Variable is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) platform that helps you calculate and track the environmental impact of your products. Whether you want to publish Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), measure your product carbon footprint (PCF), or cut emissions across your supply chain, Variable provides the tools you need.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.variable.global/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
What you can do with Variable
Create LCA models for products
Build detailed life cycle assessment (LCA) models for your products
Track company-level emissions
Monitor emissions across your company’s value chain and find opportunities to reduce them
Core terminology
These are the building blocks of a model in Variable — how Products, Inputs, Elements, and Datasets fit together.| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Product (LCA) | The life cycle model of a product. The total impact of the product is calculated from its Inputs. |
| Input | A row in a Product (LCA). Carries a quantity and unit, and points to an Element. The Input’s calculated impact is its quantity multiplied by the per-unit impact data from the Element’s Dataset. |
| Element | The named source that an Input points to. Like Products, Elements can have their own model — breaking them down into sub-Inputs. Elements come in four kinds — Material, Energy, Transport, and Process — and each Element is connected to a Dataset that supplies its per-unit impact data. Elements live in your Inventory and can be referenced by Inputs across many Products. |
| Inventory | Your collection of Elements (Materials, Energy, Transport, and Processes) that you re-use across your Product (LCA)s. |
| Material | A kind of Element representing a sourced material or component (steel, plastic pellets, a pre-formed housing). Carries metadata like supplier, SKU, and location. |
| Energy | A kind of Element representing energy used in your processes, such as electricity or fuel. |
| Transport | A kind of Element representing a transport lane from origin to destination. A lane is made up of one or more legs, each with its own mode (truck, rail, ship, air) and distance. An Input that points to a Transport Element only needs the weight of material being moved - Variable derives the rest from the lane’s legs. |
| Process | A kind of Element representing a manufacturing or processing activity. |
| Dataset | The original source of environmental impact data — per-unit impact values for one or more indicators (GWP, acidification, water use, etc.). Often called emission factors when the focus is on carbon. Connects to an Element to supply its impact values. Datasets come from databases like ecoinvent, DEFRA, or Ember, and you can import your own. |
| Activity | A quantity record of a flow through your value chain over a defined period, classified by org unit and GHG scope (1/2/3). Activities are the basis for corporate carbon accounting and reduction planning. |
LCA acronyms
Standard LCA acronyms you’ll encounter in EPDs, PCRs, and impact reports.| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| LCA | Life Cycle Assessment. The process of evaluating the environmental impacts of a product throughout its lifecycle. |
| GWP | Global Warming Potential, measured in kgCO2e (kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent). |
| PCF | Product Carbon Footprint. Typically covers lifecycle stages A1-A3 (cradle to gate). |
| EPD | Environmental Product Declaration. A standardized document describing environmental impacts. |
| PCR | Product Category Rules. The rules that define how to calculate an EPD for a specific product category. |
Variable’s main indicator is GWP-fossil. Premium accounts get access to many other indicators including eutrophication, water use, and more.
Navigating Variable
The main areas of the application are organized to match your workflow:| Section | What you will find |
|---|---|
| Products > LCAs | Your Product (LCA)s and the environmental impacts calculated for them |
| Products > Declarations | Generate EPDs and other environmental product declarations |
| Inventory > Elements > Materials | Materials in your inventory with assigned datasets |
| Inventory > Elements > Energy | Energy sources used in your processes |
| Inventory > Elements > Transport | Transportation modes and logistics |
| Inventory > Elements > Process | Manufacturing and processing activities |
| Inventory > Datasets | Datasets from ecoinvent, DEFRA, etc., plus your custom datasets |
| Inventory > Activities | Quantity records of flows through your value chain over time, classified by org unit and GHG scope (1/2/3). The basis for corporate carbon accounting. |
| Reports & plans | Analyze activity data, create carbon accounts, and build reduction plans |
| Data import | Upload bills of materials and bulk-import inventory data |
For developers
If you’d like to work with Variable programmatically, you’ll need an API User with an API Key - account admins can manage these in users.- REST API reference - endpoints for Products, Materials, Models, and Activities
- Postman collection - try out the API
- Data model - how the pieces fit together
Next steps
Ready to calculate the carbon footprint of your first product? Start by creating a Product (LCA).Create your first Product (LCA)
Learn how to set up a new Product (LCA) and understand the modeling interface