Answer box
The CBAMWorks supplier portal is a mobile-first, no-login web form that opens from a WhatsApp or email link. Suppliers photograph fuel, electricity and production records; AI reads the numbers; the supplier confirms each one. Submission is one tap. Four languages at launch (English, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati). Big tap targets, offline-tolerant, and no app to install.
Design principles
- The person filling the form has a phone, not a laptop. Everything is one-screen-at-a-time with large tap targets.
- The person filling the form has 5 minutes, not an hour. Progress saves on every screen; they can return via the same link.
- The person filling the form doesn’t read English. Four languages at launch; Indic script support with self-hosted Noto Sans.
- The person filling the form doesn’t trust the buyer. Supplier owns the data; shares with the buyers they choose; can revoke.
The wizard, step by step
1. Open the link
- Opened from WhatsApp or email.
- First screen asks for language. The choice sticks for every future session.
- No sign-up, no password.
2. Installation profile
- Factory name and address.
- Country.
- Production route (BF-BOF vs EAF for steel; primary vs recycled for aluminium — the engine shows only the choices that apply to the CN codes the supplier will produce).
- Monitoring plan version if any.
3. Fuels
- One line per fuel type (natural gas, coal, coke, diesel, LPG, furnace oil, etc.).
- Photograph the bill — the camera opens inline.
- The AI extraction reads the number, date, unit and meter reading.
- The supplier confirms each value before it counts.
- Supports partial years, multiple suppliers of the same fuel, and retrospective corrections.
4. Electricity (where in scope)
- Same bill-photo flow.
- For steel and aluminium: logged but not counted in direct scope.
- For cement and fertilisers: counted in indirect scope.
5. Precursors
- Prompts for the specific precursors that matter for the CN codes the supplier produces (billets, DRI, sinter, unwrought aluminium).
- Optional: invite the precursor supplier into the chain.
6. Production
- Tonnes per 8-digit CN code.
- Multiple product lines per installation.
7. Review and submit
- Every value shown with the evidence it came from.
- One final confirm.
- Submission is one tap.
- Download the Commission communication template as a PDF receipt.
Four languages, done properly
- English — the baseline. All field labels and help text.
- हिंदी (Hindi) — reviewed by native speakers before shipping.
- ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (Punjabi) — Ludhiana cluster language.
- ગુજરાતી (Gujarati) — Rajkot cluster language.
Script support uses self-hosted Noto Sans Devanagari, Gurmukhi and Gujarati so forms render consistently across devices.
No-login model
- Invitation link uses a signed, scoped token (one supplier, one reporting year).
- Opening the link establishes a session — but no credential is created on the device.
- Tokens expire; importers can revoke on demand.
- A supplier returning on the same device picks up where they left off; on a different device, re-opening the WhatsApp message re-establishes the session.
Data ownership and sharing
- The supplier owns the data about their installation. The engine stores it in the supplier’s own tenant.
- Sharing with EU buyers is explicit. The supplier chooses which buyers see what, per reporting year.
- Revocation is one click. The buyer loses access immediately.
- Download the Commission template to send to any EU buyer the supplier isn’t using CBAMWorks with.
Accessibility
- Touch targets at or above the 44 pt minimum.
- Form controls are standard HTML — screen readers work out of the box.
- Colour contrast at WCAG AA minimum.
- Works offline on the step the supplier is on; syncs when back online.
What the importer sees
The supplier portal is the supplier’s view. The importer-side “what-they-see” summary lives on the WhatsApp onboarding page.