Built to the EU's own rules, and open about how
Assurance should be checkable, not asserted. This page sets out exactly which official EU instruments EcoBorder implements, how it calculates, how we validate it, and what it deliberately does not claim.
What we implement
The official instruments, cited
Every figure EcoBorder produces traces to one of these. Versions and links are shown so you can check the source directly.
The CBAM Regulation
Establishes the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the SEE method and the Art. 9 origin-carbon-price deduction.
Country default values (current)
Per-country default embedded-emissions values with the official year mark-ups. We track corrections: our data reflects the Aug 2026 correction (IR (EU) 2026/1740), incl. the cement/clinker white-vs-grey 10-digit TARIC split.
CBAM benchmarks (BMg)
The route-aware benchmark values used for the transitional free-allocation adjustment.
DG TAXUD, v2024-12-13
The official workbook installations use to communicate SEE to declarants. Our submission workbook mirrors its sheets and columns.
European Commission - first official CBAM certificate price (Q1 2026, €75.36/tCO₂, published 7 Apr 2026)
The reference certificate price used to value embedded emissions.
How we calculate
The method, in plain terms
Specific embedded emissions (SEE)
SEE = attributed emissions ÷ production, split into direct and indirect, per the CBAM method.
Precursor cascade
Each supplier's already-embedded SEE is carried one level into the consuming good, mass-weighted, exactly as the regulation prescribes.
Process-level material balance
Each production process reconciles output = transferred + sold + non-CBAM within tolerance before emissions roll up.
Default values + mark-ups
Where actual data is absent, country-specific defaults apply with the official year mark-ups, keyed by CN and (for split codes) 10-digit TARIC.
Route-aware benchmarks
The free-allocation adjustment uses the CBAM benchmark for the good's production route, not a single sector average.
Carbon price at origin (Art. 9)
Captured as structured evidence (scheme, legal basis, currency, price, rebate, coverage) and converted to an auditable deduction.
How we prove it
Correctness you can verify
Alignment is worth little without evidence. These are the checks that gate every release.
- Reproduces the Commission's official worked examples exactly — the steel reference of 1.54 / 0.20 / 1.74 tCO₂e per tonne is a standing test that must pass before any release.
- Every release is gated by an automated test suite (280+ tests) plus a type check and a production build.
- Official data is version-tracked: when the Commission issues a correction (e.g. IR (EU) 2026/1740), we re-extract from the authoritative source and re-cite.
- The calculation engine is deterministic and pure — the same inputs always give the same figures, and every official value is cited to the regulation that sets it.
- The submission workbook is diffed against the official DG TAXUD communication template, so the output uses the official sheets, columns and labels.
What we don't claim
The honest boundaries
Being clear about limits is part of being trustworthy.
- iOutputs are estimates to support compliance, not legal or financial advice.
- iEcoBorder is built by EcoSapienz and is not endorsed by, or affiliated with, the European Commission.
- iIt is not a substitute for an accredited CBAM verifier; verify and validate before lodging a real declaration.
Questions on the methodology, or an authority or verifier who wants to review it in detail? Talk to us.
Explore the rest of the toolkit
Your whole CBAM toolkit in one workspace: free calculators, and a workspace to file. Jump to whichever tool helps next.