Companies that disclose environmental data through CDP are projected to face around 35% less transition risk than comparable firms by 2050, according to a new report from the environmental disclosure non-profit. Across the disclosing group, that gap equates to more than US$1 trillion in enterprise value shielded from the costs of the shift to a net-zero economy.
The analysis, produced with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and set out in CDP's second annual report, The Disclosure Dividend 2026, draws on 2025 disclosure data from more than 11,260 large and mid-sized companies. Together they represent about two-thirds of global market capitalisation.
The report also measures the returns from environmental action. Every US$1 spent responding to environmental risk yields a median return of US$8. Emissions reduction initiatives return an average of US$2.4 per US$1 invested, and up to US$7 over a project's lifetime. Of the initiatives assessed, 69% are profitable, and a typical project delivers a 142% lifetime return.
Returns run highest in financial services, where responses show an average as high as US$64 for every US$1 spent — a reflection of the exposure that sits across lending and investment portfolios. At the country level, South Korea records the top median return at US$24, followed by China at US$11, the UK at US$10, and both Japan and the USA at US$9.
Risk assessment has matured across the disclosing base. The share of companies identifying substantive environmental risks climbed from 46% in 2018 to 80% in 2025, and 88% now maintain a formal risk assessment process. Revenue ranks as the financial metric most exposed to those risks, cited by 47% of respondents.
Supply chains draw particular scrutiny. The report notes that value chain emissions can run 26 times higher than a company's own operations, and that 77% of firms now engage their suppliers on environmental issues.
The report values the cost of inaction at a high likelihood of US$1.24 trillion in cumulative losses by 2030, with US$30.6 billion already materialising in the reporting year. CDP presents the findings as evidence that companies acting on environmental data are better placed to withstand transition risk through 2050.