From a computational standpoint, the study of local field effects requires simulating a charged interface beyond conditions of the so-called potential of zero charge (PZC). While different approaches have been developed on how to practically include this charging within periodic density functional theory (DFT), the general consensus is that the local field can significantly modify the binding energy of dipolar or polarizable intermediates along a given reaction path. As a result, the applied potential (e.g. on the scale of the Standard Hydrogen Electrode, SHE) can affect even so-called 'chemical' reaction steps that do not involve an explicit proton-coupled-electron-transfer (PCET). If such a step happens to become rate-determining, this dependence will then also have a direct effect on electrocatalytic activity such as, e.g., has been suggested for CO 2 adsorption and CO-CO dimerization during the electrochemical CO (2) reduction. We also recently predicted a similar effect for O 2 adsorption during the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on the weak-binding Au(111) surface. Since the exploitation of local field effects is currently being proposed as a tool to aid catalyst design, it becomes increasingly important to fundamentally understand these effects as well as their transferability from one system to another.