Pollution Disclosure Intent Taxonomy

1. Purpose

This section defines the Pollution Disclosure Intent (CDI) taxonomy for pollution-related sustainability disclosures.

The Pollution taxonomy enumerates a stable set of disclosure intents that capture the semantic meaning of commonly requested pollution-related information across sustainability reporting frameworks.

The taxonomy:

  • is independent of any reporting standard or regulation,
  • does not prescribe disclosure obligations,
  • does not assert compliance, legality, or environmental impact,
  • is intended to be reused across frameworks via Canonical Mapping Packs (CMPs).

Pollution CDIs describe non-greenhouse-gas emissions and releases resulting from organisational activities.

2. Taxonomy Structure

Pollution disclosure intents are grouped into the following logical domains:

  1. Air Emissions (Non-GHG)
  2. Water Pollution
  3. Soil and Land Pollution
  4. Sources and Processes
  5. Management and Monitoring
  6. Incidents and Accidental Releases
  7. Change Over Time

Each disclosure intent:

  • has a unique identifier,
  • represents a single semantic concept,
  • may be narrative, quantitative, or hybrid,
  • may reference one or more canonical data elements.

3. Pollution Disclosure Intents

3.1 Air Emissions (Non-GHG)

CDI-POLL-01
Non-greenhouse gas air pollutant emissions

Emissions of air pollutants other than greenhouse gases resulting from organisational activities.

CDI-POLL-02
Air pollutant emissions by category

Air pollutant emissions disaggregated by pollutant category (e.g. particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides).

3.2 Water Pollution

CDI-POLL-03
Pollutants discharged to water

Discharge of pollutants to water bodies or water systems resulting from organisational activities.

CDI-POLL-04
Water pollutant discharge by category

Water pollutant discharges disaggregated by pollutant category.

3.3 Soil and Land Pollution

CDI-POLL-05
Pollutants released to soil or land

Releases of pollutants to soil or land resulting from organisational activities.

CDI-POLL-06
Contamination of land from operational activities

Occurrence of land or soil contamination associated with organisational operations.

3.4 Sources and Processes

CDI-POLL-07
Operational sources of pollution

Identification of operational activities or processes that generate pollution.

CDI-POLL-08
Pollution associated with production or processing activities

Pollution arising specifically from production, processing, or treatment activities.

3.5 Management and Monitoring

CDI-POLL-09
Existence of pollution-related policies or controls

The existence of organisational policies, controls, or procedures addressing pollution.

CDI-POLL-10
Pollution monitoring and measurement processes

Processes used to monitor, measure, or track pollution-related releases.

CDI-POLL-11
Use of pollution control or abatement technologies

Use of technologies or measures intended to control or reduce pollution.

3.6 Incidents and Accidental Releases

CDI-POLL-12
Accidental pollution releases or spills

Occurrence of accidental or unplanned pollution releases, spills, or leaks.

CDI-POLL-13
Response to pollution incidents

Actions taken in response to accidental pollution releases or incidents.

3.7 Change Over Time

CDI-POLL-14
Changes in pollution emissions or releases

Changes in pollution emissions or releases compared to a prior reporting period.

CDI-POLL-15
Changes in pollution sources or processes

Changes in the sources or operational processes associated with pollution over time.

CDI-POLL-16
Changes in pollution management practices

Changes in pollution-related policies, controls, or management practices over time.

4. Taxonomy Characteristics

  • Pollution CDIs are distinct from climate and greenhouse gas emissions CDIs.
  • Pollution CDIs focus on releases and emissions, not regulatory compliance or impact severity.
  • Quantitative disclosures may describe amounts or volumes without thresholds or limits.
  • Framework-specific interpretation is handled exclusively through CMPs.
  • Deprecated CDIs remain referenceable for historical disclosures.

5. Summary

The CDI v1 Pollution Taxonomy defines a stable semantic vocabulary for expressing pollution-related disclosure meaning across sustainability reporting frameworks.

By separating pollution releases from compliance, impact assessment, and regulatory judgement, the taxonomy enables consistent data modelling, transparent interpretation, and long-term reuse without embedding assumptions or thresholds.

Pollution Taxonomy Version: v1.0.0

Pollution CDI v1 Status

The Pollution Disclosure Intent taxonomy defined in this document is frozen as CDI v1.

No new Pollution CDIs will be added to v1.
Future extensions will require a new major version.

Status: Frozen
Effective version: CDI v1

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