There is a sentence that has cost companies more money than any carbon tax ever written.
I have heard it in boardrooms in Frankfurt. On calls with founders. From sustainability directors who asked not to be quoted.
The sentence:
"We'll deal with it when the regulation is final."
Sounds prudent. It isn't. Here is why.
Three regulatory clocks run out this summer:
July → The EU decides if permanent carbon removals enter the compliance market.
September → Generic "carbon neutral" claims become illegal across the EU. Fines in the millions.
February → First CBAM payments come due, based on supplier data most companies haven't collected yet.
Every deadline was announced years ago.
Every one was dismissed as "still evolving."
Every one is now weeks away.
But here is what actually interests me.
In almost every exposed company, someone saw this coming.
An analyst who read the directive in 2024. A manager who flagged the data gap. A consultant who warned about the credit portfolio.
They saw it. They said it.
Nothing happened.
Because seeing a signal and moving an organization with it are two completely different skills.
The companies that prepared early didn't have better lawyers.
They had someone with enough authority and clarity that decision-makers listened — before the deadline forced them to.
The ones now scrambling had the same information.
Someone was right. Too quietly.
This summer sorts companies into two groups:
The ones where someone was heard in time.
The ones where someone was right too quietly.
Make sure you know which one you're in.
André Rodríguez
Founder | SustainMotion360
Navigating any of these deadlines? Reply directly — these conversations are the best part of my week.