【翻译】关于产品生命周期的思考

【翻译】关于产品生命周期的思考

2010/08/06 00:59 A.M.

Life Cycle Thinking: Key Issues and Indispensable Tools, by Lloyd Hicks
关于生命周期的思考:关键问题以及不可或缺的工具 作者: Lloyd Hicks 翻译:范煜州


You might guess that the carbon footprint from a carton of orange juice is largely due to packaging, transportation and disposal, but the findings from a recent PepsiCo study may surprise you. When the entire life cycle of orange juice was included, growing the oranges turned out to contribute the most to the carbon footprint—mainly due to the production and application of nitrogen based fertilizers.
你可能会想，一盒橙汁的碳足迹很大程度上取决于包装、运输以及处理，但是最近从百事公司的研究机构得出的结果可能会让你大吃一惊。当橙汁生产的整个生命周期都被包含在内的时候，种植橙子占了碳排放量的最大比重，造成这一结果的主要原因是氮肥的生产和施用。

It's important for designers to recognize the impact made in every phase of a product's life cycle. In this case, shifting agricultural practices may result in the most significant emission reductions, but designers are far from powerless to make improvements. The same study states that packaging and distribution represented 37% of the carbon footprint. With that in mind, how could a designer accurately test new scenarios to create an orange juice distribution strategy that has fewer impacts on the environment? How would he or she know if a plastic bottle is better than a gable-top carton or not? How do concentrated juice products size up?
对于设计师来说，认清一个产品在其生命周期中的每一个环节所造成的影响是非常重要的。在这种情况下，改变农业的生产方式或许会减少最多的排放量，但是设计师却远没有能力去改善农业。同样的一个研究表明包装和分配占了碳排放量的37%。考虑到这一点，设计师又该如何准确地测试一个新的方案，以创造一个对环境影响更小的橙汁分配策略？又怎样知道塑料瓶是否比纸盒装更好呢？浓缩果汁的尺寸加大后如何？

Every stage in the product's life cycle has potential impacts on the environment; LCA gives designers the ability to make informed decisions to reduce those impacts.
产品生命周期的每一个阶段都有对环境的潜在影响；生命周期评价（LCA，Life Cycle Assessment）让设计师拥有做出更明智决定的能力，以减少那些负面影响。

These types of questions are challenging because of the complexity of real world factors; the formulation of appropriate answers requires powerful analyses, databases and tools. Fortunately, within the last year, applying life cycle thinking has come within the reach of any designer. We now have the tools to help us assess the life cycle environmental impacts of our designs before they are produced and to improve upon products that already exist. This gives us insight into the orange juice delivery problem, at least for a start.
由于现实世界的复杂性，使得这一类的问题变得很有挑战性；确切答案的形成过程需要强大的分析、数据库和工具。值得庆幸的是，在过去的一年，应用生命周期的思想已经让设计师们唾手可得。我们现在已经有了工具来针对那些尚未生产和早已存在的设计进行评估，以便了解产品在整个生命周期中的环境影响。这让我们对橙汁的运输问题有了更深入的见解，至少已经开始深入了解。

Life Cycle Assessment
生平周期评价
In brief, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a way to quantify the human and environmental impacts of products from raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, use, maintenance, recycling and end-of-life. Every stage in the product's life cycle has potential impacts on the environment; LCA gives designers the ability to make informed decisions to reduce those impacts. For an in-depth background on LCA, the United Nations Environment Program's Life Cycle Initiative provides a training kit.
简而言之，生命周期评价（LCA，Life Cycle Assessment）就是一种将人类和包括材料提取、生产、运输、使用、保存、回收以及最终产品报废在内的环境影响进行量化分析的方式。产品生命周期的每一个阶段都有对环境的潜在影响；生命周期评价使设计师拥有做出更明智决定的能力，以减少对环境的负面影响。为了在生命周期评价方面获得更为深入的背景资料，联合国环境计划署的生命周期创始人提供了一个训练套件(http://lcinitiative.unep.fr/)。

As LCA continues to evolve, so too do its key issues. To gain a better understanding of these, I interviewed consultants in the life cycle field and asked them to share stories from their work. The resulting case studies follow; after that, I'll introduce several tools designers can use to systematically assess the environmental impacts of their products.
随着生命周期评价的不断发展，其关键问题也日渐突出。为了能够更好的理解这些问题，我采访了致力于生命周期领域的顾问，并请他们分享在工作中的故事。接下来就是有关结果的案例分析；之后，我将介绍几种工具，以便让设计师可以用来系统地对自己的产品进行环境影响评估。


An example of Timberland's Green Index label. Image: The Lazy Environmentalist.
“Timberland绿色指数标签” 图片来自: The Lazy Environmentalist.

