The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will enter its definitive phase on 1 January 2026, following a transitional reporting phase from 2023 to 2025. Recently, Lederer announced that it will implement all CBAM requirements “transparently and efficiently”.
Since the beginning of the transition phase on 1 October 2023, Lederer has been working on implementing CBAM. The company involved its suppliers early on and was able to report a large proportion of its imports using actual data provided by suppliers during the transition phase.
Lederer said this pioneering work has helped it establish CBAM-oriented processes early and build trust with partners.
Looking ahead, as many detailed regulations – such as data verification, actual values for intermediate products and the expansion of the product scope from 2028 – are currently being finalised by the EU, Lederer is working with suppliers to prepare for the upcoming requirements and is in constant contact with them to optimise data collection and prepare for the verification process.
The CBAM obligations cover all products under CN positions 7301–7311, 7318 and 7326, including screws, nuts, rivets and other fasteners. The mechanism is based on the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), the European carbon market where greenhouse gas emissions are priced. Importing companies will have to purchase CBAM certificates from 2027, the price of which will be based on the EU ETS. From 2026, CBAM goods may only be imported by approved CBAM declarants.
The emissions data to be reported can be based on default values from the European Commission or on actual data from manufacturers. Default values result in significantly higher costs than actual data. However, actual data can only be used if it has been verified by an accredited verifier. The EU is currently working on accrediting these verification organisations, which are expected to begin operating in Q4 2026.
However, Lederer added that it is currently difficult to estimate when suppliers in Asia will be verified.
