How should a metals website show CBAM and emissions data?
On a metal producer’s website, CBAM is not a certificate but a data flow: the embedded emissions data needed for the EU importer’s declaration go out as actual values when verified by an accredited verifier, and as default values when not. An unverified emissions figure is not written on the site as if it were final; if it is written at all, it comes with its verification status, method and period.
Metals carry about 12.6% of sector-based exports registered with the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) in 2025: steel at 16.54 billion dollars, 7.0%, and iron and non-ferrous metals at 13.24 billion dollars, 5.6% (the total is our calculation). This guide is the detail of the metals row of the certificate map by sector; how certificates generally belong on a website is covered in the certified manufacturer website guide.
What does a metals buyer ask for in 2026?
Emissions data now, alongside quality certificates. The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM, Regulation 2023/956) covers imports of steel, aluminum and non-ferrous metals; the transitional period that began on October 1, 2023 ended on December 31, 2025, and the definitive period has applied since January 1, 2026. The declaration is made by the importer in the EU; the embedded emissions that go into it come from the producer. The Omnibus amendment published in October 2025 (2025/2083) exempted importers of no more than 50 tonnes in total per year.
So a metals buyer’s question has two parts: are there actual embedded emissions data for the product, and are they verified? Under the regulation, actual emissions are verified by an accredited verifier; where no verified data exist, default values are used in the declaration.
Emissions data do not replace quality certificates; they add to them. A buyer’s purchasing team asks for the product standard and the quality management system certificate, the sustainability team for the emissions data; when both sit on the same site in separate sections and with their own records, each team finds its own answer without asking the company. How quality certificates are written with their number, scope and expiry date, that is, the fields of the certificate record and its place on the site, is in the certified manufacturer website guide.
How are emissions data shown on the website?
With their verification status, or not at all. Operators outside the EU can register in the CBAM Registry, have their emissions verified and share them with importers, keeping records for four years (Art. 10). The site can describe this process itself: registration in the registry, the body that carried out the verification, the period the data cover and how they are shared with the importer. The figure itself usually sits not on the site but in the file shared with the importer. The table below collects what can sit where and under what condition. In a company with several sites, it also has to say which site the data belong to: spreading one site’s data over every product gives the buyer a false impression.
| Item | On the website | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| CBAM Registry registration (non-EU operator) | If registered; the site says registration was made | CBAM Art. 10 |
| Verified embedded emissions data | On condition: with verifier, method and period; details in the file shared with the importer | CBAM |
| Unverified emissions figure, presented as final | No | CBAM (verification or default value) |
| “CBAM-certified product”, “CBAM compliant” | No; a CBAM certificate is not a document issued for the producer’s product | Our reading |
| “Digital product passport ready” | No; the requirements for iron and steel have not been adopted yet | ESPR working plan |
Where CBAM data belong on a metals website
- 01CBAM Registry registration
- 02Verified embedded emissions data
- 03Unverified emissions figure, as final
- 04The phrase “CBAM-certified product”
- 05The phrase “DPP ready”
What should a metals website not say?
- Writing an unverified emissions figure as if it were a final value: under CBAM, default values take the place of unverified data.
- Phrases like “CBAM-certified product” or “CBAM compliant”: a CBAM certificate is a certificate used in the importer’s declaration, not a document issued for the producer’s product; this is our reading.
- Calling a product “digital product passport ready”: the ESPR working plan puts iron and steel in 2026, but the requirements have not been adopted yet.
- A “carbon” sentence without method and boundary: without method, period and scope, a figure cannot be compared. How to write an environmental claim is in the environmental claims on a website guide.
- Presenting one site’s data as if they applied to all of the company’s products.
What changed in metals in 2026?
CBAM’s definitive period began on January 1, 2026. Under the Omnibus amendment, CBAM certificates will be on sale from February 1, 2027, and the deadline for the first annual declaration for 2026 is September 30, 2027. Importers who applied for authorization by March 31, 2026 may continue importing temporarily until a decision is made. On the Turkish side, the Climate Law (7552 · July 9, 2025) sets up a national emissions trading system that starts with a pilot period; covered installations obtain a greenhouse gas emissions permit within three years.
How does a buyer verify emissions data?
Through the verification record. Actual emissions data come with an accredited verifier’s report; the evidence in the buyer’s hands is that report and the operator’s registration in the CBAM Registry. The site’s job is to point the buyer to that evidence: to say who carried out the verification and which period the data cover, and how the report is shared on request. Your quality management system certificates, on the other hand, are searched in CertSearch, the database of accredited certificates; the four-step path is in the is a company’s ISO certificate real guide. The period of the verification matters too: last year’s verified data may not describe this year’s production; the page renews the data period with every update.
How are the product page and the machine layer built?
The product page gives the alloy or grade, its standard and technical values with units in a table; if there are emissions data, they sit on the same page or on a linked page with their method and period. In the machine layer, the certificate record carries management system certificates; emissions data are not marked up as a Certification, because they are not a certificate, which is our reading. The table and method note visible on the page already carry the information a machine will read. One line on the product page saying how to request the verification report keeps the buyer from being sent to the general contact form and a wait.
A short checklist for a metals website
- Is the registration status in the CBAM Registry described correctly on the site?
- If there are emissions data, are the verifier, method and period written?
- Are the period of the emissions data and the site they belong to written?
- Does an unverified figure stand as a final value?
- Is a sentence with “CBAM certified” or “DPP ready” left on the site?
- Are technical values on product pages in a table, with units?
- Are quality management system certificates in the certificate record with number, scope and expiry date?
- Does the page say how to request the verification report?
The information here is not legal advice; confirm which rule applies to you from official sources and from your certification body’s current requirements.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who makes the declaration under CBAM?
The importer in the EU. The producer provides the embedded emissions data; an operator outside the EU can register in the CBAM Registry, have its emissions verified and share them with the importer.
Can I write an unverified emissions figure on my website?
Not as a final value. Under CBAM, actual emissions are verified by an accredited verifier; where no verified data exist, default values are used in the declaration.
Are small importers exempt from CBAM?
The Omnibus amendment (2025/2083) exempted importers of no more than 50 tonnes in total per year.