Timberland's Green Index
Timberland绿色指数
Tom Gloria of Industrial Ecology Consultants has worked with Timberland to determine the impacts of footwear production and track improvements for the company. They now maintain a Green Index rating system for their footwear products—a 'nutritional label' to quantify the impacts of every pair of shoes they sell.
身为工业生态学顾问，Tom Gloria曾与Timberland合作以确定该公司的鞋类产品的影响以及为公司寻求改善。他们目前正在针对他们的鞋类产品使用一种绿色指数的评分系统——一种“营养标签”,用来量化他们卖出的每一双鞋对环境的影响。

Each shoe is rated from best to worst in three environmental areas: climate impact, chemical use and resource consumption. After setting a baseline Green Index score, Timberland set targets for reductions in energy use, waste generation and solvent use. They have goals to increase the use of organic cotton, renewable materials, recycled content and improve the environmental performance of their factories.
每一双鞋的分数从最好到最差，要从三个环境方面进行评估，分别是：气候影响、化学物品用量和资源消耗。在设定好了绿色指数的评分基准分数以后，Timberland将目标定位于降低能源消耗、减少废物产生和溶剂使用。他们的目标是增加有机棉花、可再生材料和再循环成分的使用量，并且提高工厂的环境效能。

Questions were raised about the data sources in LCA tools. Was the data representative of the factories that Timberland sourced material from?
有人开始质疑生命周期评估工具所用的数据源。这些数据是不是代表了Timberland所用资源的工厂？

Gloria says that most consumers still evaluate a companies' products by performance, function and price, but a growing number of customers want to know a company is making progress in environmental areas. The Green Index labeling can help show this progress.
Gloria说大部分消费者评价一个公司的产品主要依靠性能、功能和价格，但是越来越多的消费者想知道公司在环境方面的进展。绿色指数标签可以帮助展示这项进展

Well before Timberland's customers started to see the Green Index rating system and corporate-wide, quarterly key performance indicators, there were internal discussions about the most significant environmental aspects as a company. Questions were raised about the data sources in LCA tools. Was the data representative of the factories that Timberland sourced material from?
早在Timberland的客户开始看到绿色指数评估系统和整个公司的季度关键业绩指标之前，公司展开了关于最重要的环境因素的内部讨论。有人开始质疑生命周期评估工具的数据源。这些数据是不是代表了Timberland所用资源的工厂？

After investigating, Timberland decided to use average industry data to calculate the climate impact of raw material production and factory-specific data on energy use that accounts for the power delivered from the regional electricity grid. According to Gloria, using industry averages in LCA as a proxy definitely has its benefits due to the relatively low costs of obtaining the data. Yet, when it comes to making some large capital expenditures to change materials, processes or suppliers, the argument is much better if you've got the factory-specific data to back it up.
经过调查，Timberland决定用行业平均水平的数据来计算原材料生产对气候的影响，用从地方电网运输的电力消耗来计算工厂的特殊能源消耗数据。根据Gloria所说，在生命周期评估中用工业平均数据作为代理确实有益，因为这样获取数据需要成本相对较少。但是，当涉及到用大量的资本开支来改变材料、工艺和供应商，如果有工厂的具体数据作为参考，讨论起来会更加有益。


Seventh Generation detergent is specially formulated for equal effectiveness in both cold and hot water washing.
Seventh Generation洗涤剂是专门制定了在寒冷和热水洗涤同等效力。

Seventh Generation
Tim Greiner of Pure Strategies talked about his work on detergents with Seventh Generation, specifically addressing the company's initiative to advocate greener products and behaviors.
来自Pure Strategies的Tim Greiner谈论了他在Seventh Generation关于洗洁精方面的工作，他特别讲述了公司作为提倡绿色产品和绿色行为的创始性工作。

Greiner looked closely at the life cycle impacts of Seventh Generation's detergent. He had greenhouse gas factors for nearly all of the product formula and transport stages. Data had to be calculated for the use and disposal phases, including: washing machine use, hot water heating, drying and treatment of the waste water generated by washing.
Greiner仔细研究了Seven Generation洗洁精的生命周期影响。他把产品从生产到装配运输阶段的所有温室气体排放都计算在内了。其中的数据必须包含产品的使用和处理阶段，包括洗衣机的使用，热水的加热，干燥以及洗涤所产生废水的处理。

