absolute and intensity metrics, and that explain which they are using as the primary target metric. A company that uses intensity-only and shows growing absolute emissions is signalled as inadequate by the questionnaire structure.
How intensity interacts with targets
If your target is intensity-based (e.g., 40 percent reduction in emissions per tonne of product), CDP requires you to also disclose absolute emissions trajectory under that intensity target. The grader checks: does the intensity target imply absolute reduction, given expected growth?
A 40 percent intensity reduction with 100 percent revenue growth means absolute emissions go up 20 percent. CDP graders calculate this and the resulting score on Q5.10 (targets) reflects effective absolute reduction, not intensity reduction.
The practitioner takeaway: if you have an intensity target, run the math. Show the grader that under your business growth assumptions, the intensity target still delivers absolute reduction.
Worked example: an energy disclosure that scores
Worked example
Acme Castings Ltd (synthetic, India). Year 2 disclosure for the energy cluster.
Q7.30: Total energy consumption FY25 = 612,400 MWh, down 4 percent from FY24.
Breakdown:
- Natural gas: 280,000 MWh (45.7 percent)
- Coal: 0 MWh (phased out FY24)
- Diesel (mobile fleet, backup generators): 38,400 MWh
- Purchased electricity: 218,000 MWh (35.6 percent)
- On-site solar: 22,000 MWh
- Biomass (process heat): 54,000 MWh
Q7.30.2 (low-carbon detail):
- On-site solar: 22,000 MWh, PV plant commissioned FY24, fully owned
- PPA solar (off-site): 60,000 MWh under a 15-year PPA with state utility, geographically matched, bundled with electricity delivery
- Biomass: 54,000 MWh, sourced from certified sustainable agricultural residues with FSC chain of custody
- Total low-carbon: 136,000 MWh, equivalent to 22.2 percent of total energy consumption
The PPA is highlighted as "bundled, additionality validated, 15-year term." The biomass is flagged as "certified sustainable, FSC chain of custody, no land-use change."
Q7.40 (intensity):
- Emission intensity FY25: 1.06 tCO2e per tonne of product, down 18 percent from FY20 baseline of 1.30 tCO2e per tonne
- Absolute emissions FY25: 188,800 tCO2e (Scope 1+2), down 14 percent from baseline despite 5 percent production growth
- Intensity target: 40 percent reduction by 2030 (validated by SBTi against 1.5 degree pathway for steel sector)
- Implied absolute reduction by 2030: 32 percent at 5 percent production CAGR, or 28 percent at higher CAGR
This disclosure earns Leadership-tier consideration. The components:
- Disaggregated energy data with prior-year comparison
- Detailed low-carbon procurement with quality attributes
- Both absolute and intensity intensity metrics
- Math that shows intensity target translates into absolute reduction
- Cross-reference to SBTi target
Practitioner upgrade points. Year 3 work would add: more detailed PPA quality (vintage, additionality, geography); supplier-engagement on biomass to verify chain of custody; expansion of on-site generation. Each adds incremental Leadership-tier signal without changing operational reality.
Key Takeaways
- The energy cluster covers consumption, generation, low-carbon energy detail, and intensity, with 15-25 points available depending on sector
- Low-carbon energy procurement quality matters: bundled PPAs and on-site generation score higher than unbundled EACs
- CDP rewards companies that disclose both absolute and intensity metrics and explain which is their primary target metric
- Intensity targets are valid but require math showing implied absolute reduction under expected business growth
- A clean energy disclosure with PPA quality detail, third-party-certified biomass, and explicit intensity-to-absolute reasoning earns Leadership tier
Knowledge Check
Test what you just learned
6 questions · check each one as you go
What is CDP's view of low-carbon energy?
Which renewable procurement type scores highest for CDP?
True or false: An intensity target with significant business growth automatically delivers absolute emission reduction.
What does CDP expect for emissions intensity disclosure?
Which intensity metric is most operationally meaningful for manufacturing?
Select all that apply
Match each intensity metric to its best application.
Match each item to its pair
Emissions per tonne of product
Emissions per employee
Emissions per square foot
Emissions per revenue