A regulatory term referring to a value, which is calculated or drawn from secondary data, which represents the embedded emissions in goods.
Default value is the fallback embedded-emissions figure derived from secondary data when importer or producer-specific actual data is unavailable or unusable. It exists to keep the system operational even when primary plant-level evidence is missing.
Regulation (EU) 2023/956 establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism
a value, which is calculated or drawn from secondary data, which represents the embedded emissions in goods;
Reference: Article 3, point 27
CBAM and product carbon footprint (under ESPR or the Battery Regulation) both quantify emissions associated with goods, but use different methodologies, scope boundaries, and regulatory purposes. CBAM focuses on production-process emissions at installation level; product carbon footprinting uses lifecycle thinking from raw material to end-of-life. A company may need to run both calculations for the same goods, and the numbers will differ — this is expected and not a compliance error.
This term matters when suppliers cannot provide plant-level emissions data in time, forcing importers to rely on proxy values that are usually less favourable than verified actual data. The commercial pressure therefore runs toward better supplier data collection, not comfortable long-term reliance on defaults.
For Minespider, default value is a quality-gap term. It signals the point where missing upstream evidence gets converted into a conservative compliance assumption with likely financial consequences.