Specialist tools: LCAbyg, SimaPro, OpenLCA and more
The LCA landscape also includes tools such as LCAbyg, SimaPro and OpenLCA. They are typically used by specialists for deep modelling or, for LCAbyg, for building LCA under the Danish Building Regulations.
If the job is the house, the extension or the apartment block, building LCA belongs in a building tool. If you need a heavy expert study, that belongs in a specialist tool. LCAB does not replace them, and LCAB is not a partnership with them.
Common questions
01
What is the difference between LCAB and tools like LCAbyg, SimaPro and OpenLCA?
LCAB is product documentation and product LCA for companies that make or sell a product, without needing a sustainability department. LCAbyg, SimaPro and OpenLCA are examples of specialist tools: building LCA or deep expert modelling. Many people search the wrong one because the names or the category look alike.
02
We make furniture, electronics or other products. Where should we go?
To LCAB. Start with the bill of materials (BOM), materials and what you already have in Excel. You get a screening draft with your data, which you can take to third-party verification and approval. The draft is the documentation basis a verifier uses, not the verified EPD itself.
03
We need to document a building for the Building Regulations. Is LCAB enough?
No. That is a building LCA. Use a building LCA tool, for example LCAbyg. LCAB covers the product you sell, not the whole building.
04
Can LCAB data be used in LCAbyg or other tools?
LCAB can export the product LCA results as ILCD+EPD XML, which several tools in the LCA landscape can read, including LCAbyg. That is an open interchange format, not a partnership. Import depends on the required fields being filled (declared unit, GWP per module and often a mass factor). Always check the imported figures in the receiving system. LCAB does not replace the specialist tools and does not issue a verified EPD.
Want product data kept with the product?
LCAB gathers product data around the product you sell. Start with the files you already have.