There many limitations to gathering better data, and the further a company goes up its supply chain, the less leverage it has.
在获取更好的数据上还是存在很多限制的，此外，公司在供应链上的进展越多，这种限制就会越少。

Greiner found that the consumer use phase—washing machine use, heating hot water and drying the load—used the most energy and had the highest greenhouse gas impact—roughly 95% of the greenhouse gas emissions generated for an average load of laundry in the US. With these findings and the strong communication channels Seventh Generation had with their customers, it became clear that changing customer behavior was a top priority, as the detergent is specially formulated to have the same cleaning effectiveness in both hot and cold water cycles.
Greiner发现，在消费者的使用阶段（包括洗衣机的使用、加热热水以及烘干阶段）中，消耗了最多的能源并且制造了最多的温室气体——约占全美平均洗衣工作95%的温室气体排放量。通过这些发现和Seventh Generation和客户之间的沟通，可以清晰的看出，改变客户的行为是应该被放到首要位置的，因为这种洗涤剂是经过特殊制造的，因而可以在热水和冷水中都可以保持相同的洗涤效果。

Greiner also touched on his experiences with data sources in LCA tools. To help determine data quality requirements for materials, he often considers the percentage of a total product's weight. For example, a material that makes up 40% versus 1% of a product's weight may need greater attention. The company could then take this information to its suppliers to determine if the data was representative of their operations or if there were marked differences.
Greiner也讲述了在生命周期评价工具中关于数据源的一些经验。为了帮助确定对材料的数据质量要求，他要经常考虑材料在一个产品总重量的百分比。比如，如果一种原料可以构成产品的40%，那它理应比构成1%的材料获得更多的重视。公司接下来就可以把这些信息交给供应商，用来确定数据是否在他们的执行过程中会有代表性，或者是否会带来一些标志性的改变。

He pointed out that there many limitations to gathering better data, and the further a company goes up its supply chain, the less leverage it has. For commodity materials such as detergent surfactants, a purchaser generally only knows the region, and in some cases may not even know that. Regional specificity and thresholds for emissions and water use from production processes are not usually available. When a number of companies are interested in the attributes of a specific commodity material-palm oil, for instance—Greiner believes industry standards can play a role, much like we buy 'green' power. When a number of companies collaborate on industry standards, the benefits become more compelling for suppliers.
他指出，在获取更好的数据上还是存在很多限制的，此外，公司在供应链上的进展越多，这种限制就会越少。对于诸如洗涤剂表面活性剂一类的商品材料，买家一般只是在地域范围内有所了解，在某些情况下甚至连这些都不知道。地域的特殊政策和对于产品加工过程中的排放和耗水量的管制通常不太奏效。当许多公司对一个特定的商品材料感兴趣的时候，比如，棕榈油，Greiner认为行业标准就可以发挥其作用，就像我们购买绿色能源的时候。当许多公司在行业标准方面进行合作的时候，对供应商的利益就变得更引人注目了。

Products from Biomass-based crops
从以生物质为基础的农作物中寻求产品
Melissa Hamilton of EarthShift, an organization focused on LCA capacity building within corporations, talked about the different methodologies used in LCA and results that often surprise clients.
Melissa Hamilton来自EarthShift，EarthShaft是一个内建于公司、致力于生命周期评估能力的组织。他谈论了在生命周期评价中所用的不同方法和一些经常让客户吃惊的结果。

According to Hamilton, companies that create products from biomass-based crops often think their products are naturally better than the petrochemical-based alternatives, but discover the impacts from intensive land use, fertilizer use and pesticide application are much higher than expected. This depends on the resources used in growing those plants, and LCA can help identify critical areas to focus on during the production of these products.
根据Hamilton，用以生物质为基础的农作物创造产品的公司经常会认为他们的产品比那些用化石化工材料为基础的替代品自然要好，但是他们同样也发现，对土地的集约利用以及化肥和农药的施用也大大超出了预期。这取决于种植这些植物所需的资源，生命周期评价可以帮助确定在生产这些产品时的关键区域。

There are a number of impact methodologies to choose from, but each yields different results depending on value choices and the emissions measured.
可供选择的影响评估方法有很多，但是由于价值取向和排放测量的不同，产生的结果也不相同。

