Use cases

FOOTPRINTCALC is perfect for the following use cases:

Life Cycle Hotspot analysis. If you are looking for strategies for reducing the environmental impact of current products FOOTPRINTCALC allows for identifying hot spots in the production process or value chain. You can calculate the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) or a full Life Cycle assessment (LCA) using several impact assessment methods. In this way you know what to focus on!
Scope 3 carbon accounting. The included databases provide a wealth of information that can provide valuable insights into your Scope 3 emissions. By using LCA data you can measure and track your Scope 3 emissions.
Design and R&D. The design-phase in product development has the largest potential for sustainable decision-making. FOOTPRINTCALC allows for quickly calculating the potential environmental impact of different design scenarios in a cost- and time-effective manner. This allows you to make more sustainable design decisions!
Education. FOOTPRINTCALC allows students to gain hands-on experience with performing a Life-Cycle Assessment without spending lots of time learning to use more complex LCA software.

Testimonials

Lidia Loskan — R&D Project Manager Sustainability, Voith

FOOTPRINTCALC is a calculation tool which is easy to use. Together with the explanatory video, it provides a quick and straightforward introduction to the PCF calculation process. We use FOOTPRINTCALC for various applications in our daily business, e. g. for quick hot-spot assessments and scenarios modelling for a variety of different products in B2B sector.

Bart Bleijerveld — Industrial Design Engineer / Co-founder Better Future Factory

Based on increasing demand from our clients, we noticed the need for insight into the CO₂-footprint of products to make informed decisions. FOOTPRINTCALC offers the ideal solution. Especially during the design process, in which there is still a lot of freedom to make sustainable choices. With FOOTPRINTCALC, you can swiftly develop different variations and scenarios to enable sustainable decision-making.

Sinéad Mitchell — Assistant Professor in Sustainability and Strategy, University of Galway

FOOTPRINTCALC is ideal for SMEs - so they can do relatively quick calculations to see where the biggest impacts are, and compare different designs - I really love the scenarios design part! It is also ideal for students to go through an LCA as part of a module.

Luuk Timmer — Lecturer Logistics Management, University of Applied Science Windesheim

In my role as a logistics lecturer, I have experienced FOOTPRINTCALC as a valuable resource for my students. It has opened the doors to understandable life cycle analyses. This makes logistics not only more efficient but also more sustainable. A must-have for every student aiming to shape the future of logistics with a focus on the environment.

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Before you start

FOOTPRINTCALC provides a quick and efficient way to calculate a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) or Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, a basic understanding of environmental impact analysis is required for understanding what data needs to be input and how the results must be interpreted. There are free resources available to get started:

ILCD Handbook

Greenhouse Gas Protocol product standard. The GHG Protocol Product Standard is an internationally recognized standard for quantifying and reporting the greenhouse gas emissions of products across their life cycle. It provides rules and guidance on system boundaries, data quality, allocation, and reporting.
The basics of LCA explained by the developer of the Idemat database that is included in this calculator.

Sustainability claims are increasingly coming under scrutiny. FOOTPRINTCALC is a great tool for performing hotspot analyses and LCA screenings. If you want to communicate your results to external stakeholders, an independent review of the results, assumptions, and calculations can be required by different normative frameworks such as the GHG protocol or the ISO 14040 family.

Features

Includes 2 databases

FOOTPRINTCALC includes two databases:

Idemat 2026.
This database is developed at Delft University of Technology. Idemat is based on a set of carefully selected LCIs from peer reviewed literature and scientific databases of universities. This dataset is designed for innovation in the technosphere.
Life Cycle Inventory database of the Swiss Federal Administration, BAFU:2025, Federal Office for the Environment.
The Swiss Federal Administration uses life cycle inventories (LCIs) for environmental impact analysis, legal enforcement, and sustainable public procurement. To ensure transparency and reliability, the Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU) coordinates and publishes these inventories in the database BAFU:20XY, which is freely available according to the Open Government Data strategy. The 2025 version of the database contains about 11000 LCIs for products and processes in 176 categories that include sectors such as construction, mobility, energy, metals, chemicals, paper, agriculture, food, consumption, and waste management. Data are regularly updated to reflect technological developments.
Additional open access environmental databases can be found at FOOTPRINTDATA.org

A carbon footprint calculated with FootprintCalc

Easy to use

By using drop-down menu's you can easily select impact factors to calculate environmental impact. If an impact factor cannot be found in the database you can include your own custom impact factors.

Great insights

The results of the calculations are displayed per life cycle stage. Besides the carbon footprint, FOOTPRINTCALC can calculate results for many different environmental impacts. For the Idemat database, these include eco-costs, ReCiPe2016, EF3.1, TRACI, and CED methods. For the BAFU database, the ecological scarcity method is available. Processes can be sorted on biggest impact, allowing for a quick hot-spot analysis.

Scenario editor

FOOTPRINTCALC has a dedicated module for calculating design scenarios. This allows you to readily ascertain what the reduction potential is of design scenarios such as using recycled materials, changing production methods, or adopting circular business models.

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Tutorial

Below you can find a video tutorial for FOOTPRINTCALC. The video explains how to model a product in the calculator, as well as how to use the design scenario module. The video is hosted on fair.tube and does not track you and/or use cookies. The video contains real subtitles. Should the embedded video not work you can also watch it on Vimeo.

Download

FOOTPRINTCALC is really free and open access in line with our mission to contribute to the availability of open source sustainability data. We do not collect any data and you are not required to hand over your e-mail address to download the calculator.

FOOTPRINTCALC only works in Excel 365. The online and mobile versions of Excel 365 can be used for free. It is is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). The tool is provided at no cost, but it does have conditions for use. It is therefore required to agree to the end-user license agreement to use the calculator.

