The availability of suitable verification services is becoming a consideration for European manufacturers assessing suppliers under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Procurement teams need to establish whether suppliers can provide production information that is sufficiently complete and independently verifiable to support compliance requirements.
In a statement dated 5 October, ACEA, CLEPA and TyresEurope identified the availability of accredited verifiers and administrative burdens among the challenges facing the automotive supply chain. On 6 October, SGS announced that it had obtained CBAM accreditation from Accredia, adding another provider to the verification market.
Verification Readiness Enters Procurement Decisions
These developments bring supplier verification readiness into the purchasing process. Buyers need to determine whether suppliers have arranged appropriate verification and prepared the documentation required for the assessment.
For CBAM steel procurement, this consideration can extend to covered steel products and components. Buyers may assess the readiness of supporting emissions documentation alongside conventional purchasing criteria, including price, product quality and delivery performance.
However, an accreditation announcement does not establish that a provider has immediate appointment availability or that its accredited scope covers every relevant production activity. Buyers must assess whether the available verification services match the specific requirements of their suppliers and products.
Automotive Supply Chains Face Documentation Requirements
The concerns raised by ACEA, CLEPA and TyresEurope highlight the importance of verification access and administrative requirements within the automotive supply chain CBAM framework. Manufacturers purchasing covered materials and components need information that can support the emissions assessment associated with their imports.
The SGS CBAM accreditation announcement illustrates a development in the assurance market, but the practical implications for individual purchasing decisions depend on the provider’s scope and capacity. Accredited verifier availability therefore remains a separate consideration from whether accreditation has been granted.
Suppliers able to respond consistently to technical information requests may be better positioned to support buyers’ assessments. Where the emissions basis of an eventual import cost cannot be established, comparing competing quotations becomes more difficult, even when the commercial terms are otherwise clear.
