Manage Emission Data
Tracking and managing emissions data is an essential part of working with kolum, ensuring your data is complete, accurate, and ready for validation and reporting. This section explains the different pathways you have to record, calculate, and collect emissions data for your CN codes, allowing flexibility depending on the type of data you have and your supply chain collaboration structure. In kolum, emissions data can be:
- Entered manually if you already have calculated values from your production processes or supplier reports.
- Requested from traders when you purchase goods from intermediaries managing their own upstream suppliers.
- Collected from suppliers when you purchase articles directly and need upstream emissions data for accurate tracking.
Each of these pathways links emissions data to your articles, import records, and supplier records within kolum, ensuring your emissions tracking remains organized and traceable.
Reporting Timeframe
kolum scopes emission data by a Reporting Timeframe selector at the top of the Emission Data screens. Select the timeframe your data applies to, and the screen shows the emission data relevant to that period. Each timeframe has a type: transitional period, for forecasting only, or definitive period.
On load, the selector defaults to the latest quarter that has at least one import, where an import's quarter is derived from its import date. If the newest quarter has no imports yet, the selector falls back to the most recent earlier quarter that does, and as soon as the first import for a newer quarter is added, that quarter becomes the default on subsequent loads. Only transitional and forecasting timeframes are considered for this default; definitive-year timeframes (e.g. 2026) are never auto-selected. When no imports exist at all, the selector defaults to the latest forecasting timeframe. This is the same resolution logic as the date filter on the CBAM Dashboard, so both surfaces open on the same period.
A quarter you select manually is respected for the rest of your session and is not overridden as you navigate; you can still switch freely to any quarter, including ones without data. For transitional and forecasting timeframes, the most recent actual data up to the selected timeframe is carried forward when no newer data exists. The selected timeframe is stored in the page URL, so a link you share opens on the same timeframe.
Available methods for managing emissions data
- Enter Emission Data Directly: For CN codes where emissions data has already been calculated and is available for entry.
- Get Emission Data from a Trader: For cases where a trader, acting as an intermediary, supplies emissions data for purchased articles on your behalf.
- Get Emission Data from Suppliers: For purchased articles where you need to request and collect emissions data directly from suppliers, either via CSV/Excel uploads or through the supplier's access to kolum.
The Emission Data table
The Emission Data table gives you a single view of the embedded emissions recorded against each CN code for the selected Reporting Timeframe. The columns are organized so the values that matter are easy to compare:
- CN Code is the first column in the table.
- SEE Direct, SEE Indirect, and SEFA (Specific Embedded Free Allocation) are shown as single columns, each sourced by the emission data type of the entry, so you no longer switch between separate Actual and Default columns to read one value.
- For entries whose emission data type is Actual, the SEE Direct and SEE Indirect values carry a delta indicator: the percentage difference versus the CBAM default for that figure, a green down arrow when the value is below the default (lower emissions than default), a red up arrow when it is above. Hovering the percentage shows a tooltip spelling out the comparison and the default value with units, e.g.
-11.90% vs CBAM default (2.10 tCO₂e/t). Default entries show no delta. - A Reporting Timeframe sub-tag appears beneath the emission data type tag on each row, so you can see which timeframe every value belongs to.
- The electricity columns (consumed electricity and emission factor) are hidden by default to keep the table readable; they remain available when you need them.
From the 2026 reporting year onward, CBAM identifies goods by a defined Production Route rather than a Production Method. For entries whose Reporting Timeframe starts in 2026 or later, a Production Route column and filter takes the place of the Production Method column, shown as letter, name. Earlier entries keep their Production Method, which remains available behind a view with a legacy/deprecated badge. Which field a row shows is determined by the entry's own Reporting Timeframe, not by the timeframe you are currently viewing.
When you edit an entry's Production Route for a 2026+ timeframe, the picker only offers the routes permitted for that row's CN code, so you cannot select a route CBAM does not allow for that good. Rows using the EU default (fallback) emissions, rather than supplier-declared data, now correctly show their Production Route (or Production Method for pre-2026 timeframes) instead of appearing blank, both in this table and in the CBAM Compliance Export.
Key considerations
- Select the appropriate data management method based on the nature of the article and your available data.
- Emissions data can be updated later if revised data is received from suppliers or traders.
- All emissions data managed in this section automatically connects with your articles and import workflows in kolum, supporting clean, organized tracking and validation.
Navigation
Use the cards below to jump directly to detailed instructions for each emissions data management workflow:
- Enter Emission Data Directly
- Get Emission Data From A Trader
- Get Emission Data from Suppliers
- Get Emission Data via kolum
What's new
When you edit a 2026 or later entry, the Production Route picker only offers the routes CBAM permits for that CN code, so an invalid route can no longer be selected. Entries that rely on EU default values now show their Production Route or Production Method in the Emission Data table and in the CBAM Compliance Export instead of a blank cell.