What is the CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism)?

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is an EU climate regulation designed to place a carbon price on imported goods based on their embedded emissions. Its purpose is to ensure that companies outside the EU are subject to similar carbon costs as EU-based manufacturers, reducing the risk of carbon leakage — a situation where production shifts to regions with weaker climate policies.

Under CBAM, companies importing certain carbon-intensive goods into the European Union must:

• calculate the embedded emissions of their imported products,
• report these emissions according to EU-defined methodologies,
• purchase CBAM certificates to compensate for the associated carbon footprint.

CBAM initially applies to sectors such as steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, hydrogen, and electricity, but the scope is expected to expand as EU climate policy evolves. By aligning the carbon cost of imported goods with EU-produced goods, CBAM creates a level playing field and encourages global industries to adopt cleaner, low-carbon technologies.

To comply with CBAM, businesses need accurate, verifiable emissions data from suppliers and robust methods to calculate product-level embedded emissions. This often requires data collection across complex international supply chains.

How Sustamize supports CBAM compliance

Sustamize enables companies to meet CBAM requirements with ease by providing:

• verified, high-resolution CO₂e datasets for materials and production processes,
• automated PCF and emissions calculation tools,
• standardized methodologies aligned with CBAM reporting rules,
• simplified data collection workflows for supplier emissions,
• audit-ready outputs for quarterly CBAM declarations.

By integrating sustamize’s tools and data, businesses can ensure accurate reporting, reduce administrative burden, and confidently navigate EU compliance requirements.

Ready to streamline your CBAM reporting?

Contact our team or request access to sustamize’s CO₂e data and tools to calculate embedded emissions and meet CBAM requirements efficiently.