Sphera, a leading global provider of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance and risk management software, data and consulting services, today announced that long-standing customer Eastman, an innovative global specialty materials company, has been collaborating with the company on the forthcoming iteration of Sphera's Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Automation software.

Earlier this year, Sphera launched its next-generation LCA Automation solution that allows businesses to quickly receive holistic, real-time analysis and insights into the environmental footprint of their product portfolios and integrates seamlessly with their existing systems. Sphera's LCA Automation tool will help businesses more effectively reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at every step of production, from design to assembly.

The next phase of LCA Automation will meet the complex needs of the chemical industry. Given the multitude of industries chemical companies supply and an increased focus on sustainability, there is ever-increasing pressure from Eastman's commercial partners to provide transparency into the environmental profile for all their products. However, carbon footprint calculations are especially complex in the chemical industry, because manufacturers must account for the carbon footprint of the raw materials they buy, as well as the manufacturing process (e.g., reactions, transformations). The manufacturing process is unique for each product and can consist of dozens of steps, each having their own environmental footprint impact. Additionally, collecting data from all systems involved in the production process of each product is required to get a complete environmental footprint.

"We are excited to have Eastman as a collaborator," said Mike Zamis, Sphera's chief product officer. "Having a customer with a shared commitment to sustainability and deep industry expertise provide valuable insight at this early stage will help ensure that LCA Automation for the chemical industry has the necessary functionality for reliable LCA calculations. Helping customers to calculate product sustainability based on proven, science-based environmental data and reliable methodologies is critical to our mission of creating a safer, more sustainable and productive world."

Jason Pierce, Senior Technical Leader, LCA and Circular Economy at Eastman added, "Sustainability is integral to Eastman's strategy and we are honored to work with Sphera on the functionality of LCA Automation for our industry. It's exciting to be at the cutting-edge of technology that is enabling the scale-up of product carbon footprint and full LCA data across our entire global portfolio. This enables better support for our customers and accelerates progress of our industry toward ambitious climate goals."