How to Choose the Right Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Tool for Your Use Case
Not all LCA tools are built the same. This guide helps you match the best software to your specific goal — from eco-design to EPDs to internal reporting.
Choosing an LCA tool can feel like shopping without a map — every platform promises accurate impact results, but few clarify what they’re actually designed for.
This guide helps you choose the right Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software for your goals — whether that’s improving product design, managing supplier data, or reporting on your company’s environmental performance.
Start With Your Primary Use Case
Before comparing features, define what you need your LCA tool to achieve.
| Your Goal | Type of Tool You Need |
|---|---|
| Quick product screening | Streamlined, AI-assisted software |
| Deep design comparison | Modular tools for scenario modeling |
| Customer-facing claims | Platforms supporting structured reporting |
| CSRD/EF 3.1 alignment | Scalable software with reporting templates |
| Academic research | Open-source or flexible modeling platforms |
Use Case Scenarios (and What Fits Best)
🛠️ Eco-Design During Product Development
Goal: Support designers and engineers with quick insights and material comparisons.
Look for:
- Simple upload and modeling workflows
- Built-in templates for common materials and processes
- Visual dashboards that help communicate design impacts
Tools to consider:
- Sustainly — for AI-assisted modeling and accessible results across teams
- Ecochain Mobius — for early-stage design exploration
- One Click LCA — for architecture and construction applications
Why it matters: Early decisions have the biggest sustainability impact. Sustainly helps streamline those decisions by automating input handling and keeping data consistent across product iterations.
📄 Publishing EPDs and Verified Results
Goal: Produce results that can be shared externally with customers or auditors.
Look for:
- Templates to guide documentation and reporting
- Verified datasets and transparent modeling methods
- Clear export options for third-party review
Tools to consider:
- One Click LCA
- SimaPro
- GaBi
📊 Internal Portfolio and Sustainability Reporting
Goal: Track multiple products, suppliers, or sites with consistent data.
Look for:
- Centralized data management
- Multi-user collaboration and access control
- Automated result comparison and updates
Tools to consider:
- Sustainly — built for scalable collaboration and cross-department visibility
- Ecochain Helix
- GaBi Envision
Why Sustainly fits: It combines AI-driven automation with a shared company hub where sustainability data is visible across departments — helping teams save time while maintaining traceable, reusable information for future projects.
🧪 Academic or Exploratory Research
Goal: Flexibility and control for methodological experimentation.
Look for:
- Support for custom datasets and methods
- Freedom to modify and test different system models
- Transparent, traceable results
Tools to consider:
- OpenLCA
- SimaPro
- Brightway2
What to Watch For
Beyond feature lists, consider how a tool supports growth and collaboration across your organization.
✅ AI support — automate repetitive modeling and data alignment
✅ Centralized data system — ensures all teams work from consistent inputs
✅ Collaboration options — transparency and shared visibility across workflows
✅ Scalability — start small and expand to company-wide sustainability management
Final Takeaway
There isn’t one “best” LCA tool — there’s the right one for your current goals and how you plan to grow.
If you need a platform that combines automation, transparency, and scalable data workflows, Sustainly offers a modern approach to sustainability analysis:
a shared, AI-supported workspace that empowers teams to make better, faster environmental decisions.
