Introduction
For customs brokers supporting importers into the European Union, regulatory complexity is nothing new. Tariff classifications change, customs procedures evolve, and documentation requirements grow more demanding each year.
But when the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism entered into force, it introduced a completely new layer of compliance.
For PLP Aduanas, a Spanish customs brokerage working closely with importer clients across several industrial sectors, CBAM created an immediate need to support clients with emissions reporting and regulatory interpretation.
The challenge was not simply submitting reports. It was turning fragmented supplier information into reliable CBAM submissions while managing regulatory risk for importer clients.
Customer overview
PLP Aduanas is a Spain based customs brokerage specializing in international trade compliance and customs operations for companies importing goods into the European Union.
As CBAM entered its transitional phase, many of PLP’s importer clients began asking for support in understanding and reporting their embedded emissions data.
For customs brokers like PLP, this created a new operational challenge. Beyond customs documentation, they now needed to help clients navigate an entirely new regulatory framework.
“When CBAM started, many of our clients did not know what information they needed or how to structure it,” explains Juan Vicente from PLP Aduanas.
“Our role as customs brokers quickly expanded from customs declarations to helping clients understand how to report under CBAM.”
The challenge: unstructured supplier data and reporting complexity
One of the biggest challenges during the first phase of CBAM reporting was the quality and structure of the data received from importer clients.
Most of the emissions data came directly from suppliers and was often incomplete, inconsistent, or provided in different formats.
This made it difficult to generate CBAM quarterly reports that complied with EU reporting requirements.
“Much of the data we received at the beginning was not ready for reporting,” Juan Vicente recalls.
“It came from different suppliers, in different formats, and often without the details required for CBAM calculations.”
Without a structured system, preparing CBAM reports would require extensive manual work and significantly increase the risk of reporting errors.
At the same time, customs brokers typically prefer to apply official CBAM default values because they are fully compliant and easy to use. However, these default values are intentionally conservative and may result in significantly higher embedded emissions and therefore higher future CBAM costs for importers.
Importers, on the other hand, often prefer to use the lower emissions declared by their suppliers.
The difficulty is that supplier declared emissions are frequently not yet verified by accredited third party verifiers. If verification is missing anywhere in the supply chain, the emissions could revert to default values during official CBAM verification.
Why PLP Aduanas chose Climease
To address these challenges, PLP Aduanas partnered with Climease during the early stages of the CBAM transitional period.
The objective was to introduce a structured workflow that would allow PLP to consolidate supplier data from importer clients and generate CBAM reports ready to submit to the EU CBAM Registry.
“What we needed was a system that could transform the raw information coming from clients into something usable for CBAM reporting,” says Juan Vicente.
“Climease allowed us to structure that entire process.”
Key decision factors included the ability to consolidate emissions data across multiple suppliers, generate standardized CBAM quarterly reports, and maintain full traceability for regulatory review.
Cost alone was not the deciding factor. PLP Aduanas chose Climease because it allowed them to support their importer clients more effectively while reducing the manual workload associated with CBAM reporting.
The solution: structured reporting and supplier emissions validation
Through its collaboration with Climease, PLP Aduanas implemented a repeatable process for generating CBAM quarterly reports on behalf of its importer clients.
Climease supports PLP by consolidating supplier emissions data, structuring the information according to CBAM reporting requirements, and producing ready to submit reports that can be uploaded to the EU CBAM Registry.
Since the start of the definitive CBAM phase in 2026, the collaboration has expanded further with the introduction of Climease’s Supplier Emissions Validation service.
This service helps address one of the most common risks in CBAM compliance.
Climease reviews the emissions data provided by suppliers, evaluates the calculation methodologies used, and assesses the reliability of upstream emissions data.
Particular attention is given to precursor suppliers, where missing verification is most common and where emissions may fall back to default values during future CBAM verification.
“Our clients want to understand the real exposure they might face in the future,” explains Juan Vicente.
“The validation work done by Climease gives us much greater clarity about the reliability of supplier emissions data.”
Results: improved reporting efficiency and better CBAM risk visibility
Through its collaboration with Climease, PLP Aduanas has been able to strengthen the CBAM support it provides to importer clients.
Key results include:
- Consolidation of unstructured supplier emissions data from multiple importer clients into standardized CBAM reportss
- Generation of ready to submit quarterly CBAM reports compatible with the EU CBAM Registry
- Reduced manual effort required to prepare CBAM reporting documentation
- Improved transparency regarding the reliability of supplier declared emissions
- Identification of potential fallback risks to CBAM default values at upstream precursor level.
- Greater visibility for importer clients into their potential CBAM exposure under future verification
“Instead of simply choosing between supplier data and default values, we can now help clients understand where their emissions numbers truly stand.” says Juan Vicente
Preparing for the definitive CBAM phase
As CBAM moves further into its definitive phase, PLP Aduanas sees its role evolving beyond reporting support toward broader CBAM advisory for importer clients.
With Climease’s support, PLP is able to help clients not only prepare CBAM reports but also assess the reliability of emissions data across their supply chains.
This allows importers to better anticipate future CBAM costs and avoid unexpected adjustments during official verification procedures.
“Our objective is to make sure our clients are not surprised later,” Juan Vicente explains.
“If they understand the risks today, they can make better decisions about suppliers and emissions data.”
Wrap up: helping importers navigate CBAM with confidence
For PLP Aduanas, CBAM represents both a regulatory challenge and an opportunity to provide additional value to importer clients.
By partnering with Climease, PLP has transformed a complex compliance requirement into a structured service that supports clients across the entire reporting process.
From consolidating supplier emissions data to validating calculation methodologies and identifying default value fallback risks, the collaboration helps importers navigate CBAM with greater transparency and confidence.
“CBAM is still evolving,” Juan Vicente concludes.
“But with the right tools and the right expertise, it is possible to manage it in a way that gives both customs brokers and importers much more clarity.”