SimaPro Craft – One of the LCA World’s Most Established Tools
Life cycle assessment requires data, structure, and transparency in order to produce reliable results. SimaPro has long been one of the tools that has made this possible, thanks to its clear methodology and extensive databases. SimaPro Craft was developed for organizations that need to explore environmental impact at a more general level, while still relying on the same robust principles that have made the main tool a standard in the industry.
A Tool with a Long History
SimaPro was launched as early as the 1990s and has since been one of the most widely used professional tools for LCA modeling globally. It is used by research institutes, industrial companies, public authorities, and consultants around the world. One reason for this is that SimaPro has always been based on robust methodology, and its development has taken place in close dialogue with LCA experts.
The Strength of SimaPro’s Core Principles
What distinguishes SimaPro Craft is the combination of transparency, flexibility, and scientific grounding. The results are based on clear assumptions, established databases, and standardized methods. This means that users receive not only a number, but also an understanding of what affects the result and how the model is structured.
Many other tools on the market offer more ready-made “black box models,” where the user sees the final result but does not fully understand the path leading to it. SimaPro has the opposite philosophy. It should be possible to follow how the model is built, how data is connected, and where uncertainties exist. This makes Craft a more educational and explanatory tool compared with many competitors.
Data, Assumptions, and the Ability to Explore Scenarios
A central part of life cycle assessment is understanding how data and assumptions affect the result. SimaPro Craft uses established databases and LCI data as a foundation, but also makes it possible to include specific information from companies’ own production when available. This means that a model can include both generic and more detailed data sources, which in turn makes it possible to produce analyses that are relevant as a basis for further evaluations.
SimaPro Craft can also be used to examine how changes in, for example, material choices, energy mix, or transport affect a product’s environmental profile. By adjusting these parameters, users can study different scenarios and gain a better understanding of which parts of the life cycle drive impact.
When Is SimaPro Craft the Right Choice?
SimaPro Craft is suitable for organizations that:
- want to start working with LCA in a transparent and scalable way
- are looking for an educational and guiding tool that is also built on a robust methodological foundation
- need to test scenarios early in product development
- want to build internal understanding of a life cycle perspective
SimaPro Craft provides a realistic and general overview of environmental impact, and therefore works well as a first step in a development process. If needs grow later, the same modeling approach can continue into more advanced versions of SimaPro — without the need to change tools or methodology.
SimaPro Craft combines history, stability, and user-friendliness. It clarifies what life cycle assessment is, how a model is built, and which decisions have the greatest effect on the results. For many organizations, Craft becomes the natural entry point into more data-driven and transparent sustainability work.
Miljögiraff, SimaPro, and PRé Sustainability
Miljögiraff has been the official reseller of SimaPro in Sweden and Finland for more than 20 years. PRé Sustainability, the creators of SimaPro, are our partners, and we ourselves rely on the use of their software. That is why we know it works. Since autumn 2025, PRé and SimaPro have been part of One Click LCA.
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