Is verified supplier data worth pursuing?
Default values carry a markup, so actual data can lower a CBAM bill. Whether it lowers yours enough to be worth the effort depends on things only your suppliers can tell you.
Why there is still no savings calculator here
An earlier version of this page estimated your saving from an assumed emissions range. The assumption was not measured, was the same whichever country you chose, and the resulting percentage was presented as though it were a finding.
The calculator can now use verified data directly for products where the published benchmark proves there is no precursor stage the calculation could get wrong — try your product and it will say so either way. But that only tells you whether the calculation can run; it says nothing about what number your supplier would actually give you, which is the number a saving depends on. This site still will not guess that for you — a plausible figure would be worse than none.
What verified data changes
It removes the default-value markup
Default values are deliberately conservative and carry a markup — 10% in 2026 for cement, iron and steel, aluminium and hydrogen, rising to 20% in 2027 and 30% from 2028. Actual data carries none.
It reflects your supplier, not a country average
A default value describes a country and production route. An efficient installation may be well below it — or above it. Only evidence tells you which.
It does not change the free allocation
The benchmark deduction applies either way, and it shrinks each year as free allocation is withdrawn. Actual data changes the emissions figure, not that schedule.
It does not change whether you are in scope
The annual threshold, the product coverage and the origin rules are unaffected by how well documented your emissions are.
It can leave you worse off
If a supplier's verified emissions are above the published default, the evidence raises your liability rather than lowering it. That result is just as valid, and you cannot un-know it once it is documented.
What you would need to collect
- 1The installation where the goods were produced, and its operator.
- 2The production route — the same distinction the published benchmarks turn on.
- 3The reporting period the data covers, matching your import period.
- 4Direct emissions, and indirect emissions where they apply to the good.
- 5Precursor materials and their own embedded emissions, for complex goods.
- 6The verification behind all of it. A number a supplier types into a form is a supplier-stated number, not verified data.
Deciding whether it is worth it
Start from your actual exposure rather than a percentage. Calculate the default-value cost for the goods you really import, then weigh it against what the evidence would cost you: supplier engagement, verification fees, and your own time — none of which this site can price for you.
Calculate your default-value exposure →Asking your suppliers
The supplier kit provides a request you can send. It collects an initial questionnaire — useful for starting a conversation, and not the same thing as verified CBAM emissions data.
Open the supplier kit →The calculator prices 572 products across 122 origins using published default values, and now accepts verified supplier data for products with no unresolved precursor stage — the calculator says which applies to yours.