Appendix II: Report Methodology


For the purposes of this report, respondents from the Global 500 are categorized into eight sectors based on the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS): Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Energy, Health Care, Industrials, Information Technology, Materials, and Utilities.1,2 Financials sector.


, The Australia 100 also includes respondents from the


Response rates are based on responses received from companies that were sent the CDP Water Disclosure 2011 information request. Other responding companies are excluded from these calculations,3


but may be used in leading


practice examples, quotations, and case studies. In addition, findings and conclusions discussed in the report are based only on invited companies that responded; these insights cannot be attributed to either companies who were invited but did not respond, or other non-invited companies for a particular geography, sector, or other division.


For the Global 500, analysis and discussion in the Consumer Discretionary, Energy, Industrials, Information Technology, and Materials sectors reflect all responding companies (public and non-public). However, given the small number of non-public responses in the Consumer Staples, Health Care, and Utilities sectors, analysis, findings, and conclusions reflect responses only from companies that elected to make their submissions public. Non-public responses are not included to protect the confidentiality of these companies’ submissions.


For most metrics, the percentage of responses is based on the number of reporting companies for the relevant geography, sector, or other division. Blank responses to particular questions are tabulated as “No” or “Don’t know” when calculating quantitative responses, based on the question which has been asked.4


Questions 1.1b and 1.1c, which request information on water reduction, efficiency, and quality targets, were responded to by some companies with qualitative goals or goals without concrete targets. Wherever the number of respondents with concrete targets or goals is referenced in the report, the figure is based only on respondents that provided concrete, quantitative targets or goals as part of this question.


For Question 4.1, which requests a description of detrimental impacts related to water that companies have faced in the past five years, some companies responded “yes” in the narrative despite not having experienced a detrimental impact. Conversely, other companies responded “no” in the narrative yet described a detrimental impact. To calculate the number of companies experiencing detrimental impacts, individual responses were judged independently of company “yes” and “no” answers. Companies with blank responses were considered not to have experienced these impacts.


Except where otherwise stated, all figures, tables, findings, and conclusions in the report are based on the CDP Water Disclosure 2011 information request and do not reflect external research or analysis by CDP or Deloitte.


Additional notes describing the methodology are provided throughout the report.


1 Companies that are considered to be in either water-intensive sectors or those sensitive to water issues in their supply chain were invited to respond to CDP’s 2011 Water Disclosure information request. These companies were selected from the largest publicly listed companies by market capitalization at the time of the analysis (Q4 2010). The Global 500 is based on the FTSE Global Equity Index Series, the Australia 100 is based on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) Index, and the South Africa 100 is based on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Index.


2 Sectors were realigned in 2011 to allow for a greater number of respondents to be included in the analysis. 2010 sectors included Chemicals; Construction, Infrastructure and Real Estate; Food, Beverage and Tobacco; Industrial and Manufacturing; Metals and Mining; Oil and Gas; Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology; Retail, Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples; Technology and Communications; and Utilities. Due to this realignment, comparisons are not made at the sector level between 2010 and 2011 responses.


3 Other responding companies include companies that were not invited as part of the Global 500, Australia 100, or South Africa 100 but chose to answer the CDP 2011 Water Disclosure questionnaire.


4 Blank responses tabulated as “No” include 1.1, 1.1b, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 3.3, 4.1, 6.1, 7.1, 7.1a, 7.2, 7.2a, 8.1, 8.2, 9.1, and 9.2; questions tabulated as “Don’t know” include 3.1, 3.4, 5.1, 7.4, and 8.3.


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