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GENERIS®

GENERIS®

by Fraunhofer IBP

A building life cycle assessment (LCA) tool

Updated by Onye Dike on December 27th, 2025
Generis is a web-based building life cycle assessment (LCA) tool for architects, planners, and energy consultants offering repeatable evidence during design. Users model a building from standard construction catalogues or create layered constructions from environmental databases such as Ökobau.dat and ESUCO, then evaluate projects using operating parameters. Results include LCA values plus certification credit points, making it easier to iterate on components early and compare alternatives before specifications are fixed. Because it runs in a browser with no local installation, it suits multi-stakeholder shared project work where quick access and consistent calculation rules matter.

Available Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Features

Background Database Connectivity
Data Import/Export
Data Quality/Pedigree
EPD Database
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
Product Comparison

Missing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Features

API Integration
Allocation & Co-product Rules
DPP Database
Data Quality at Scale
Digital Product Passports (DPP)
ECI
EPD Global
EPD International
EPD Search Tool
Emissions Hotspot Identification
Goal & Scope Builder
IBU
ILCD+EPD
ILCD/EcoSpold/JSON-LD Import
INIES
ISO Compliance
Lifecycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) Methods Library
Multiple Program Operators
NMD
Parameterized Models
Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)
Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)
Projects GWP
Review & Audit Trail
Scenarios
Sensitivity & Contribution Analysis
Smart EPD
Supplier Collaboration Tools
System Boundaries & Cut-offs
Uncertainty (Monte Carlo)
Unit-Process Modeling

Pricing

Starting Price
EUR 700.00 / per year
Options
  • Free
  • Annual Subscription

Available Since

2020

Deployment Options

No data available

Good Option For

  • Small Business (11-50 people)
  • Medium Business (51-250 people)
  • Large Business (250+ people)

Deep dive


Core Features

Generis runs an activity-based building LCA workflow. Its key features include:

  • Browser-based workspace — works as a web tool without requiring local installation or admin rights; includes German/English language settings.

  • Building modelling from constructions — model buildings from a catalogue of standard constructions or build custom layer structures for your own constructions and projects.

  • Database-driven LCA inputs — access Ökobau.dat (multiple versions) and ESUCO, with automatic linking of datasets across production/use/end-of-life and optional project updates when new Ökobau.dat versions arrive.

  • Option testing for components — compare self-created constructions (including side-by-side comparisons) and use “dynamic” layers that vary thickness across a min/max range in defined steps.

  • Certification-oriented evaluation outputs — generate evaluations for DGNB, plus BNB/BREEAM templates; the tool can also estimate achievable DGNB points and reports credit points alongside LCA values.

  • EPD use, collaboration, and support — integrate EPD datasets, add team logins and permissions (in higher tiers), and access various support/training options.

Closing Insights

Developed from over 30 years of LCA expertise at the Fraunhofer IBP institute, Generis specializes in creating building certification-ready Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). Introduced in August 2021, it succeeds the SBS Building Sustainability tool, offering a unified web platform for modeling building environmental performance. Its core workflow involves assembling constructions into a project, defining use-phase data, and generating evaluations that provide environmental indicators and credit points for schemes like DGNB. Licenses range from a free tier for individual modeling to advanced versions that include DGNB submission, quality checks, and team features.


Use GENERIS® as...