She also points out that there is variability produced by the impact methodologies within LCA. These are consensus-based approaches decided upon by life cycle practitioners and scientists that convert emissions into human and environmental impacts. There are many to choose from, but each yields different results depending on value choices and the emissions measured. It is important for companies to select one that is relevant for the product studied, and to compare results across methods. Treatment of biomass-based crops might produce either favorable or unfavorable results for a product depending on the selected methodology, for example.
她同样指出,生命周期评估方法的影响会产生一些结果的上的变化. 将排放转换为对人和自然的影响,这种基于共识的解决方法收到了生命周期相关人员和科学家的肯定.可供选择的方面有很多，但是由于价值取向和排放测量的不同，产生的结果也不相同。选取相关的产品做研究，采取不同的方法，然后比较结果，这种方法对于公司来说是很重要的。例如，处理以生物质为基础的农作物会产生好的或者坏的结果，这取决于所采取的方法。

The control of this variability grows with the sophistication of the LCA tool. In more advanced systems, the user may specify how emissions are translated into impacts.
这种对于变化性的控制随着生命周期评估工具复杂性的提高而随之提高。在更先进的系统中，用户可以明确说明排放是怎么转变成对环境的影响的。

Summary of the Uses of LCA
生命周期评估用途综述

To summarize, key uses of LCA by practitioners include determining and monitoring the most significant environmental aspects; establishing a baseline for comparison, labeling impacts and setting corporate goals; and considering all life cycle impacts, including changing customer behavior in the use phase. These same practitioners are making important contributions to LCA by seeking industry standards to create more compelling benefits for suppliers to change practices; mastering the selection of appropriate data sources (industry-averages versus factory-specific); and becoming aware of the need for and developing transparent methodology.
总之，对于从业人员来说，生命周期工具最主要的用途包括确定和监控最重要的环境问题；建立一个基准用来进行比较、对影响进行分类以及制定企业目标；考虑整个生命周期所产生的影响，包括在客户使用阶段对其行为的影响。这些人对生平周期评估做出了巨大的贡献。通过寻求工业化标准，创造更多的现实利益以让供应商改变做法；掌握选择合适数据源的方法（行业平均水平和工厂的具体情况）；了解透明化方法的必要性和产生过程。

 

LCA Tools
生命周期评价工具
In a design studio I taught at Pratt Institute last fall, I used one of the new LCA tools called Sustainable Minds. With no download needed, the students signed in to the web-based tool and quickly got into testing their design concepts.
去年秋天，在我教学的一个位于Pratt学院的设计工作室，我用了一个新的生命周期评估工具，名为“Sustainable Minds”。由于没有下载的需要，学生登入了互联网工具并且很快的进行了对他们设计概念的测试。

Projects ranged from a vertical grow-light system for plants to a vermicomposting bin. After establishing which elements each product should be evaluated and compared by (e.g., providing light for indoor plants or the material for containment of food scraps), users also indicate how long this service will be delivered. Next, data pertaining to material selection, production methods, transport distances and end-of-life assumptions are entered. Sustainable Minds makes it easy to upload a bill of materials from AutoDesk's Inventor (as well as other 3D modeling programs), so no manual entry is necessary for the material selection stage.
项目的范围从为植物设计的垂直生长照明系统到蚯蚓堆肥桶。在确立了每一个产品的那些设计元素将要被评估和比较（例如，对室内植物提供光照还是对食物的保存提供材料）后，用户同样要指出这项服务多久后会实施。接下来，有关材料选择的数据，生产方法，运输距离和产品报废假想也被加入其中。Sustainable Minds使得从Autodesk的Inventor（或者其他3D建模程序）上载材料更加容易，所以在材料选取阶段是不需要人工输入的。

Once the life cycle stages are filled in, the results are broken down in easy-to-read to charts, giving a quick idea about where the impacts are in the product life cycle. Add as many concepts as you want and compare any two of them side by side. Sustainable Minds also has an expansive section of the website dedicated to helping designers understand eco-design strategies that may help reduce the impacts revealed by the software.
一旦生命评估阶段开始进行，结果就会被拆解为容易阅读的表格，这会针对产品在生命周期中的影响所处的位置提供一个很迅速答案。加入尽可能多的概念并且将其中任意两个进行对比。Sustainable Minds同样有一个扩展性的网络，用来帮助设计师理解生态设计的策略，以便用来降低软件显示出的影响。


