Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) Compliance
The CBAM definitive period started on January 1, 2026. Your EU buyer now pays for certificates covering the emissions embedded in what you sell them, and your data sets that bill. We calculate embedded emissions per installation, prepare them for verification, and package them so your buyer can use them in their declaration.
Overview
What is CBAM and what changed in 2026?
CBAM is the EU mechanism that puts a carbon cost on imports of iron and steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, hydrogen and electricity, in line with the emissions released to produce them. It is set out in Regulation (EU) 2023/956, as simplified by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083.
During the transitional period (October 2023 to December 2025), importers filed quarterly reports and paid nothing. Since January 1, 2026 the definitive period applies: only an authorized CBAM declarant may import covered goods, it files an annual declaration by September 30 for the previous year, and it surrenders CBAM certificates matching the embedded emissions. Certificate sales open on February 1, 2027.
The importer files the declaration, but only the producer can supply actual emissions data. Without it, the importer falls back on the Commission's default values, which are based on the most emission-intensive exporting countries. They are usually higher than your real figure, and the gap tends to come back to you as pressure on price.
- Aligned with Regulations (EU) 2023/956 and 2025/2083
- Data ready for the annual declaration
- Verification-ready evidence file
Obligations
Five things the definitive period asks of exporters
Legally, the CBAM obligation sits with the EU importer. In practice, every item below starts at the installation that makes the goods.
Calculate embedded emissions per installation
Quantify direct emissions, and indirect emissions from electricity where they apply, at process and product level using the method in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2547.
Have actual values verified
Actual emissions must be verified by an accredited verifier before they can be used in a declaration. Default values need no verification, but they usually mean a higher certificate bill.
Supply your buyer's annual declaration
The first annual declaration, covering 2026 imports, is due on September 30, 2027. Your buyer needs your verified data, the method behind it and the supporting records well before then.
Price in the carbon cost
The certificate price is tied to EU ETS auction prices. A carbon price effectively paid and documented in the country of origin can be deducted. Know how this cost will reach your contract price before your buyer raises it.
Keep a trail for every figure
Record every step from activity data to the number in the declaration, so a verifier on a site visit can walk the same path with you.
Framework
The GreenGoldTech CBAM framework
Five modules that turn the obligations into work you can repeat every year.
Embedded Emissions Measurement
We calculate emissions per tonne of each exported product from your process data.
- Process-level emissions mapping
- Energy and material flow analysis
- Consistency with Scope 1 and 2 data
- Activity-based carbon modeling
CBAM Data Architecture and Integration
We connect to source systems so the data does not have to be collected by hand each year.
- ERP, MES and energy system integration
- Automated data pipelines
- Version-controlled audit trail
- Regulatory-grade data governance
Regulatory Reporting and Verification Readiness
We prepare one consistent file for both your buyer and the verifier.
- Installation emissions report for the annual declaration
- Emission factor checks
- Internal control framework
- Verifier-ready documentation pack
Carbon Cost Exposure and Risk Analysis
We put a number on what CBAM costs you, by product and by customer.
- Actual versus default value cost comparison
- Product-level carbon intensity
- High-emission process identification
- Price and regulatory scenarios
Continuous Compliance and Improvement
We keep the system current as the rules or your production change.
- Ongoing monitoring
- Tracking of regulatory changes
- Emissions reduction tracking
- Regular review of method and system
One framework, the same method every year.
From production data to your buyer's declaration.
Process
How CBAM readiness is built
Map your emissions
We review production end to end and identify every fuel, input and electricity flow that contributes to embedded emissions.
Connect and automate
Source systems are integrated so activity data reaches the calculation model without manual handling.
Verify and share
Figures pass internal controls, are prepared for an accredited verifier, and are delivered in a form your buyer can use in the annual declaration.
Track and reduce
Carbon intensity is tracked year over year, so every reduction lowers both your emissions and your buyer's certificate cost.
Audience
Sectors covered by CBAM
CBAM currently covers goods in six sectors. Imports under 50 tonnes a year are exempt (electricity and hydrogen excluded), a threshold that keeps the importers responsible for most covered emissions in scope.
- Iron and steel
- Aluminum
- Cement
- Fertilizers
- Hydrogen
- Electricity
- Turkish producers exporting these goods to the EU
Why GreenGoldTech
We leave you a system that runs every year, not a spreadsheet
The CBAM declaration comes around every year. What matters is the system that produces the numbers the same way each time, not the file that carries them.
A lasting compliance setup
Owners, controls and procedures are defined up front, so nobody is hunting for data when the declaration is due.
Calculations tied to EU methods
Calculations follow the CBAM Regulation and the emissions calculation rules in the Commission's implementing regulations.
Verification-ready records
Every number carries its source, its method and its version history, so the verifier's questions already have answers.
System integration
Data comes straight from ERP, MES and energy systems, so the report reflects what production actually did.
Executive reporting
Management and sales teams see CBAM cost and compliance status by customer and product, in the figures they already work with.
Get started
Let's get your 2026 data ready for the first annual declaration
Every tonne you sold into the EU in 2026 will appear in the declaration due on September 30, 2027. Let's look at where your embedded emissions data stands today and what it still needs to be verification-ready.