Ciraig

What Ciraig does

CIRAIG (International Reference Center for Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainable Transition) is a private, university-affiliated research center founded in 2001 and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, with 51-100 employees. It operates as the operating arm of the International Research Consortium on LCA and Sustainable Transition, a cross-border research consortium linking two Canadian universities (Polytechnique Montreal, UQÀM) with two Swiss universities (HES-SO, EPFL). The center develops and disseminates life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, life cycle inventory data, and sustainability metrics to support organizations and researchers measuring environmental impacts of products, services, and consumption patterns.

CIRAIG's product and service portfolio centers on five lines: (1) core LCA tools and resources, including the proprietary Quebec Consumption Life Cycle Inventory Database, a domain-specialized regional inventory dataset; (2) the LCA MOOC, a globally accessible online course; (3) professional training programs for practitioners; (4) university courses delivered through the four partner institutions; and (5) paid expert services (consulting and applied research) for industrial partners. Distribution is direct, delivered through the consortium universities, the MOOC platform, in-person training, and consulting engagements; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is structured around academic partnerships, research collaborations, and enterprise consulting work.

The business model is best characterized as a university research center rather than a commercial software company. Revenue is generated from a mix of grant funding routed through partner universities, paid expert services for industrial clients, professional training fees, and MOOC delivery, with no public financial disclosure, no venture or private equity backing, and no parent company identified. Customer segments span industry partners, academic researchers, students, and the general public (the latter reached through blog, newsletter, and earned media). Geographic coverage is centered on Canada and Switzerland, with the MOOC extending reach globally.

Name

Ciraig

Legal name

CIRAIG

Website

https://ciraig.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CIRAIG is a Montreal-based, university-affiliated research center founded in 2001 that develops life cycle assessment methodology, inventory databases, and sustainability training for industry partners, researchers, and students across Canada and Switzerland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Consulting and Life Cycle Assessment

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Product Sustainability & LCA/EPD (Eco-design, PCF) (EUAHAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Circularity Consulting & Program Management (EPR, Design-for-Circularity, LCA) (EUAIANAH)

Keywords

• Life cycle assessment
• Sustainability consulting
• Environmental impact analysis
• Circular economy research
• Life cycle inventory

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CIRAIG is a research center that delivers life cycle assessment (LCA) expertise through expert consulting services, professional training, university courses, an online MOOC, and the proprietary Quebec Consumption Life Cycle Inventory Database. Its core work involves developing and applying sustainability metrics that measure the environmental impacts of products, services, and consumption patterns across their entire lifecycle.

Product overview

CIRAIG operates as a research center and expertise hub offering a unified portfolio centered on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and sustainability metrics. The core offering consists of LCA tools and resources, supported by expert consulting services. Educational products include professional training programs, university courses delivered through partner institutions (Polytechnique Montreal, UQÀM, HES-SO, EPFL), and an accessible LCA MOOC. The organization also maintains the Quebec Consumption Life Cycle Inventory Database as a foundational data resource for practitioners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Tools and Resources A suite of life cycle assessment tools, methodologies, and databases for measuring environmental impacts of products and services across their entire lifecycle, intended for sustainability practitioners and partner organizations.
• LCA MOOC A massive open online course providing accessible training on Life Cycle Assessment principles and methodologies for individual learners worldwide.
• Professional Training Professional development programs and courses for practitioners seeking to implement LCA and sustainability metrics in their organizations.
• University Courses Academic courses offered in partnership with Polytechnique Montreal, UQÀM, HES-SO, and EPFL for undergraduate and graduate students.
• Quebec Consumption Life Cycle Inventory Database A specialized database developed by CIRAIG containing life cycle inventory data for consumption goods in Quebec, used for LCA calculations.
• Expert Services Consulting and advisory services supporting organizations with sustainability initiatives, LCA studies, and environmental impact assessments.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Polytechnique MontrealcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary academic partner in Montreal, Canada. One of the two founding universities of the International Research Consortium on LCA and Sustainable Transition. Collaborates on research projects, student supervision, and academic publications.
• UQÀM (Université du Québec à Montréal)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in Montreal, Canada. One of the two founding universities of the International Research Consortium on LCA and Sustainable Transition. Contributes expertise in sustainability research and education.
• HES-SO (Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss university partner contributing to the International Research Consortium. Extends CIRAIG's research network across Switzerland for collaborative sustainability research.
• EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss university partner contributing to the International Research Consortium. Provides additional research capacity and expertise in sustainable transition from Switzerland.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Carbon Trust: Carbon Trust is an independent sustainability consultancy that advises businesses and governments on carbon footprinting, LCA and environmental strategy. It is comparable to CIRAIG in delivering expert advisory services, training, and certification-adjacent work to industrial clients.
• EarthShift Global: EarthShift Global is an LCA-focused consultancy offering sustainable product design, life cycle assessment and sustainability training services. It directly competes with CIRAIG's expert services and training offerings for mid-market industrial customers.
• Quantis: Quantis is a global sustainability consulting firm specializing in life cycle assessment, environmental footprinting and sustainable transformation. It overlaps CIRAIG's expert services and training offerings and serves a similar industrial client base across food, consumer goods and chemicals.
• PRé Sustainability: PRé Sustainability is a Dutch LCA consultancy and the developer of SimaPro, one of the most widely used commercial LCA software tools. It competes directly with CIRAIG in LCA methodology consulting, training, and software-enabled impact assessment for industrial clients.

Broad incumbents

• Sphera: Sphera (formerly thinkstep) is a large EHS and product stewardship software provider that offers the GaBi LCA platform alongside broader operational risk solutions. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps CIRAIG's LCA tools, databases and consulting from a much larger commercial base.
• Ramboll: Ramboll is an international engineering and sustainability consultancy with a strong Environment & Health practice spanning LCA, climate strategy and circular economy. It is comparable to CIRAIG as a sustainability consultancy serving industrial and public-sector clients, particularly in Europe.
• Anthesis Group: Anthesis is a large global sustainability consultancy offering LCA, ESG reporting and circular economy advisory across many sectors. It is a broader incumbent that competes with CIRAIG for industrial sustainability mandates while operating at significantly larger scale.
• WSP: WSP is a global professional services firm with a large environment and sustainability practice covering environmental impact assessment, ESG advisory and climate services. It overlaps with CIRAIG on sustainability consulting for industrial and infrastructure clients at much greater scale.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): ERM is one of the world's largest environmental and sustainability consultancies, offering impact assessment, LCA and ESG advisory to multinational corporates. It competes with CIRAIG's expert services arm but from a much broader portfolio and global footprint.

Emerging players

• GreenDelta: GreenDelta is the developer of openLCA, a widely adopted open-source LCA software platform, and provides collaborative LCA databases and training. It is an emerging player whose open-source model competes with CIRAIG's proprietary Quebec LCI database and practitioner resources.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/CIRAIG
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCd6oPLzUnzehzoL7cYYuP4g
• Facebookfacebook.com/CIRAIG
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ciraig
• Xx.com/ciraig

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ciraig