Product life cycle assessments.
Beyond carbon.

A product life cycle assessments (LCA) is a systematic analyses of a product's environmental impact from raw material extraction through production, use, and end of life. Planetary Insights is LCA software that automates data collection, impact calculation, and reporting. Results can be used to generate Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), support Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) assessments, and meet regulatory requirements such as the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

Most LCA software tools — including SimaPro, GaBi, One Click LCA, and OpenLCA — provide a set of environmental outputs that very difficult to interpret. While users may be able to quantify the carbon, water, and waste footprints of their products, they cannot use the results to determine which footprint is most material or whether to reduce one footprint at the cost of another.

Planetary Insights uses Planetary Accounting, a scientifically peer-reviewed framework, to show each impact relateive to another. This means users not only know the size of each impact, they can use the results to manage trade-offs meaningfully. Planetary Insights tells users when they should reduce carbon at the cost of waste and other impacts, and when they shouldn't.

This functionality is coming soon. Planetary Insights is developing outputs aligned with EN 15804+A2, the primary standard for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for construction and manufactured products. This means assessment results can be used as the basis for a formal EPD, reducing the additional work typically required to translate LCA results into a verified declaration.

This functionality is coming soon. Planetary Insights is developing support for the EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology, which is the European Commission's standardised approach to assessing and communicating product environmental impacts. PEF results from Planetary Insights will help businesses meet requirements under EU sustainability regulations including ESPR and CSRD.

The Planetary Accounting Framework is a peer-reviewed scientific methodology that translates the Planetary Boundaries — the Earth system thresholds identified by scientists as safe limits for human activity — into quantitative budgets that can be allocated to individuals, organisations, and products. Planetary Insights is built on this framework, which means its assessments are grounded in established science.

Planetary Insights is used by sustainability managers, product development teams, and procurement professionals at manufacturers, brands, and consultancies who need to understand the full environmental footprint of their products — not just carbon. It is also used by businesses preparing for EPD requirements, EU ESPR compliance, CSRD product-level reporting, and customer sustainability disclosures.

No. Planetary Insights' network of accredited Planetary Facts Practitioners can build product models on your behalf, delivered directly into your account. You can then analyse your results, update your assessments, and add different scenarios in-house. Planetary Insights is designed for use by sustainability and product teams without specialist LCA training. Tools such as our visual process-flow builder, integrated background data, and guided assessment workflow reduce technicals barriers significantly.

Emissions factors and background data are pulled from ecoinvent, agribalyse, and other LCA datasets. We can also work with you to build adapted datasets that are specific to your supply chain.