Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

The European Union’s (EU) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has introduced new compliance requirements for EU businesses importing certain types of goods. The new regulations mean that UK exporters have to provide accurate emissions data to their EU customers, ensuring they meet their EU reporting obligations.

CBAM applies to carbon-intensive sectors, including:

  • Cement
  • Iron & steel
  • Aluminium
  • Fertilisers
  • Electricity
  • Hydrogen

Now that CBAM has entered its Definitive Regime (from 1 January 2026), EU importers are subject to financial liability linked to the embedded emissions of imported goods. As a result, UK businesses must be prepared to accurately calculate and report emissions data to support their EU customers’ compliance obligations.

To maintain a competitive edge and avoid trade disruptions, UK businesses must be prepared to accurately calculate and report emissions data associated with their exports.

What is CBAM?

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a regulatory measure introduced by the European Union (EU) with the aim of preventing carbon leakage and encouraging green global trade practices within particular sectors. The objective of the new regulation is to apply a carbon price to all EU imported goods in these sectors, ensuring that products face similar carbon costs to those produced within the EU. This will level the playing field by reducing incentives for businesses to relocate production to those countries with lower environmental standards.

Why does it matter?

For UK exporters, ensuring early compliance with CBAM regulations is crucial to:

  • Providing accurate emissions data so that EU importers can meet their Carbon emmission reporting obligations
  • Ensuring continued access to EU markets without disruption
  • Keeping ahead of competitors by being ready for similar UK regulations to be implemented in the future

UK exporters need to ensure they provide accurate emissions data to their EU customers. Without accurate and clear information, they risk increased compliance costs, trading disruption, or reduced access to the EU market.

For EU importers, they will be legally required to:

  • Submit quarterly emissions reports until full implementation due in 2026
  • Purchase CBAM certificates to offset the embedded carbon cost of imported goods from 2026

How the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) supports UK businesses

So what are the next steps to ensure compliance and stay one step ahead of your competitors?

1. EU CBAM Health Check Tool

The BCC’s CBAM Health Check is a free, interactive resource that will help you begin to understand and evaluate your readiness for compliance. If your business exports goods to the EU in the sectors listed above, understanding your carbon emissions reporting obligations is key to maintaining your trading relationships.

How does the healthcheck work?

Just answer a few questions, and the tool will do the rest. It only takes 5 minutes to complete, and it will provide you with a personalised report using a traffic light system.

  • RED - Urgent areas requiring action
  • AMBER - Areas needing improvement
  • GREEN - Compliance areas already in place


If further support is needed, businesses can book a free session with a CBAM expert.

2. BCC Consultancy Service

If your Health Check results highlight areas needing further action, the CBAM Consultancy Service is available to provide tailored support.

The BCC CBAM Consultancy Service provides businesses with expert guidance to navigate and understand the complexities of CBAM compliance.  Through this service, a business receives:

  • Evaluation of their carbon impact by experts in the field
  • An expert-led review, either on-site or remotely, to establish a CBAM reporting framework
  • Software solutions designed to track and manage emissions data

Find out more about CBAM consultancy support today!