END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (EULA) FOR FOOTPRINTCALC
Version 16-03-2023

1. This End-User License Agreement (“EULA”) is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or an entity) and The Footprinters (the creator of FootprintCalc, vested in Schiedam) for the use of FootprintCalc, which includes computer software, and associated datasets, media and materials (collectively referred to as the “FootprintCalc”). By installing, downloading, or otherwise using FootprintCalc in any way, you agree to stick to the rules of this EULA. If you don’t want to (or cannot) agree to the terms of this EULA, we ask you to not install, download or (continue to) use FootprintCalc.

2. If you or your organisation wants to use FootprintCalc outside of this EULA and applicable license, please contact us right away so we can discuss setting up a custom agreement that suits your needs.

3. FootprintCalc is owned by The Footprinters and is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. Although we grant you the authorization to download and use FootprintCalc on your own device, we remain its rightful owners.
 
FootprintCalc is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). This means that as long as you are not violating this license (and the terms in this EULA), you can use FootprintCalc however you want. Please check the license text for more information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record: FootprintCalc is licensed to you, not sold! Nothing in this EULA constitutes a transfer of any intellectual property rights of The Footprinters or any third party to you.

4. Unless agreed otherwise, FootprintCalc is provided without maintenance, installation and support. The Footprinters may, at its own discretion, grant updates and new releases. Any updates and new releases of FootprintCalc are granted under both the EULA and Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) terms respectively (i.e. the applicable license).

5. When using our FootprintCalc, it’s important to note that FootprintCalc contains datasets provided by third-party sources. We cannot guarantee their completeness or suitability for any particular purpose. It is your responsibility to verify the data and you understand that the use of FootprintCalc is at your own risk. We do not assume any liability for any damages or losses resulting from the use of (the datasets provided by) FootprintCalc.

6. You agree to use FootprintCalc in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and to assume full responsibility for any actions or decisions made or based on the results of your calculations. By using FootprintCalc, you agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any claims, damages, costs, expenses, losses or liabilities arising from your use of FootprintCalc.

7. FootprintCalc is provided “as is” and without warranty of any kind. Updates and new releases are also provided “as is”. This means, basically, that The Footprinters is not making any promises to you about the standard, safety or quality of FootprintCalc, or that FootprintCalc will be uninterrupted and error free. We reserve the right to suspend access to FootprintCalc at any time, without prior notice or liability, for reasons such as maintenance, security concerns, or legal compliance. We also explicitly make no warranty or guarantee that FootprintCalc will be compatible with your existing hardware software or environment. We are not responsible for any loss or damage that FootprintCalc may cause. You bear the entire risk as to its quality, safety and performance.   
       
8. Any information or data provided by the Footprinters, is also without any representation or warranty as to quality, accuracy or safety of any kind. The Footprinters can always choose to update and / or change the relevant information or data. Before relying upon any information or data, you should take the time to verify it independently. You are solely responsible for any (environmental) claim(s) that you make based on the output of FootprintCalc. It is up to you to make sure that your claim(s) meet(s) all applicable regulations.

9. We hope that you find FootprintCalc to be a valuable tool in your sustainability analysis. However, if you wish to terminate this EULA for whatever reason, you must immediately cease all use of FootprintCalc and destroy any copies. The agreement will also terminate automatically if you fail to comply with any of its terms. The Footprinters can terminate the agreement at any given time.

10. Subject to applicable law, when you download and/or use FootprintCalc, the entire risk as to the use, quality, safety and performance of FootprintCalc is with you. The Footprinters is not responsible for any loss or damage that FootprintCalc may cause. In no event shall The Footprinters be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising out of or in connection with the use or inability to use FootprintCalc or for any loss of profits, business, goodwill, or data. Any liability of The Footprints shall not exceed € 100,-.

Despite the terms of this EULA, you may possess certain legal (statutory) rights under the law that applies to you. It’s possible that certain rights cannot be excluded even if we state something contrary in these terms. Don’t worry – those legal rights remain unaffected by any statements made within this EULA.

11. This EULA will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Netherlands. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with this EULA will be resolved exclusively in the courts located in Rotterdam.

12. This EULA constitutes the entire agreement between you and The Footprinters with respect to FootprintCalc and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements, whether written or oral, concerning FootprintCalc.

13. We reserve the right to provide new or changed terms of this EULA and applicable license. If you don’t agree with such changes, you will not be allowed to continue using FootprintCalc.

We are always looking to improve FOOTPRINTCALC. If you have any suggestions for improving the tool please let us know: contact@thefootprinters.nl

Support

FOOTPRINTCALC is developed by The Footprinters, because we want to help as many people as possible in making their products more sustainable. We are a two-person sustainability consultancy located in The Netherlands. If you are interested in using FootprintCalc in your organisation but need some help getting started we have developed an in-house training. Please get in contact with us via contact@thefootprinters.nl to discuss possibilities and pricing.

Version history

Version 1.4 - January 2026. Updated to Idemat 2026 and included BAFU:2025 database. Added an unlocked worksheet for background calculations and variables. Several quality of life improvements, such as totals per life-cycle stage and availability to view the entire included databases.

Version 1.3 - January 2025. Updated to Idemat 2025RevA3. Improved search functionality to also search in alternative names. Added TRACI LCIA. Incorporated metadata for Idemat processes. Updated eco-costs LCIA as some impact categories are renamed.

Version 1.2 - January 2024. Added detailed results including additional impact methods (ReCiPe2016, EF3.1, CED). General improvements (more space for processes, more space for custom impact factors, added error messages when errors in calculations occur, added description of lifecycle stages from the GHG Protocol).

Version 1.1 - October 2023. Updated to Idemat 2023RevA database. Fixed small bugs (scenario editor, product name not showing in results).

Version 1.0 - April 2023. First version released.