Sustainable Minds screenshot
In Sustainable Minds, the impact methodology is limited to one approach, in which all the environmental impacts are rolled into a single number, or single-indicator. This simplifies the results and provides clear information to act on, which is very handy for LCA beginners or students. More detail on this impact method can be found at Sustainable Minds.
在Sustainable Minds中，关于影响的方法被限制在一种解决方案中，这种解决方案是将所有的环境影响折合成一个数字或者是一个单独的指数。这就简化了结果并提供了清晰的信息用来处理，这对于刚刚接触生命周期评估的初学者和学生都是非常容易上手的。关于对影响的评估方法，详细内容在Sustainable Minds中都可以找得到。

What might one learn from Sustainable Minds? In the simple case of the vermicomposting bin, for instance, my student had to make an argument for the extra materials and processes that went into her more user-friendly, visually pleasing design. Do-it-yourself worm bins simply use a plastic bin with a lid and some holes cut out. She designed her bin to be left out in the kitchen instead of tucked away in a closet. But would her worm bin last longer before being tossed out? Though her design was relatively worse for the environment, she used Sustainable Minds to show when things would tip in her favor due to a long-lasting product that people wanted to keep.
从Sustainable Minds中可以学到什么呢？一个简单的例子，在设计蚯蚓堆肥桶的案例中，我的学生不得不针对额外的材料和用户亲和力更高、更美观的设计制作过程而进行论证。DIY蠕虫桶就是简单地用一个带盖子的塑料桶然后再穿几个孔。她的定位是将桶放在厨房里而不是塞到壁橱里。但是她的蠕虫桶会持续到被丢弃之前么？尽管她的设计相对来讲对环境还是更坏的，但是她用Sustainable Minds来说明了，何时她的观点会因为一个人们都想拥有的持久的产品而被支持。


Greenfly screenshot
Greenfly is another web-based tool with a user-friendly interface that allows one to specify key attributes for life stages. Scenarios are viewed individually and charts are broken down into results for a product's carbon footprint, energy demand, water use and solid waste generation, but there is no way to compare two scenarios side-by-side to view relative differences.
Greenfly是另一个基于网络的工具，它有一个有好的用户界面，能够让使用者指定生命周期阶段的关键特性。各个方案可以单独观察，并且图标分成了相关的几个结果，包括产品碳足迹，能源需求，耗水量和固体废弃物产生量，但是决不能为了寻求相对的不同而将两个方案各个方面都进行比较。

Greenfly includes a set of design guidelines that prompt users to think about goals related to: dematerialization, low impact material selection, cleaner production, optimized distribution, design for durability, use phase impact reduction, and design for waste avoidance and resource recovery.
Greenfly包括一系列的设计指导，用来提示用户去思考相关的目标：非物质化，低影响的材料选择，清洁产品，优化配置，耐用性设计，使用阶段影响的降低，以及为了避免浪费和资源回收的设计。

Next, Solidworks has taken another direction by including an add-on called SustainabilityXpress directly in the modeling environment. In this version individual parts are assessed with the environmental impacts shown right within the 'impact factor dashboard'.
另外，SolidWorks转向了另一个方向，直接地在建模环境中加入了一个名为SustainabilityXpress的插件来。 在这个版本中，单独的零件被放在和环境影响一起评估，结果显示在右侧的“影响因素仪表盘”内。

A more advanced version, Solidworks Sustainability, is available for purchase. It allows users to assess entire assemblies, enter data on the use phase and transport modes, and determine components with the highest impacts from the bill of materials. Both versions allow users to set baselines for comparison and generate reports in a couple key impact areas.
一个更高级的版本，Solidworks Sustainability，已经可以购买了。它允许用户评估整个装配组件，加入试用阶段和运输的数据，并确定组件来自购买材料的最高影响。这两个版本都允许用户制定比较基准和在多个关键影响区域生成报告。

GaBi screenshot
The products mentioned above are relatively new when compared to SimaPro from Pré Consultants and GaBi from PE International. These sophisticated software products have been around for many years, and are widely used by life cycle assessment professionals. The user interface for both of these products is challenging and there is a steeper learning curve than Sustainable Minds and the Solidworks tools. As I learned how to use these two programs—both equally challenging—it became clear that many features are for people that want to go deeper into a product's life cycle.
和Pré的SimaPro、PE国际的GaBi相比，上面提到的产品还是相对比较新的。这些复杂的软件已经出现了很久了，并且在生命周期评估职业中广泛使用。这两个软件的界面都比较有挑战性，并且比起Sustainable Minds和SolidWorks的插件，这两个软件学习起来都比较困难。当我学习这两个软件的使用方法的时候——两个软件同样困难——我越来越清楚地认识到其中的很多特性是为了那些愿意在产品生命周期方面进行深入研究的人士而设定的。

