Prove your numbers, or your buyer pays more.
EU buyers of steel and aluminium pay for your emissions. Pick your route below. Where do you ship? EU, UK, US or Japan. What do you make? Steel, aluminium or goods made from them, cement or fertiliser, coffee, rubber, wood, soy, cocoa or palm, or anything else.
Shipping steel, aluminium, cement or fertiliser to the EU
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). 30 Sep 2027: Your buyer’s first declaration. No proof from you? Your buyer pays on the EU’s standard figure. First annual declaration, due 30 September 2027, for 2026 imports. The definitive period began 1 January 2026.
- Without your own verified figure, your buyer is charged on the default value, the EU’s standard figure for your goods, plus a mark-up.
- Your EU importer files and pays. Above 50 tonnes a year they need authorised declarant status, a licence to import CBAM goods.
- For cement and fertiliser, the electricity you buy counts too.
- Senseible builds the file and checks every figure; an accredited verifier signs it off.
Shipping coffee, rubber, wood, soy, cocoa or palm to the EU
EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). 30 Dec 2026: Large or medium buyers. Your buyer needs plot locations and legality proof for every lot.
- If your buyer already handled timber under the old EU Timber Regulation, their date is 30 December 2026. Ask which applies.
- The EU changed its product list in 2026. Confirm the 8-digit code on your invoice.
Shipping other goods to the EU
Questionnaires and footprints. Your buyer’s date: Ask them for it. Not on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) list? Your buyer still asks, as a form.
- CBAM covers iron and steel (including many goods made from it, such as wire, pipes and fasteners), aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen and electricity. Check the code on your invoice.
- Other goods get questionnaires such as Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and EcoVadis, or a request for a product carbon footprint.
- Your electricity and fuel bills answer most of the questions.
Shipping steel, aluminium, cement or fertiliser to the UK
UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (UK CBAM). 1 Jan 2027: UK CBAM starts. UK importers will ask you for your emissions figure. First return and payment: 31 May 2028.
- The importer pays His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), not you. Your buyer will ask you for the figure.
- An importer registers once it has imported £50,000 or more of these goods in the last 12 months, or expects £50,000 or more in the next 30 days.
- Your figure needs a verifier accredited for UK CBAM. Without one, your buyer uses HMRC’s default value.
Shipping other goods to the UK
UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (UK CBAM). Not caught: From 1 January 2027. UK CBAM does not name your goods.
- UK CBAM covers aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, and iron and steel. Other goods are outside it from 1 January 2027.
- Your UK buyer can still send a questionnaire (such as Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP) or ask for a product carbon footprint.
Shipping to the US
California Senate Bill 253 (SB 253). 10 Nov 2026: Their Scope 1 and 2 reports. Your US customer will ask for your fuel and electricity emissions. 10 Nov 2026: their Scope 1 and 2 reports. Their Scope 3 reports follow from 2027; that is where they ask suppliers.
- SB 253 makes companies formed in the US with revenue above USD 1 billion that do business in California report their emissions.
- The law puts no duty on you. Once their Scope 3 reports start, your customer will ask for your Scope 1 (fuel you burn) and Scope 2 (electricity you buy).
- Send a full year, your output for the same year, the method, and what is estimated.
Shipping to Japan
Japan Carbon Footprint Guidelines. Your buyer’s date: Ask them for it. Japanese buyers ask for one product’s footprint.
- Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of the Environment published Carbon Footprint Guidelines in March 2023. They are guidance, not law.
- Buyers want your own fuel and electricity use per unit, usually cradle to gate.
- Ask for their template, which edition they follow, and whether they expect third-party verification.
Finance
A record built from your bills gives a lender something to read. Senseible does not lend. The partner decides, and nothing is guaranteed.
- Lenders ask how your business cuts emissions. A record built from your own bills answers it.
- Senseible connects your verified record to its financing partners for loans, credits and grants.
- The free green loan check shows what a credit team looks for and where you stand.
Earn
- Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS). Steel plants are in a draft list: 255 named. 488 plants already have a notified target, aluminium among them. Beat your target and you earn one certificate per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent saved. A Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) accredited agency verifies. The Grid-India registry issues. Senseible is not a verifier, registry or lender, and is not part of the CCTS process.
- Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS). 488 plants already have a notified CCTS target, cement among them. Beat your target and you earn one certificate per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent saved. A Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) accredited agency verifies. The Grid-India registry issues. Senseible is not a verifier, registry or lender, and is not part of the CCTS process.
- Credits and removals. Farm, biochar or kiln project? Removals can earn credits. Biochar, agroforestry, rice methane and other removals are checked by an accredited verifier. A registry issues the credit. Under Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) offsets, only Indian firms without a CCTS target register. Biochar is not yet covered. Senseible is not a verifier, registry or lender.
- Credits. Credits start with a cut you can show. Your bills already show where you cut emissions: solar, biogas, motors, kilns, boilers. Each programme decides what it accepts. Check yours before you plan on income. Senseible is not a verifier, registry or lender.
See the plants with targets, see carbon removal or see carbon credits
One record feeds all three.
