New software tool for calculating both lifecycle assessments and resource efficiency

Oct. 29, 2013 - PRLog -- Global value-added chains are complex structures nowadays and it's hard to keep track of their interrelationships without technical help. Companies have to rely on a mix of strategies to reach their innovation, environmental impact, and cost goals. Now, the new “Umberto NXT Universal” software solution can help companies find the best mix to take them to the next level. The software visualizes synergies between techniques to increase efficiency and to reduce environmental impact – making the process both easy to understand and implement. For the first time, a software tool thus combines two vital perspectives needed for production process analysis.

One important advantage that companies can achieve with Umberto NXT Universal is gaining a comprehensive understanding of the correlations among cost-, material- and energy flows, and their potential environmental impacts. By using quantity-based depictions, known as Sankey diagrams, process consumption rates become instantly visible, thus making the information accessible at one glance to a broad base of company personnel.

“We continue to hear the old preconception that ‘environmental protection is expensive’”, commented Martina Prox, ifu’s marketing manager. “But that has greatly changed over the last 15 years. With Umberto NXT Universal our clients can now demonstrate how environmentally friendly production and cost cutting go hand in hand.”

This “Umberto effect” is first and foremost achieved with a powerful cost calculation tool. Access to comprehensive LCA data bases such as ecoinvent 3 forms the basis for the software’s easy operation. By using Sankey diagrams to visualize costs, plus material and energy use in relation to their various environmental impacts, the data becomes instantly accessible and easy to understand.

The Hamburg Institute for Environmental IT (ifu Hamburg GmbH) develops software solutions that help clients all over the world perform lifecycle assessments. More than twenty years' experience in the field of lifecycle assessment and resource efficiency has given ifu an in-depth understanding of the respective needs and problem areas – a great plus when developing software. In addition to a test version and web demos, the Institute also offers a comprehensive training program to familiarize interested clients with the new software. A free test version can be downloaded at www.umberto.de/en/versionen/umberto-nxt-universal.