One Click LCA

One Click LCA
Name	One Click LCA
Type	Private
Industry	Software
Founded	2012

One Click LCA

One Click LCA is a software platform for life cycle assessment and environmental product declaration preparation used in the construction and building industry sectors. The platform supports compliance with standards and certification schemes, integrating with design tools and databases to calculate carbon footprint and environmental impacts for buildings, products, and infrastructure projects. It is adopted by consultants, manufacturers, and certification bodies to streamline reporting for schemes such as LEED, BREEAM, Green Star and DGNB.

Overview

One Click LCA provides automated life cycle assessment (LCA) workflows, environmental product declaration (EPD) generation, and reporting tools that connect to building information modeling (BIM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The platform positions itself at the intersection of sustainability software, building certification, and product transparency, aiming to reduce embodied carbon in construction projects across regions including European Union, United Kingdom, United States, Australia and China. It competes and interoperates with tools and standards from organizations such as ISO, EN standards, and industry initiatives like World Green Building Council programs.

History and Development

Founded in 2012, the company emerged amid growing policy and market attention to embodied emissions influenced by frameworks like the Paris Agreement and directives from the European Commission. Early development focused on integrating LCA databases and automating cradle-to-grave assessments aligned with standards developed by International Organization for Standardization committees. Over time, One Click LCA expanded through partnerships with standards bodies and certification schemes including U.S. Green Building Council, BRE Global, and professional associations in countries such as Finland and Sweden. Growth phases included productization for manufacturers, consultancies, and project teams during periods of regulatory change such as updates to Building Regulations in various jurisdictions.

Features and Functionality

The platform offers features for bill of materials import, BIM model parsing, EPD generation, and scenario analysis for design options, enabling users to analyze impacts across lifecycle stages (A1–A5, B1–B5, C1–C4, D) as articulated in standards referenced by bodies like EN 15804 and ISO 14040. Integrations include connectors to BIM software such as Autodesk Revit and data exchange formats used by BuildingSMART initiatives. Reporting modules align with certification requirements from LEED v4.1, BREEAM International New Construction, and regional schemes like Green Star Australia. The software supports multi-user collaboration for stakeholders including manufacturers, consultants, and project owners such as firms or agencies analogous to Arup, AECOM, and government procurement bodies.

Methodologies and Standards Compliance

One Click LCA implements LCA methodologies consistent with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 principles and follows sector-specific standards including EN 15804 for construction products. It provides EPD generation workflows compatible with EPD program operators across countries and aligns with assessment categories used by certification systems like DGNB and WELL Building Standard. The methodology supports normalization and weighting approaches found in life cycle impact assessment methods developed by expert groups and referenced by entities such as European Commission Joint Research Centre publications and international research institutions like Chalmers University of Technology.

Use Cases and Industry Applications

Typical use cases include embodied carbon benchmarking for large infrastructure projects commissioned by agencies similar to Transport for London or New York City Department of Buildings, product EPD production for manufacturers supplying firms like Skanska or Lendlease, and whole-building LCA for design teams working with practices such as Foster + Partners or BIG. Sectors include residential, commercial, industrial, and public infrastructure where stakeholders pursue certifications from organizations like U.S. Green Building Council and BRE Global or respond to regulations influenced by bodies like the European Commission and national ministries.

Reception and Criticism

Adoption has been praised by sustainability practitioners, consultancies, and certification bodies for automating repetitive tasks and improving transparency in embodied carbon reporting, receiving attention alongside other tools referenced in academic literature from institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and ETH Zurich. Criticisms focus on data quality, the need for regionalized inventories, and the challenge of aligning default database entries with local practice—issues raised in debates involving research centers like IIASA and standards committees within ISO. Some reviewers compare the platform’s proprietary workflows to open-source LCA tools and call for greater interoperability with platforms promoted by organizations like BuildingSMART and research consortia.

Pricing and Licensing

The product is offered under tiered commercial licensing models for consultants, manufacturers, and enterprise users, with subscription options tailored to project scale, database access levels, and certification support. Pricing structures are analogous to software-as-a-service models used by corporate offerings from firms such as Autodesk and Bentley Systems, and licensing considerations often involve contractual agreements for data sovereignty and integration with enterprise IT analogous to arrangements made by multinational engineering firms.

Partnerships and Certifications

One Click LCA maintains partnerships with EPD program operators, certification schemes, and BIM software vendors as part of its ecosystem, collaborating with organizations similar to BRE Global, U.S. Green Building Council, Green Building Council of Australia, and database providers aligned with initiatives from the European Commission and professional bodies such as RICS. The platform’s outputs are recognized by multiple certification systems and program operators, enabling users to submit LCA results and EPDs to schemes overseen by entities like ICI and national standards organizations.

Category:Life cycle assessment