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Bureau Veritas | Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: Your Guide to CBAM Compliance
CBAM is entering a critical phase. Is your business prepared for its new carbon reporting obligations?
The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) places a carbon price on carbon-intensive goods imported into the EU.
By aligning the carbon price of imported goods with the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), CBAM aims to ensure fair competition between non-EU producers and EU producers already subject to carbon pricing. Importers are required to purchase CBAM certificates corresponding to the declared embedded emissions of the goods they bring into the EU CBAM is a mandatory regulatory requirement. For upstream supply chain producers and exporters, meeting its carbon data and reporting obligations is essential to protecting business continuity and supporting future growth.
The regulation currently applies to six carbon-intensive sectors: iron and steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, hydrogen and electricity. It is particularly relevant to producers and exporters of EU-bound goods in countries affected by the regulation, including Turkey, India and China.
Following the transitional phase, which began on October 1, 2023, CBAM entered its definitive phase on January 1, 2026. Importers are now subject to financial obligations through the purchase of CBAM certificates based on the declared emissions of imported goods. The price of these certificates is set by the European Commission and linked to the price of EU ETS allowances.
Reliable emissions data is central to CBAM compliance. Embedded emissions refer to the greenhouse gases generated during production, and the relevant emissions data must be collected, calculated and verified. Non-EU suppliers are required to share verified specific embedded emissions with their importers through the CBAM Operators of Third Country Installations, or O3CI, portal Where a product’s emissions data cannot be verified by an independent third-party verifier accredited in the EU, default values established by the European Union may be applied. For many CBAM sectors, these default values are set above actual emissions levels to encourage cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries. Noncompliance may also result in financial penalties, making accurate emissions calculation, transparent reporting and credible verification increasingly important for affected businesses.
Bureau Veritas supports companies in measuring and verifying embedded carbon emissions across complex supply chains. Its specialist teams combine sector-specific expertise with strong capabilities in EU ETS requirements, ISO 14064 standards, sustainability assessments and greenhouse gas reporting. This experience helps businesses establish transparent and credible emissions data as they prepare for mandatory verification requirements before the end of 2026.
The Bureau Veritas guide simplifies the CBAM compliance journey by explaining the responsibilities of exporters and producers, the steps required for compliant reporting, the importance of robust carbon emissions data and the benefits of independent CBAM verification. Prepare your business for CBAM compliance and understand the steps required for reliable emissions reporting and verification. Download Your
