Insight

To fully understand and be prepared for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) regulation, REYHER has established a ‘CBAM Team’ consisting of colleagues from various organisational units to understand all necessary information from the EU requirements, ensure the flow of data with suppliers and also keep the organisation updated about CBAM.

Working within the team is Hergen Oetjen, responsible for purchasing and materials management at f REYHER Nchfg GmbH & Co KG for more than 20 years. He explains: “The regulations and their interpretations are very complex and so, we work on them with several colleagues. One of the biggest issues is the settlement of the correct data in the required form by our suppliers. This requires intensive dialogue and is an ongoing process in which we accordingly train our partners. We are making great progress – even if there are still some obstacles to overcome.”

“Together with EFDA (the European Fastener Distributor Association), REYHER supports the call to postpone the introduction of CBAM in order to clarify what bureaucratic effort is really appropriate or can be managed. But whenever CBAM comes – we are ready,” underlines Hergen.

This readiness is guaranteed through working closely with its suppliers, as well as regular visits to its manufacturers. In addition, REYHER is also providing on-site training to discuss in detail with each supplier what is needed within the framework of the CBAM regulations. Due to the large number of suppliers, REYHER has a high-quality data basis, which enables the company to compare and validate the quality of the information.

As a service provider in the field of C-parts management, REYHER attaches great importance to providing customers with transparent information and has purchased a tool for uploading the data to the EU portal. Hergen states: “Currently, fasteners are the only downstream product impacted by CBAM. We therefore question the appropriateness of the application to fasteners and hope that the Commission will make improvements. We consider the application to the primary material to be largely unproblematic; the complexity of the variety of fasteners and their manufacturing processes make it difficult to present the data in the required depth. Many suppliers can only provide the necessary data with a great effort, especially since 2025 as we are no longer allowed to use default values. This makes further collaboration extremely difficult, even though we have been working closely with our suppliers to provide data to the required standards.” 

“Even with all the challenges it brings, REYHER supports the objectives pursued with CBAM, including the fight against climate change,” states Hergen. “We feel that our commitment to sustainability is appreciated and increasingly demanded by our customers.”

REYHER’s focus on sustainability includes an environmental management system certified to DIN EN ISO 14001 for more than two decades, as well as recently passing the EMAS validation (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) – a premium management instrument to evaluate, report and improve organisations’ environmental performance, which helps organisations enhance their environmental performance, save energy and optimise resource usage.

Hergen adds: “Consistent action to mitigate the consequences of climate change is unavoidable in the long-term. This is why CBAM and comparable Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) measures will continue to accompany REYHER in the future, which means establishing a continuous process towards more sustainability for our product ranges.”

“Everyone is trying to become better at sustainability,” continues Hergen. “CBAM may cause certain regional shifts in favour of higher environmental standards however there are unlikely to be any significant shifts back to Europe – especially as it is questionable whether the production capacities would even be available. Non European manufacturers will have to react, so the coming years will bring exciting developments.”