Abstract Environmental impact is largely determined in the planning and development phases of a company's activities, products and services. This “planned” impact becomes visible later in the manufacture, use and disposal stages. In order to achieve an effective and efficient improvement in environmental performance, appropriate measures must thus be taken during the planning stage. A suitable instrument for early recognition of ecological and economic effects is, for example, modelling. In the following, two life cycle phases, both modelled during the course of research projects, are discussed.