- Nothing yet. Your buyer sees: Your buyer works from a default value or an industry average, not from your plant. Your lender sees: There is nothing to show a lender about how you cut emissions. Carbon markets see: No record means nothing to put in front of a programme.
- Bills read. Your buyer sees: A draft figure from your own bills, marked pre-verification. Honest about what is not checked yet. Your lender sees: The green loan check shows where you stand against what a credit team looks for. Carbon markets see: Your bills show where you already cut emissions. That is the start of a credit case.
- Verified. Your buyer sees: We check every figure in-house. An accredited verifier signs it off, ours through a partner or yours. For the UK, one accredited for UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (UK CBAM). Your lender sees: A Verified Emissions Certificate and a green loan file to send. Issued by Senseible on verified source documents, not an accredited third-party verification. Carbon markets see: Programmes decide what they accept. An accredited verifier checks and a registry issues. Senseible is neither.
Who signs, who decides, who issues.
We build and check your record. The rest sign, lend and issue.
- Senseible: Reads your bills and invoices, builds the record, checks every figure in-house. Not a verifier, registry or lender.
- Accredited verifier: Signs off your figure for the scheme your buyer files under. It can be a verifier Senseible works with, or your own, and it must be accredited for that scheme.
- Lender or scheme: Decides on the loan, credit or grant. Nothing is guaranteed. Senseible does not lend and does not guarantee approval.
- Registry and programme: Each programme decides what it accepts. An accredited verifier checks, and the registry issues the credit.
- Your buyer’s importer: Files and pays. In the EU, the annual declaration; in the UK, a return to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). They will ask you for the figure.
Straight answers
What carbon requirements do Indian steel and aluminium exporters face in the EU?
The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) applies. No proof from you? Your buyer pays on the EU’s standard figure. First annual declaration, due 30 September 2027, for 2026 imports. The definitive period began 1 January 2026. Without your own verified figure, your buyer is charged on the default value, the EU’s standard figure for your goods, plus a mark-up. Your EU importer files and pays. Above 50 tonnes a year they need authorised declarant status, a licence to import CBAM goods. Senseible builds the file and checks every figure; an accredited verifier signs it off.
Does the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) cover cement and fertiliser exporters from India?
Yes. The first annual declaration is due 30 September 2027. Without your own verified figure, your buyer is charged on the default value, the EU’s standard figure for your goods, plus a mark-up. Your EU importer files and pays. Above 50 tonnes a year they need authorised declarant status, a licence to import CBAM goods. For cement and fertiliser, the electricity you buy counts too. Senseible builds the file and checks every figure; an accredited verifier signs it off.
What does UK CBAM mean for Indian exporters?
UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (UK CBAM) starts on 1 January 2027. UK importers will ask you for your emissions figure. First return and payment: 31 May 2028. The importer pays His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), not you. Your buyer will ask you for the figure. An importer registers once it has imported £50,000 or more of these goods in the last 12 months, or expects £50,000 or more in the next 30 days. Your figure needs a verifier accredited for UK CBAM. Without one, your buyer uses HMRC’s default value.
What do EU buyers need from Indian exporters of coffee, rubber, wood, soy, cocoa or palm?
EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Your buyer needs plot locations and legality proof for every lot. Large or medium buyers: 30 Dec 2026. Micro or small buyers: 30 Jun 2027. If your buyer already handled timber under the old EU Timber Regulation, their date is 30 December 2026. Ask which applies. The EU changed its product list in 2026. Confirm the 8-digit code on your invoice.
What will a US customer ask an Indian supplier for?
California Senate Bill 253 (SB 253). 10 Nov 2026: their Scope 1 and 2 reports. Their Scope 3 reports follow from 2027; that is where they ask suppliers. Your US customer will ask for your fuel and electricity emissions. SB 253 makes companies formed in the US with revenue above USD 1 billion that do business in California report their emissions. The law puts no duty on you. Once their Scope 3 reports start, your customer will ask for your Scope 1 (fuel you burn) and Scope 2 (electricity you buy). Send a full year, your output for the same year, the method, and what is estimated.
What do Japanese buyers ask Indian exporters for?
Japanese buyers ask for one product’s footprint. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of the Environment published Carbon Footprint Guidelines in March 2023. They are guidance, not law. Buyers want your own fuel and electricity use per unit, usually cradle to gate. Ask for their template, which edition they follow, and whether they expect third-party verification.
Can a record built from my bills help me get finance?
A record built from your bills gives a lender something to read. Lenders ask how your business cuts emissions. A record built from your own bills answers it. Senseible connects your verified record to its financing partners for loans, credits and grants. The free green loan check shows what a credit team looks for and where you stand. Senseible does not lend. The partner decides, and nothing is guaranteed.
Can an Indian steel or cement plant earn carbon credits?
Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS). Steel plants are in a draft list: 255 named. 488 plants already have a notified CCTS target, cement among them. 488 plants already have a notified target, aluminium among them. Beat your target and you earn one certificate per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent saved. A Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) accredited agency verifies. The Grid-India registry issues. Senseible is not a verifier, registry or lender, and is not part of the CCTS process.