CARBON BORDER ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM: Your guide to CBAM compliance

What is the carbon border adjustment mechanism?

The European Union’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) applies a carbon price to carbon-intensive goods imported into the EU. It aims to align the carbon price of imports with the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), thereby ensuring fair competition between non-EU producers and EU producers already subject to the EU ETS. Under CBAM, importers are required to purchase CBAM certificates corresponding to the declared embedded emissions of their EU-bound goods.

CBAM is not voluntary, and for upstream supply chain (UPSC) producers and exporters, compliance with this regulation is essential to protecting business continuity and growth by meeting carbon data reporting requirements.

Who is this guide for?

• Exporters of EU-bound goods
  Across the six CBAM sectors in scope, including iron & steel, aluminum and cement
• Producers of EU-bound goods
  Based in countries now impacted by the regulation, including Turkey, India and China

CBAM’s impact on upstream supply chains

CBAM entered its definitive phase at the start of 2026, meaning importers are now subject to financial obligations, paid in the form of CBAM certificates based on the declared emissions of imported goods.

If a product’s emissions data cannot be verified by an independent third-party verifier accredited in the EU, default values set by the EU will be applied to that product. 

For many CBAM sectors, these default values are set above actual emissions values, with the aim of encouraging cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries.

Businesses around the world are preparing for mandatory verification of their emissions data before the end of 2026, working with CBAM partners such as Bureau Veritas.

Verification with Bureau Veritas

Bureau Veritas’ expertise in compliance, verification, and sustainability assessments is unrivaled. We have extensive experience supporting companies in measuring and verifying embedded carbon emissions across complex supply chains, ensuring transparent and credible reporting. Our specialist teams bring deep knowledge of CBAM-relevant sectors with strong capabilities in EU ETS and ISO 14064 standards.

What you can expect from this guide

Bureau Veritas understands that regulatory complexity can complicate decision-making. Through our comprehensive sectoral knowledge, combined with expertise in EU ETS and voluntary GHG reporting, we have developed this simplified guide to EU CBAM compliance to support your understanding of:

• Your responsibilities under CBAM
• The steps to compliant reporting
• The importance of robust carbon emissions data
• The benefits of CBAM verification 

FAQs?