Customer story: Mustad

Mustad is a global manufacturer with a heritage stretching back over 180 years, producing products ranging from hoofcare tools to industrial fasteners. The company's supply chain spans multiple continents, with raw materials and semi-finished goods sourced from facilities in Asia, South America, and beyond. When the EU introduced the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Mustad recognised that its complex, multi-country supply chain would make compliance particularly demanding.

Rather than waiting for the definitive period to force action, Mustad chose to engage with CBAM early. The company partnered with CBAMBOO during the transitional phase, using the platform to map its imports against CBAM commodity categories and identify which suppliers would need to provide emissions data. This early assessment revealed the full scope of the task: dozens of suppliers across different jurisdictions, each with varying levels of familiarity with carbon reporting and different capabilities for measuring embedded emissions.

CBAMBOO's supplier engagement tools proved essential. Mustad used the platform to send structured data requests to suppliers in multiple countries, providing each one with clear guidance on exactly what information was needed and in what format. The platform's built-in validation checks flagged incomplete or inconsistent responses automatically, allowing Mustad's team to follow up quickly rather than discovering data gaps at the point of filing a CBAM report. Over the course of several reporting quarters, supplier response rates improved steadily as the process became routine.

By the time the definitive period arrived on 1 January 2026, Mustad had already collected verified emission factors from the vast majority of its CBAM-relevant suppliers. The company had a clear understanding of its embedded emissions across product lines and had built internal processes for ongoing data collection and reporting. This meant the transition from quarterly transitional reports to the definitive regime, with its financial obligations, was managed without disruption.

Mustad's early action delivered benefits beyond simple compliance. The emissions data collected through CBAMBOO has given the company visibility into the carbon intensity of its supply chain at a level of detail it did not previously have. This information now feeds into broader sustainability planning, helping Mustad identify opportunities to reduce emissions and make more informed sourcing decisions. The company's experience demonstrates that early engagement with CBAM, supported by the right tools, turns a regulatory obligation into a strategic asset.