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How to fill out an EU Summary Communication Sheet from a PDF?

Getting supplier's PDF data onto the CarbonChain platform

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Written by Graham Stirling-Moffet
Updated over 2 weeks ago

If your supplier sends you EU CBAM data in a PDF format then you can upload this information on their behalf. If you have a PDF with the installation data, you will need to convert it to the EU's Summary Communication template to upload it to CarbonChain. If you are missing any of the necessary data, you will need to go back to your supplier and ask them to provide more information.

The template for the Summary Communication Sheet (SCS) is linked at the bottom of this page.

Please note that changing the tab name will cause the file to be rejected - the tab name must be "Summary_Communication".

In this file, all mandatory fields are highlighted in green (see below).

The definitions for each mandatory field are as follows. If you’re struggling with the template, try asking our AI chat bot for guidance.

Installation details

The installation is the site or facility where the product or products are produced

  • Name: The name of the installation, in English

  • City: The city that the installation is located in

  • Country: The country that the installation is located in

  • Reporting period start and end: Installation data is valid for one year under CBAM. The data provided to you should include a one year window for which the data is valid - please enter the start and end date of that window into the sheet using the following format for each date: [Month] [Day], [Year]. Ex: November 14, 2024

Summary of products

  • Production process from which the products arise: Any chemical or physical processes carried out in parts of an installation to produce goods under an aggregated goods category and its specified system boundaries. These names are specific to each installation. (ex: Cold-rolled stainless steel manufacturing, slab production)

  • Type of aggregated good or precursor: There are only two options here, either "Aluminium products" or "Iron or steel products"

  • CN code: See our guide on CN codes here. We also have a full glossary of CN codes covered under CBAM here.

  • Product name: The name of the product. This might be a part number or reference number.

  • SEE (direct): This stands for “Specific Direct Embedded Emissions” which refer to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions directly associated with the production of a product or material and “embedded” within it. These emissions occur during the manufacturing or processing stages and are attributable to activities that can be directly controlled or influenced by the producer.

  • SEE (indirect): This stands for “Specific Indirect Embedded Emissions” which refer to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions indirectly associated with the production of a product or material, originating from upstream or downstream processes that are not directly controlled by the producer. These emissions are “embedded” in the product or material and are quantified on a per-unit basis (e.g., per ton of product).

  • SEE (total): The spreadsheet will automatically calculate this for you

  • Unit: You should be providing all data with the units tCO2e/t, which stands for tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per ton of product. It's a unit used to measure the global warming potential (GWP) of greenhouse gasses.

  • Share of emissions by default value: You have to specify the amount of precursor data that comes from default values. Default values refer to predefined estimates of the carbon intensity (expressed as emissions, typically in tCO₂e/t) associated with the production of certain goods or materials. These values are used in cases where actual emissions data is unavailable or impractical to collect from producers. To be fully compliant, default values should not exceed 20%.

  • Source for electricity EF: The EF (emission factor) of the electricity can be determined by the following methods

    • D.4(a) - EF based on IEA data, provided by the European Commission

    • D.4(b) - EF based on other publicly available data representing either the average EF or the CO2 emission factor as in section 4.3 of Annex IV of the CBAM Regulation.

    • D.4.1 - EF of electricity produced in the installation other than by cogeneration

    • D.4.2- EF of electricity produced in the installation by cogeneration D.4.3.1 - EF of electricity produced outside the installation (received from a source with a direct technical link)

    • D.4.3.2 - EF of electricity produced outside the installation (received from a producer under a power purchase agreement) Mix - Where the electricity is not predominantly obtained from one source or the EF is determined by more than one of the above sources, the EF is determined as a mix of the methods above.

  • Embedded electricity (MWh/t): Embedded electricity (megawatts per tonne) is a metric used to report the quantity of embedded emissions in electricity.

The conditional fields are in orange (see columns AL-AZ):

  • Carbon price paid - this field is very important should you wish to be able to compare indicative CBAM Certificate exposure for 2026.

The remaining blue fields are optional.

We highly recommend that you request that your suppliers provide you with EU CBAM data that is prepared in line with the EU'S CBAM Communication Summary sheet as it ensures simplicity in reporting and enables quick assessment of compliance with the legislation.

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