Using GaBi 3 to perform life cycle assessment and life cycle engineering

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.