LCAs for the missing 99.995%

  • Results in hours. Scalable to tens of thousands of compounds.
  • Conventional LCA following ISO 14067, TfS and PAS 2090, within the error margin of leading LCA databases.
  • Every value grounded in a documented source, never AI-generated.
Check your chemicals

Free and non-binding. Your list stays strictly confidential.

Pharma's LCA data gap

Leading LCA databases cover about 1,500 chemicals, mostly commodities for other industries.

An illustrative list of 43 chemicals and their roles in pharmaceutical synthesis: coupling reagents, chiral ligands, catalysts, oxidants, and API, peptide and oligonucleotide building blocks. Only the two solvents, methanol and toluene, have a dataset in the leading LCA databases. Elio provides a carbon footprint for every chemical on the list.

As seen at and in

  • CPHI
  • Pharmapack
  • ONdrugDELIVERY
  • American Pharmaceutical Review
  • PharmTech (Pharmaceutical Technology)
  • PHARMIG, Association of the Austrian Pharmaceutical Industry
  • Go Circular in Life Science (GCiLS)
  • DECHEMA
  • EIT Health, co-funded by the European Union
  • AUTOMA+
  • OMMAX
  • trend.
  • Harvard Technology Review

Ecodesign and product carbon footprints in hours, not months

The first auditable and deterministic automated PCF calculation engine, scalable to tens of thousands of chemicals outside leading LCA databases.

TodayProxies and rules of thumb

With ElioYour scientists weigh carbon in every route they design

See our Ecodesign app

Evidence-based chemical LCA, with chemistry expertise built in

A deterministic engine following your LCA team's standards, including PAS 2090 for pharma-grade chemicals.

  • ISO 14067
  • TfS
  • PAS 2090
  • IPCC 2021
Documented routes, not AI-predicted
From patents and the literature. No predictive retrosynthesis.
Fully recursive, nothing invented
Each input resolved to an established dataset, never matched to something "close enough".
Benchmarked and reviewed
Within the error margin of leading LCA databases. Method reviewed by external experts.
Traceable to the feedstock
Every number has a full activity graph behind it, step by step. Every value has a source, and every PCF is versioned.

Bring your list. We'll go through it together.

We model any synthetically made chemical with a documented route, from the chemicals you buy in to the active ingredient.

Names or CAS numbers are enough. Press Enter after each, or paste a list.

Book a call instead

Your list stays strictly confidential.

Our CEO, Kami Krista will walk you through the results.

  1. Add your chemicalsYour list carries over to a short form.

  2. Talk it throughA free, informal 30-minute call.

  3. Get your offerThen an offer for your list. No commitment.

For pharma companies, CDMOs, CROs and chemical suppliers.

Trusted leader and collaborator in defining pharma ecodesign best practice

Our tools are shaped through collaboration with big pharma to ensure their needs are core to the design philosophy.

Founding

Elio initiated the Pharma Eco-design Consortium, tackling sustainability data for ecodesign across the value chain.

  • ten23 health
  • Cytiva
  • My Green Lab
  • Elio

Steering

Together with leaders from across the industry, we sit on the CPHI Sustainability Collective Steering Committee.

Members of the CPHI Sustainability Collective Steering Committee at an in-person meeting

In the committee, we are joined by leaders from AstraZeneca, BioPhorum, PSCI, the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition and ESTEVE.

See the Steering Committee

Defining

We're collaborating with the Go Circular in Life Science consortium on its Data Quality Guide.

Go Circular in Life Science (GCiLS)

Partnering

We are extremely proud to partner with Elio, to support the creation of what we see as a game-changing, innovative, solution for the pharmaceutical industry.

Alissa MonkSustainability Co-lead, ten23 health

Questions about LCA data for pharma chemicals

Which chemicals can Elio provide life cycle assessment (LCA) data for?

Any synthetically derived chemical with a published synthesis route, from the chemicals you buy in to the active ingredient itself.

Do you use a synthetic bill of materials or proxies?

No synthetic bill of materials: every input comes from the documented route, and a source grounds every activity value. Nothing is matched to "close enough"; any proxy follows TfS guidance, and PEF where applicable.

Do you use predictive retrosynthesis or AI-generated data?

No. Elio models documented routes from patents and the literature, not predicted ones. AI agents only find and extract them. The calculation is deterministic, and results that fail sanity checks are rejected.

What does each emission factor cover, and which standards apply?

A cradle-to-gate carbon footprint (Global Warming Potential, IPCC 2021, excluding packaging) at global market average. It follows ISO 14067 and Together for Sustainability (TfS) guidance, with PAS 2090 for pharma-grade chemicals and active ingredients.

How accurate are Elio's emission factors for pharmaceutical chemicals?

Within the error margin of leading LCA databases. Elio reproduced a leading database's own results within 30% on average, which peer-reviewed work treats as good reproducibility (Dauth et al., RSC Sustainability 2026).

Can Elio data support tenders like the French Carbon Score?

Elio's data is built to support product carbon footprints (PCFs) for tenders, including French Carbon Score submissions. A compound-specific emission factor, instead of a generic category factor, can reduce the Score's uncertainty adjustment.

What if my compound has no documented synthesis route?

Include it anyway: we search patents and the literature for a documented route. Chemicals made by biosynthesis, or by non-synthetic processes such as refinery distillation, sit outside this method.

Is my compound list kept confidential?

Your list stays strictly confidential. Compound names or CAS numbers are enough for the free check.

Tell us which chemicals you're missing data for

Free and non-binding: a 30-minute call with our CEO.

Kami KristaCEO
Check your chemicals

Your list stays strictly confidential.

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