Every ecodesign decision, backed by real product-level data
Know the impact of every design change
before you commit
before you commit
ISO 14040, 14044
methodology
methodology
CSRD & VSME
aligned
aligned
Every source
traceable
traceable
Audit-ready
from day one
from day one
What gets in the way
Three reasons ecodesign
goes wrong
Sustainable on the label,
not in the data
Design teams pick materials based on supplier certifications, labels, and instinct. Natural fibres often look better than synthetics. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data sometimes shows the opposite, with higher land use, water, and chemical processing impacts. The "obvious" sustainable choice isn't always the right one.
The team works on the
wrong 5%
Most design effort goes to packaging. But packaging usually accounts for less than 5% of a product's footprint. Changing a zipper or trim moves almost nothing. The main material composition can move the footprint by 30 to 40%.
Bad decisions are locked in
for a full cycle
Once a product reaches market, the design choices are fixed for the next cycle. A poorly targeted ecodesign investment is a sunk cost. There's no way to recover it without redesigning the product.
How Root solves it
From design intuition
to design data
to design data
A footprint for every product, broken down by where impact actually sits.
01
See footprint
02
Find drivers
03
Test changes
04
Prove claims
Step 1
See the footprint at every stage of the lifecycle
Root produces a full LCA for every product, broken down by materials, production, transport, use, and end-of-life. Your design team sees exactly how much of the footprint comes from each phase, and which component within it drives the most impact.
Step 2
Find the design changes that move the number most
Root ranks the specific materials, components, production processes, and transport routes by their footprint impact. R&D budget targets the top drivers, not the easiest things to change.
Step 3
Test design alternatives before you commit
Before a material switch or production change is made, Root models the footprint impact of that change. Swap a material. Move production to a lower-carbon region. Change the supplier. Compare the carbon impact and the cost of each scenario side by side.
The right design decision becomes visible before the product launches, not after.
The right design decision becomes visible before the product launches, not after.
Step 4
Substantiate every claim from day one
With a verified LCA behind every design decision, environmental claims about new products are grounded in real data. Marketing teams can say what's true. Legal teams can sign it off. Buyers can trust it.
Ecodesign is where the footprint gets decided. Root makes sure the
decision is based on data, not instinct.
decision is based on data, not instinct.
Want your next productcycle
designed on real data?
designed on real data?
What you get
Every design decision is informed by data
Your design team has the footprint of every product, broken down by lifecycle phase, component, and material. The biggest design changes are clear: which materials, which processes, which suppliers drive the most impact. Before a material swap or supplier change goes to production, the carbon and cost consequences are modelled.
Sustainability claims about new products are backed by real LCA data.
Sustainability claims about new products are backed by real LCA data.
Benefits
Three ways ecodesign
pays back
pays back
R&D budget is used where it matters most
When you know which materials, components, and processes drive most of each product's footprint, every R&D euro goes to the changes that move the number most. Same budget, more actual reduction.
No more sunk costs on the wrong investment
A reformulation that targets packaging when 90% of the impact is in the main material. A material switch that looks sustainable but uses more land and water. These mistakes are common and expensive. Real LCA data behind the decision prevents them before they happen.
Every claim is defensible from day one
Every environmental claim about a new product is grounded in a verified LCA. Marketing teams can say what's true. Legal teams can sign it off. Auditors and regulators see the data behind every claim from day one.
Why it matters
80% of a product's impact is set at the design stage
The European Parliament, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and the European Commission all agree: more than 80% of a product's environmental impact is determined during design. By the time a product reaches market, most of the opportunity to reduce its footprint has already passed.
Source:
European Parliament (europarl.europa.eu);
Ellen MacArthur Foundation; European
Commission ESPR impact assessment, 2022.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation; European
Commission ESPR impact assessment, 2022.
Get started now
Get LCA data
behind every design decision
In a guided demo, we show how Root produces a product-level
footprint and tests design alternatives before you commit.
footprint and tests design alternatives before you commit.
FAQs
Find quick answers to the most common questions about Root,
our methodology, data requirements, and timelines.
our methodology, data requirements, and timelines.
Do we need full LCA expertise to use this?
No. Root runs the LCA methodology automatically. Your design team works with the output: which materials drive impact, which alternatives are lower-impact, what each change costs in carbon and euros. The methodology, source trail, and emission factors are on file for anyone who needs to verify.
How does Root handle materials we've never used before?
Root uses verified emission factors from Ecoinvent and other industry-standard databases, which cover most retail materials. For a custom material or a specific blend, your team can define the material composition, production processes, and transport steps from scratch.
Can we model packaging changes too, even if they're small?
Yes. Root models any design change, including packaging. The honest answer is usually: packaging changes are smaller than expected. Once you see the data, the team can focus on the changes that actually move the footprint.
How does this connect to our green claims?
The same LCA behind your design decision is the LCA that substantiates your green claim. Under the Empowering Consumers Directive (ECGT), every environmental claim needs a verified calculation behind it. With Root, the calculation is already there.
How quickly can we see results?
Most design teams have working footprints across their product range in a few weeks. From there, scenario modelling is immediate. You see the impact of a material or process change in seconds, not weeks.