GaBi requires users to build a 'process-tree' to connect materials, energy and processes to parts. After building the product system in GaBi, users can check if inputs and outputs match up for the assemblies. In SimaPro, after data for the product system is entered in, users can switch to a flow chart view to easily see the relative impacts from materials and processes. Both tools can display inputs/outputs and impacts in what appears to be every conceivable format. Training and/or tutorials are available for GaBi through PE International and SimaPro through EarthShift.
GaBi需要用户创建一个“进程树”用来将材料、能耗和工艺和零件联系到一起。完成在GaBi中建立产品系统以后，用户就可以检查是否输入和输出能够和组件匹配了。在SimaPro中，用于产品系统的数据输入以后，用户就可以切换到一个流程图上，从而轻易地看到从材料到加工过程中的相对影响。这两种工具都可以显示输入输出，并且可以将产品的影响用一种可以想象的方式来呈现出来。关于GaBi的培训和教程可以在PE International上找到，SimaPro的需要到Earthshift上找。



SimaPro screenshot
Both packages utilize data sets made up of industry averages for thousands of processes; industry-specific and custom data sets are also available. SimaPro pulls information from numerous external sources, while GaBi builds datasets from internal client sources as well—PE International is also an LCA consultancy. Pricing for both vary based on the customer's individual selection of data sets.
两种软件的资料组都是来自于成千上万的加工过程的平均数值；特定行业和自定义资料组也有提供。SimaPro从大量的外部资源拉取信息，而GaBi则是用内部客户的资源建立资料组——PE International同样也是一个生命周期评估咨询公司。软件的价格会根据客户所选的资料组而有所不同。

SimaPro and GaBi allow users to select from a number of impact methodologies. The single-indicator systems, like the one used in Sustainable Minds, can also be utilized here, along with common individual impact categories such as global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, etc.
SimaPro和GaBi能够让用户从许多的影响评估方法中选择。单一指标的系统，像是在Sustainable Minds中所使用的，同样也可以在这里配合一些常见的影响种类使用，例如全球变暖、酸化、富营养化等可能性。
以下个人认为有广告嫌疑

The Bottom Line on LCA Tools
Sustainable Minds works well for students, design firms and manufacturers that need to compare a range of product systems in any design stage, and for benchmarking existing product systems. At $10 per month for students and $58 per month for professionals, plus a free 30-day trial, it's also highly accessible. Greenfly remains free, though there are plans to move to subscription-based licensing. However, its interface doesn't presently allow a comparison of two scenarios side-by-side. For schools or companies with a Solidworks license, the advanced version, which allows users to specify projections for the use phase, is more useful than the Xpress version. Contact your local reseller for a price.
Sustainable Minds的适用范围非常广，学生，设计公司，需要在任何阶段对产品系统进行比较的生产商，以及对现有的产品系统进行评估。学生版每个月10美刀，专业版每月58美刀。加上三十天的免费使用，很超值。Greenfly依然免费，但有计划转型为申请注册码模式。然而，它的界面不允许两个情景进行详细的对比。对于拥有Solidworks序列号的学校和公司来说，可以允许用户指定使用阶段计划的高级版本，比Xpress版本更有用。可以联系当地经销商查询价格。
Both GaBi and SimaPro are ideal for companies or graduate students requiring access to larger databases of materials and processes, different impact methodologies, and increased options to view impact results. Pricing greatly depends on the size of the databases included, so it's best to check the company's website. Temporary licenses are available and educational versions are discounted (or free in the case of GaBi).
对于需要大量材料和加工数据库、需要不同的影响评估方法和需要可增加选项以用来观察影响结果的公司和毕业生来说，GaBi和SimaPro都是很理想的工具。软件的价格很大程度上取决于数据库的大小，所以最好去公司的网站看一下。临时的注册号也有提供，而且教学版本会有打折。（GaBi可能会免费哦~）
Whatever your preference, all of these tools offer greater access to information at critical points in the design process. They empower designers to make meaningful changes that reduce the impacts of products on humans and our environment, at all scales. This helps bring LCA to the fore of the discipline, promoting its adoption as an important practice in the design process.
不管你的喜好是哪个，这些工具为获取设计过程中的关键位置的信息提供了途径。让设计师在降低对人类和自然影响的方面能够做出有意义的改变。这样就会让生命周期评估成为设计的首要准则之一，提高它作为一个设计过程中重要环节的采用率。