CDP's Water Security disclosure programme, now in its 14th year, has grown from a voluntary disclosure mechanism for high-water-risk companies into a standard investor expectation for large-cap companies across water-intensive sectors including food and beverage, apparel, semiconductor manufacturing, mining, and utilities. The 2024 questionnaire revision restructured scoring to emphasize quantitative water accounting over qualitative policy statements — reflecting institutional investors' increasing demand for water risk disclosures that can be integrated into portfolio risk models and asset valuation frameworks alongside carbon price scenario analysis.
The CDP Water Security scoring methodology evaluates responses across three bands. Awareness (D/D-) requires basic water consumption disclosure and watershed identification. Management (C through B) requires facility-level water withdrawal and discharge accounting, water risk assessment using AQUEDUCT or WRI Water Risk Atlas tools, and documentation of water reduction targets. Leadership (A- through A) requires quantitative basin-level water stress assessment using hydrological modelling (WaterGAP, H08, or LPJmL outputs), supplier water engagement with percentage of supply chain water footprint covered, shared water stewardship participation in priority basins, and board-level governance documentation demonstrating strategic oversight of water as a material business risk.
The basin-level water stress assessment required for Leadership scoring represents a substantial analytical investment. Organizations must map all water withdrawal locations (direct operations and key suppliers) to specific HydroBASINS level 6 or 8 sub-basins, obtain current and projected water stress scores from AQUEDUCT 4.0 (which provides 2030 and 2050 projected water stress under SSP2-RCP6.0 and SSP3-RCP7.0 scenarios), and quantify operational and financial exposure to water stress at each location. For companies with globally distributed supply chains spanning hundreds of facilities, this analysis requires GIS integration of facility geolocation data with AQUEDUCT's gridded water stress datasets at 5-arcminute spatial resolution.
The Prime Logic Smart Water Platform's Water Intelligence module provides CDP Water Security disclosure preparation support: automated basin mapping of facility locations against HydroBASINS sub-watershed boundaries; AQUEDUCT 4.0 water stress integration with current and projected 2030/2050 stress scores by facility; water withdrawal and discharge accounting aligned with CEO Water Mandate Corporate Water Accounting guidance; shared stewardship documentation for Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard participation; and CDP Water questionnaire response drafting across all 2024 disclosure modules. The Water Intelligence OS generates the quantitative water risk register required for Leadership band scoring.