Eurofins Footwear Impact Calculator

Core Features

Eurofins Footwear Impact Calculator uses a lifecycle-based methodology to estimate the environmental footprint of footwear products from raw material sourcing through disposal or recycling. The platform combines predefined industry datasets with user inputs to generate rapid sustainability assessments intended for screening and product comparison purposes rather than full standalone LCA certification studies. Its main capabilities include:

• Lifecycle Footwear Assessments – Evaluates the complete supply chain for footwear products and packaging using cradle-to-grave assessment boundaries.

• Carbon, Land, and Water Impact Analysis – Measures environmental performance across climate change, land use, and water consumption indicators.

• Hotspot Identification – Helps users identify materials, manufacturing stages, or logistics activities contributing most to environmental impacts.

• Comparative Product Scoring – Uses a star-based ranking system to compare footwear products within the same category based on overall environmental impact.

• Scenario and Design Modelling – Allows users to test different material combinations, manufacturing regions, retail channels, and usage assumptions during product development.

• Rapid Web-Based Assessments – Provides browser-based assessments that can be completed in minutes without requiring specialist LCA expertise or installed software.

Closing Insights

Eurofins BLC developed the Footwear Impact Calculator in collaboration with PRé Sustainability, the company behind the SimaPro LCA platform. The tool was created in response to growing pressure on footwear companies to quantify environmental impacts while avoiding the high costs, technical complexity, and long timelines associated with traditional lifecycle assessments. The platform was designed to make LCA-based sustainability analysis more accessible to non-expert users across the footwear sector.

The calculator broadly follows the draft Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) for apparel and footwear developed within the European Union framework. It also incorporates datasets from sources such as ecoinvent and uses Circular Footprint Formula methodologies for end-of-life modelling.

Eurofins presents the platform as both a product assessment and product-development tool, enabling companies to model sustainability impacts before committing to production and distribution decisions. The company states that the tool has been used by brands and suppliers to estimate footwear carbon footprints, compare sourcing pathways, and identify environmental improvement opportunities without making unsupported “green claims.”