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How to fill the CBAM Communication Template
The CBAM Communication Template is a free Excel workbook from the European Commission with 19 sheets. A producer fills in five of them — A_InstData, B_EmInst, C_Emissions&Energy, D_Processes and E_PurchPrec — and the rest calculate themselves. It is not legally mandatory, but almost every EU importer asks for it.
Your EU customer asked for "the CBAM template". They mean one specific Excel file published by the European Commission. Here is what each sheet wants, and where producers get stuck.
Fill it automatically for steel or aluminium →
What the Excel file is
The CBAM Communication Template for Installations is the Commission's standard way for a non-EU producer to hand emissions data to an EU importer. Using it is not legally mandatory — the importer needs the numbers, not the format — but every importer asks for it, because their own reporting is built around it. It is a protected Excel workbook of roughly 19 sheets; you fill in five of them and the rest calculate themselves.
- Installation name, address, country, UN/LOCODE, reporting year
- A_InstDataWho and where you are, and the processes you run
- Fuels burned, carbonates such as limestone, electrodes, carbon in and out of a mass balance
- B_EmInstEvery source of emissions at the site
- Tonnes made, tonnes sold, tonnes you consumed yourself
- D_ProcessesOne block per production process
- Steel or aluminium you bought and fed in, with its supplier's verified value
- E_PurchPrecUsually most of the total for a fabricator
- Nothing — it fills itself from the sheets above
- C_Emissions&EnergyTotals, data quality, how it was checked
The five sheets you actually fill
- A_InstData — who and where you are: installation name, address, country, UN/LOCODE, the reporting year, and a list of your production processes and the goods they make.
- B_EmInst — every source of emissions at the installation: fuels burned, carbonates such as limestone, electrodes, and carbon entering or leaving in a mass balance.
- C_Emissions&Energy — the totals, plus how good your data is and how it was checked.
- D_Processes — one block per production process: how much you made, how much went to customers, how much you consumed yourself, and the emissions attributed to it.
- E_PurchPrec — steel or aluminium you bought and fed into the process, with its own emissions value per tonne.
Five mistakes that get the file sent back
- Using your fiscal year. The definitive period requires a calendar year, 1 January to 31 December.
- Reporting the company, not the site. One installation is one physical site. Two factories mean two files.
- Counting the steel you bought as free. Purchased steel or aluminium carries its supplier's emissions into your product. For a fabricator this is usually most of the total.
- Entering the mass in the product instead of the mass consumed. If 100 tonnes of rod go in and 80 tonnes of screws come out, the figure is 100 — offcuts included.
- Adding electricity to the total. For iron, steel and aluminium the definitive period counts direct emissions only. The template asks for electricity, but it does not enter the product's value.
The part most people get wrong: supplier values
You may use a number your supplier gave you only if it comes with a verification report from an accredited verifier covering the year the material was produced. An email or a datasheet is not enough. Without that report, the country default value applies to that material, plus a mark-up of 10% in 2026, 20% in 2027 and 30% from 2028 — which is usually far worse than reality.
Filling it automatically
For iron, steel and aluminium, this site does it for you: enter production, fuels and purchased material, and download the official template with your numbers in the right cells, plus a report that shows your customer what they save. Everything runs in your browser — the data never reaches us. The calculation is checked against the Commission's worked examples — cell by cell for the screw factory, and on the final per-tonne values for the steel and aluminium examples.
Three ways to get the data to your customer
The Commission's portal, the template filled by hand, or a tool that fills it for you. None of them verifies your figures — that is always an accredited verifier's job.
| O3CI operator portal | Template, filled yourself | CBAM File | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | Free comparison with the default; filled files from €79 per installation |
| Account | EU Login required | None | None |
| Sectors | All CBAM sectors | All CBAM sectors | Iron, steel and aluminium only |
| Who does the arithmetic | You enter the installation's data in the portal | You — the workbook totals what you enter on five sheets | The tool, from production, fuels and purchased material |
| Sharing with customers | Register once, share with every importer in the portal | Email the file to each customer | Download the filled template and email it |
| Where your data sits | On the Commission's system | In your own file | In your browser only — never uploaded |
| Shows the customer's saving vs default | No | No | Yes — a one-page buyer report |
| Best when | You have many EU customers and time for the 146-page manual | You have an emissions specialist in-house | You need the numbers for steel or aluminium quickly |
Where to get the file yourself
The template, the filled sector examples and the ten guidance documents of 14 August 2026 are all free from the European Commission. The version it offers is v2.1 of 13 December 2024, written for the transitional period; the definitive-period guidance describes a different set of documents (an annual emissions report with a summary for the declarant). Until a new template is published, importers still ask for this one. You can download a filled example — the Commission's own screw factory, filled by this tool. If you would rather upload once and share with every customer, the Commission also runs a free operator portal (O3CI) — it needs an EU Login account and its manual runs to 146 pages, but it is the official route and costs nothing.
Questions exporters ask
Do electricity emissions count for steel and aluminium under CBAM?
No — in the definitive period only direct emissions count for iron, steel and aluminium; electricity is reported in the template but does not enter the product's value, with sintered ore as the single exception.
Electric arc furnace producers still count electrodes, natural gas and the carbon in scrap and alloys.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2023/956, Annex II; Commission Guidance No. 5d/5e, pp. 8–9
Does steel or aluminium I buy in count towards my CBAM figure?
Yes — purchased CBAM material such as rod, coil, billet or unwrought aluminium carries its producer's emissions into your product, and for fabricators it is usually most of the total.
Enter the tonnes consumed, not the tonnes that end up in the product: if 100 tonnes of rod go in and 80 tonnes of screws come out, the figure is 100.
Source: Commission Guidance No. 3, pp. 34, 68
Can I use an emission value my supplier gave me?
Only if it comes with a verification report from an accredited verifier covering the year the material was produced; otherwise the country default value for that material applies.
An email, a datasheet or an environmental product declaration is not enough on its own.
Source: Commission Guidance No. 3, pp. 110, 115
Which period of data do I report for CBAM?
A full calendar year, 1 January to 31 December — not your fiscal year — for one installation, meaning one physical production site.
A company with two factories sends two separate sets of data.
Source: Commission Guidance No. 3, pp. 9, 18
Is the CBAM Communication Template mandatory?
No — the importer needs the numbers, not a particular format, but almost every EU importer asks for the Commission's Communication Template because their own reporting is built around it.
Sending your own PDF usually creates extra work and delay on the importer's side.
Source: European Commission, CBAM Communication Template for Installations
Is there a free official way to share CBAM data with importers?
Yes — the Commission's operator portal (O3CI) lets an installation register its data once and share it with every importer, free of charge, though it requires an EU Login account.
For a producer who prefers a spreadsheet, the Communication Template remains the common route.
Source: European Commission, CBAM Registry and O3CI
Last updated 2026-10-05.
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