Creating an Eco Audit project

Enter data for each of your product's components and life phases into the Product definition pane to begin an Eco Audit.

To create a new Eco Audit project, click Eco Audit on the main toolbar. All stages and settings in the Product definition pane are optional, however, the more information you add, the more accurate the final report will be.

  1. Under Product Information enter a name for the final product.
  2. Under Material, manufacture and end of life, enter information about each component used to make the end product:
    1. Type in a Component name, and type the Quantity of these components in the product.
    2. Select the required Material from MaterialUniverse. If the material contains a restricted substance or is on a critical material list, it will be flagged with a warning. Hover over the warning symbol to view more information.
    3. Enter the Recycled content of the material. This can either be:
      • Virgin content (0% recycled)
      • Typical (% dependent on material)
      • Reused part (complete component is reused)
      • User-specified value
    4. Enter the total Mass of each component.
    5. Select the Primary process and (optional) Secondary process from the menu. Choice of processes is limited by the chosen material, and are not applicable when using a reused part.
    6. Enter % removed by the secondary process (zero if no secondary process, and not applicable for reused parts), select an End of life option from the drop-down list, and type % recovered for material recovered at product end of life.
    7. Add further components if required.
    Note: To delete a component from the Bill of Materials, right-click the row header, and click Delete.
  3. Enter further information about Joining and finishing processes:
    1. Select a Process from the drop-down menu. The Unit column updates automatically after selecting a process.
    2. Type an Amount e.g. an area of 50 m^2 to be painted.
  4. Under Transport, enter information about transporting and distributing the product. Type a transport stage Name, select a Transport type, and type Distance traveled. You may enter numbered or named stages e.g. 1, 2, 3, or Factory to dock, Dock to dock (sea journey), Dock to distribution center, etc.
  5. Under Use, enter information about how the product is used during its lifetime, such as country of use, and information regarding energy use or further transportation during the product lifetime.
  6. Under Report, create a Summary chart or Detailed report and analyze the environmental impact of your product.
  7. Save your work as a product definition (*.prd) file. Eco Audit projects are not saved as part of a selection project file, and must be saved separately.
    Note: You can continue working on saved Eco Audit projects by clicking Open in the Product Definition and selecting a saved file. Any custom materials saved in the file will be added to the Browse tree under My Records. If any have the same record name and identifier as an existing record, but different property values, the version from the .prd file being opened will have a number appended to its name.

    There are example eco audit projects installed in '..\Granta Selector\Samples\eco_audit'.