What is ʼSustainabilityʼ analysis in SolidWorks?

ByCADbrief Staff

Short Answer

SolidWorks Sustainability analysis estimates a part or assembly’s environmental impact by comparing material, manufacturing, use, and transport data inside the Sustainability Task Pane. The most common professional method is assigning the correct material first, then reviewing carbon footprint and energy results. It is an early-stage decision tool, not a full certified LCA.

What You Need to Know Before

Warning: Sustainability results are only as accurate as the material, manufacturing region, and process you assign. A very common failure is leaving the default material or process in place, which can produce misleading carbon and energy comparisons for the same model.

How-to

  • Command: Sustainability

  • Shortcut: None by default

  • Quick Steps:

    1. Open the part or assembly, then go to Tools > Sustainability to open the Sustainability Task Pane.
    2. Assign or verify the Material from the FeatureManager or Task Pane, then set the Manufacturing Process, Region of Manufacture, and Region of Use.
    3. Review the impact dashboard and compare values such as Carbon Footprint, Energy Consumption, Air Acidification, and Water Eutrophication; optionally enable the comparison baseline if available.

Variables & Settings

  • Key Setting: Manufacturing Process
    This option strongly affects the result because the same material can produce very different environmental impacts depending on whether it is cast, machined, molded, or formed. In practice, this is one of the most important settings to verify before trusting the output.

Why it Fails

  • Cause 1 (Geometry): The model may not have the correct mass because of missing bodies, suppressed features, or an unassigned material, which directly skews Sustainability results.

  • Cause 2 (layers/Locks): Imported or read-only files from PDM or external sources can prevent proper editing of material and custom property data needed for the analysis setup.

  • Cause 3 (Command/Logic): Sustainability is a comparative estimation tool, so using generic materials, wrong regions, or an unrealistic manufacturing process gives technically valid but practically misleading results.

Quick Fix & Best Practice

  • Quick Fix: Apply the correct material with Edit Material, then reopen Tools > Sustainability and set the real manufacturing process and region before comparing outputs.

  • Manager’s Verdict: Use Sustainability early in design to compare material and process options fast. Avoid using it as final compliance proof or a substitute for a formal life cycle assessment report.

FAQ

Is Sustainability available for assemblies in SolidWorks?

Yes, it can evaluate assemblies as well as individual parts.

Does Sustainability require a material to be assigned?

Yes, without a valid material the results will be incomplete or inaccurate.

Can Sustainability replace a full environmental certification study?

No, it is mainly for design-stage comparison, not formal certification.

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