Telstra's procurement team asks you to complete a CDP disclosure, and flags that larger suppliers are signing commitments to cut emissions. Two questions follow: what is CDP actually asking for, and what is the least painful way to give a credible answer?
About this guide
CO2 Lab is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with Telstra or CDP. This guide explains Telstra's publicly described supplier programme, as at October 2026, to help suppliers respond, and is based on the sources linked below. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
What Telstra is asking
Telstra was the first Australian company to join the CDP Supply Chain Program, in April 2020, and uses it to ask its top suppliers to disclose their emissions and reduction plans. By 2024, 295 suppliers, about 80% of annual supplier spend, had disclosed through CDP, and 56 of the top 200 had signed clauses committing to disclose and reduce their absolute emissions in line with Telstra. Telstra's own target is to halve Scope 3 by 2030 from an FY19 baseline, so the ask on suppliers keeps tightening from reporting toward committed reductions.
How Telstra's programme works
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Platform | CDP Supply Chain Program, which Telstra joined first in Australia in 2020 |
| Who is asked | The top 200 suppliers by spend |
| Disclosure so far | 295 suppliers, about 80% of annual spend, now report through CDP |
| Commitments | 56 of the top 200 have signed clauses to disclose and cut absolute emissions |
| Telstra's own target | Halve Scope 3 emissions by 2030 from an FY19 baseline |
A CDP disclosure starts with a footprint
The CDP questionnaire can look long, but at its core it asks what your emissions are and what you are doing about them. You cannot complete it, or sign a reduction clause, without a Scope 1 and 2 footprint. For an IT or professional-services supplier that is office energy, travel and cloud; for a logistics supplier it is fuel first. It is the same baseline behind any customer data request, just submitted through CDP. Coles runs a similar supplier programme, through science-based targets rather than CDP.
“CDP disclosure repeats every year, and a commitment clause binds you to a number. Both reward a baseline you can trace, because next year you have to show movement against it.”
Why the method mattersHow to respond
A first response to Telstra's CDP request
- Build Scope 1 and 2 from your energy, fuel and travel records
- Apply the current NGA Factors, method shown behind each figure
- Flag what is measured and what is estimated
- Map the figures to the relevant CDP questionnaire fields
- Keep the evidence together, so you can substantiate on request
Turn the CDP request into numbers you can submit. What our AI Sustainability Analyst gives a Telstra supplier:
Answer Telstra's CDP request with confidence
Our AI Sustainability Analyst builds a Scope 1 and 2 footprint from your own records, with the method and evidence behind every figure, ready to disclose.
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