The growing availability of software tools has increased the speed of gener
ating LCA studies. Databases and visual tools for constructing material bal
ance modules greatly facilitate the process of analyzing the environmental
aspects of product systems over their life cycle. A robust software tool, c
ontaining a large LCI dataset and functions for performing LCIA and sensiti
vity analysis will allow companies and LCA practitioners to conduct systems
analyses efficiently and reliably. This paper discusses how the GaBi 3 sof
tware tool can be used to perform LCA and Life Cycle Engineering (LCE), a m
ethodology that combines life cycle economic, environmental, and technology
assessment. The paper highlights important attributes of LCA software tool
s, including high quality, well-documented data, transparency in modeling,
and data analysis functionality. An example of a regional power grid mix mo
del is used to illustrate the versatility of GaBi 3.