We added a Scope 3 category this year. How do we fill CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) question 7.8.1 for previous years?
Question 7.8.1 lets you restate Scope 3 for earlier years so history matches your current boundary, which CDP says is optional. Fill only the categories you calculated for that year, leave the rest blank rather than zero, and note the methods and supplier-data share in the comment.
What 7.8.1 is for
CDP's rationale is that a meaningful comparison needs a consistent data set over time. The question lets companies restate Scope 3 figures previously given to CDP, for example so that history reflects the current organisational boundary, and lets first-time responders add up to five earlier years. It appears only if you chose 1 to 5 past years for Scope 3 in question 1.4.
Entry rules CDP prints
- Gross figures only, so no negative numbers.
- Entering zero suggests that you have measured the category and it equals zero.
- Enter data for all categories you calculated for the period in column 1. If you did not calculate a category for that period, leave its column blank.
- Each period is one full year already passed. The start date is assumed to be 365 days before the end date you enter.
- Estimates are acceptable if the approach and data are explained in the comment column.
- Restating is optional. Enter years in reverse order, with the most recent first.
Why it matters when you add a category
CDP's wording is that if your total Scope 3 increased because this year you have calculated additional categories, select Increased in question 7.11 and explain in the next question. Restating the earlier year with the same categories lets a buyer see the like-for-like change. Without it the jump looks like worse performance.
Example: category 4 added in financial year 2025-26
- Reported to CDP last year: category 1 only, 400 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). This year: category 1 is 400 tonnes and category 4 is 120 tonnes, total 520 tonnes.
- Restating last year with category 4 at 120 tonnes (from last year's freight invoices): 400 + 120 = 520 tonnes.
- Like-for-like change: 520 minus 520 = 0 tonnes, 0%. Without the restatement it would read as 520 minus 400 = 120 tonnes, 30.0%.
All tonnes are example numbers. Restate only if you have real records for the earlier year.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records, so the litres, kilowatt hours and months are in one place to copy from. It does not enter your answers in the CDP portal, and refrigerant top-ups need your own service records.
- CDP 7.11: Scope 3 up or down
- CDP 7.8: evaluation status options
- Carbon number went up after adding suppliers
- CDP first response: five past years
Sources: CDP, Full Corporate Questionnaire Module 7 reporting guidance (April 2025 edition)
Last reviewed 2026-11-06. Wording is from CDP guidance for its 2025 corporate questionnaire. Check the version your customer sent. The like-for-like suggestion is my reading.