Create life cycle assessments easily
Umberto is one of the leading LCA software solutions for life cycle assessment and is recommended by experts from industry, consulting, research & education.
- Intuitive graphical modeling of your production system
- Link to Microsoft Excel for importing data
- Assessment of potential environmental impacts
- Identification of hot spots and areas of improvement
- Optimization of resource and energy efficiency
- integrated cost accounting including MFCA
- Export of all results to Microsoft Excel, including Sankey diagrams
More information about Umberto LCA+
Software details
Would you like to learn more about Umberto LCA+?
Please take a look at our ► product brochure.
A detailed overview of features of our LCA software
can be found in the ► data sheet.
Case studies with Umberto
The software is used to determine the CO2 balance (Carbon footprint) of a product and to analyze environmental impacts throughout the entire life cycle (LCA).
In the case studies you will learn how BRITA and Fujitsu, among others, have mastered these challenges: ► Overview of case studies
The next step towards LCA integration
You want to automate the life cycle assessment of your products and make LCA results available to different departments of your company?
For this purpose we have developed a web-based sustainability platform together with iPoint-systems: ▶ iPoint Product Sustainability
Features of our LCA Software
Graphical modelling of energy and material flows
Visualize your production system and other phases of the life cycle transparently with a material flow model and benefit from:
- Intuitive user interface
- Transparent illustration of process chains through clear graphic elements
- Successive development of your production system
- Hierarchical modelling through subnets
Graphic modelling enables the development of a holistic understanding of processes.
Easy integration of existing primary data
The first step to a successful LCA is the integration of existing data. Umberto LCA+ offers an interface to Microsoft Excel.
- Linking Excel cell values to Umberto models
- Automatic update when cell values are changed
- Easy adaptation of relevant parameters
- Individual interface connection with SAP or other systems
A factor for success: integrated life cycle database
Data research can be very time-consuming. Save time and costs by integrated of LCA databases (LCI databases).
- Standard integration of ecoinvent and GaBi database(s) available
- ecoinvent database: Contains over 13'300 data sets from various industries and areas. Provider is the non-profit organization ecoinvent Association from Switzerland.
- GaBi databases: Contain over 7'000 datasets available in various sector-specific databases. The data is based on primary industry data. The provider is thinkstep AG from Germany.
Screening LCA for the identification of hot spots
A Screening LCA reduces the effort and complexity in data collection to achieve a first overview of the environmental impact.
- Examination of main materials of the products using ecological rucksack data
- Consideration of the "ecological rucksack" from upstream and downstream chains with global average values
Identification of hot spots enables further improvement.
Life Cycle Assessment with integrated cost accounting
Analyze what effect the improvement of the LCA has on the cost of the product.
- Eco-efficiency by evaluating costs and environmental impacts in one model
- Enables combination of Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing
- Traditional cost accounting and Material Flow Cost accounting available
- Assessment of resource efficiency to reduce environmental impacts at the plant site
Thus a sustainable product becomes also cost effective.
Making environmental potentials clearly identifiable
Present the results of your life cycle assessment through convincing Sankey diagrams:
- Visualization of resources, life cycle costs and environmental impacts
- Appealing presentation of influencing variables and correlations
- Transparency of environmental impacts for all parties involved
Sankey diagrams are an excellent decision-making basis for improving environmental performance.
Are there any questions left?
We would be glad to advise you on your requirements and discuss how you can increase the sustainability of your product in the long term with our software solution for comprehensive life cycle assessment.
Umberto LCA+ the most visual LCA tool for sustainability
How does a Life Cycle Assessment work?
A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method to calculate the environmental impact (footprint) of a product over its entire life cycle. In this context, the term 'product 'also includes services. Taking the entire product life cycle into consideration - from resource extraction to production, use, and disposal – guarantees an integrated evaluation of all inputs and outputs, thus making sure negative environmental impacts aren't shifted to other life cycle phases of the product. This methodology is defined in the ISO 14040/14044 DIN standard. Each LCA starts with setting the goal and scope of the particular study. In some instances, for example, it is sufficient to limit the system boundaries to the 'cradle-to-gate' approach rather than analyzing the entire product life cycle ('cradle-to-grave' ).
What is a Life Cycle Assessment software?
Umberto LCA+ is a versatile LCA software that allows you to calculate Life Cycle Assessments. You can also use this LCA tool to calculate an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and a Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), if your business has advanced to following these sustainability standards. It can also be used to find the carbon footprint.
LCA software enables you to create a model of your entire product system. Using Umberto LCA+, you start by generating a material flow network. Integrated databases such as ecoinvent or GaBi are useful in realizing the system's boundaries. These databases already contain a large number of data sets, allowing you to easily visualize the background systems.
The next two phases of LCA, the life cycle inventory analysis and the life cycle impact assessment, are completed for you by the software. You then interpret and evaluate the results. The LCA software has functions to make it easy to evaluate the results in a way that they can actually be applied, for example, in the reduction of waste emissions. One of these functions is representing results as a Sankey diagram, which is helpful in securing an intuitive understanding of the outcome. Whether you plan to use the results of the LCA software analysis in your sustainability reporting or would like to discuss them with your colleagues – they enable the viewer to see at a glance where the critical points within your production system are. In the end, the software promotes a greater systems understanding and helps create more transparency.