5 features every SimaPro user should know

As the leading LCA tool, SimaPro embeds sustainability into your daily operations, making your efforts measurable and enabling you to create a competitive advantage from sustainability initiatives. SimaPro offers a comprehensive set of features for collecting, analyzing and monitoring the sustainability performance of your products and services.

To make sure you are getting the most out of this powerful tool, we would like to highlight 5 features you may not be familiar with that will make using SimaPro even more efficient and effective. Please note that most of these features are available only in SimaPro Analyst, Developer and PhD.

1. Copy chart to Excel

This feature comes in handy if you want to work with your results in Microsoft Excel. Instead of copying and pasting tables of data and creating charts in Excel manually, go to any chart in the results window in SimaPro, right-click the chart area and select Copy Chart to Excel.  Microsoft Excel will open automatically and create a new book that includes 2 tabs – one for the chart and one for the data.

SimaPro Tips & Trick | Copy Chart to Excel

2. Pedigree matrix for determining the uncertainty values

It is often difficult to derive the uncertainty of the amount of a specific input or output from the information available to you. The pedigree matrix offers a simple, standard procedure to quantify the uncertainty of those values.

To use this feature, select either lognormal or normal as your distribution type, right-click the field SD^2 or 2*SD, and select Edit Pedigree. A window will pop-up where a basic uncertainty value is given (based on expert panel judgments for the kind of input and output considered). Here you can assess the data quality based on 6 indicators.

(Please note that Sample size is no longer used by ecoinvent v3. However, because it was used in SimaPro in the past, it was not removed in more recent releases.)  Once you click OK, the Basic and Total uncertainty will be recalculated based on your input.  For more details on this feature, press F1 or go to Help> SimaPro Help.

SimaPro Tips & Trick | Determine the Uncertainty Values with Pedigree Matrix

3. Using calculated parameters

These are parameters that are dependent on other parameters within an expression. Many users do not realize that SimaPro offers a wide range of functions and operators for building expressions. SimaPro also checks if your expression is valid and reports any errors found. To view all available functions and operators, go to the Parameters tab> Calculated parameters, right-click the Expression field and select Edit Expression to arrive at the following window:

SimaPro Tips & Trick | Using Calculated Parameters

To create expressions, you can use this window or you can just type the expression directly into the Expression field.

4. Materials without waste types

This feature shows which materials in the Life Cycle have not been assigned a waste type in the waste scenarios that are currently used. Materials without a waste type will not be reported as having been treated, and thus overall results may be inaccurate.

When you carry out an analysis, you can immediately see how many materials have no waste type assigned by looking at the Checks tab. The number after the comma represents the number of those materials.

SimaPro Tips & Trick | Materials Without Waste Types

In the event that materials without a waste type have been identified, go to the Materials without waste type tab, select a material, and click Go to in order to return to the record and correct it.

5. Analysis of Groups

Using the Analysis of Groups button, you can define how processes are presented in a chart. Instead of presenting results by process or product stage, you can present results by function, for example: transport, energy, production, and so forth.  For a step-by-step guide on how to use this feature, please refer to this video.

SimaPro Tips & Trick | Analysis of Groups

Now it’s time to try out all these features!

More SimaPro tips & tricks

Ruba Dolfing Fanous

Support Team Lead

It is inspiring to work with people and organizations that are creating real change. From the innovators to the followers, every effort counts towards a more sustainable world!

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