Sustainability / ESG data management & reporting tool

Lifecycle assessment (LCA) / footprint calculation tool

Vaayu

Vaayu is a SaaS platform designed for retail brands in apparel, footwear, cosmetics, jewellery, furniture, and related sectors, enabling end-to-end supplier engagement, lifecycle assessment (LCA), impact calculations (including corporate footprint, PEF, and circularity), reduction strategies, and compliance management. It supports SME adaptations and facilitates data exchange across the value chain, with primary contributions from suppliers and partners. Key strengths include robust traceability for chemical substances and materials, support for multiple LCA frameworks like ISO 14040/14044 and EU PEF, risk assessment tools, and consumer-facing features such as Digital Product Passport integration for transparency and regulatory readiness.

AI-generated from all supplier submitted data.

Quick facts

Vendor

Vaayu Tech GmbH

Started (year)

2020

Country of origin

Germany

SME adaption

The tool has SME adaptions

API integration approach

Both, depending on system and use case

Free test version

No

Primary data contributors

Primarily entered by suppliers and partners

Details

Description by tool provider

Built by retail sustainability, LCA, and policy experts, Vaayu is an end-to-end supplier engagement, impact calculation (corporate footprint, LCA, PEF, Environmental Cost, circularity), reduction, and compliance platform for apparel, footwear, cosmetics, jewellery, furniture and other retail brands.

Product segments covered by the tool

  • Apparel
  • Home textiles
  • Textile & leather accessories and goods -
  • Footwear
  • Furniture
  • Sports & outdoor equipment
  • Other non-textile products

Platform technologies

  • Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
  • Cloud-hosted platform
  • Multi-tenant system design
  • Role-based access control (RBAC)
  • QR code tagging
  • Automated rules engine
  • Relational database
  • AI/Machine learning models

Data input/output methods

  • Manual data entry
  • Bulk upload/export (Excel / CSV)
  • Scheduled file import/export
  • Inbound APIs
  • Outbound APIs
  • Event-based APIs (webhooks, outbound)
  • Workflow automation
  • Reporting export

Chemical substance traceability

Chain-of-custody is a continuity capability; composition and substance traceability are depth capabilities. Neither replaces the other.

  • Supplier visibility/supply chain mapping - The system stores structured information about suppliers beyond Tier 1 (e.g. role, tier, location).
  • Product–supplier association - Specific products (styles, SKUs, batches) are linked to the suppliers involved in their production.
  • Product composition / component traceability - Products are represented as structured compositions (e.g. components, ingredients) that can be independently traced to upstream sources.
  • Material flow / chain-of-custody tracking - Material inputs, outputs, and transformations between supply-chain actors are recorded using a defined chain-of-custody model.
  • Process & substance (chemical) traceability - Substances used in manufacturing processes can be recorded and linked to facilities, process steps, and affected products.

Sustainability Impact categories

Impact data coverage describes which sustainability-related topics a platform can store and manage data for. It does not indicate the quality of the data, the methodology used, or whether impacts meet specific regulatory thresholds.

  • Material attributes - (e.g. fiber type, recycled / biobased content, origin attributes)
  • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data - (e.g. environmental footprint indicators at product or material level)
  • Carbon & energy data - (e.g. GHG emissions, energy use, Scope-related data)
  • Water use & wastewater data - (e.g. water withdrawal, consumption, discharge, wastewater treatment data)
  • Chemical impact & compliance data - (e.g. restricted substances, chemical inventories, compliance status)
  • Supplier processes & practices - (e.g. production processes, management systems, operational practices)
  • Biodiversity & land use - (e.g. land-use impacts, deforestation-related data)
  • Animal welfare - (e.g. animal-derived materials and related practices)

Types of sustainability impact data

Impact data coverage indicates what topics a system can handle; traceability capabilities indicate how precisely that data can be linked to products, materials, and processes.

  • Qualitative data - (e.g. yes/no answers, self-assessments, policy statements)
  • Quantitative data - (e.g. numeric values, measurements, calculated indicators)
  • Verification & audit evidence - (e.g. audit results, third-party verification status)
  • Certificates & formal attestations - (e.g. certificates linked to suppliers, materials, or products)
  • Calculated / derived indicators - (e.g. system-generated metrics based on underlying data)

Life Cycle Assessment  (LCA) handling

Product carbon footprint (PCF) calculations represent a single impact category and do not constitute a full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which covers multiple environmental impact categories across the product life cycle

  • Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data can be stored and managed - (e.g. LCA-ready process inputs/outputs, background data, activity data)
  • The platform includes LCA calculation functionality - (e.g. impacts are calculated within the system - multiple impact categories)

LCA frameworks supported

  • ISO 14040 / 14044
  • EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)
  • French Ecobalyse / Eco Score

Risk assessment support

Risk assessment functionality indicates whether a platform supports identifying, prioritising, or visualising potential sustainability or compliance risks. Approaches vary significantly between tools and may rely on user-defined criteria, predefined rules, or system-generated indicators. Risk assessments are intended to support prioritisation and decision-making. They do not in themselves constitute legal compliance or due diligence.

  • Manual or externally defined risk assessments can be stored - (e.g. risk ratings entered by users or imported from external sources)
  • Rule-based risk assessments are supported - (e.g. risks derived from predefined rules or thresholds)
  • Risk visualisation and hotspot identification - (e.g. dashboards, maps, or prioritisation views)

Value chain actors involved in data exchange

  • Brand / retailer users - (e.g. internal teams managing products, suppliers, or reporting)
  • Tier 1 suppliers - (e.g. cut-and-sew factories, final assemblers)
  • Tier 2 suppliers - (e.g. mills, dye houses, processors)
  • Tier 3+ suppliers - (e.g. raw material processors, fiber producers)
  • Service providers / auditors / certification bodies - (e.g. third-party verification or compliance actors)
  • Consumers or external stakeholders - (e.g. read-only access via QR/DPP)
  • Logistics or downstream partners - (e.g. distributors, recyclers, end-of-life actors)

Consumer-facing access to product data

  • Consumer-facing product views are provided - (e.g. via QR code, URL, or Digital Product Passport interface)
  • Consumer-facing content is configurable by the brand - (e.g. control over which data is displayed)
  • External stakeholder access (read-only) - (e.g. regulators, auditors, partners)

Digital Product Passport (DPP) development activity

Vaayu supports brands with supplier data collection and product impact. Digital Product Passport is an optional module, which some brands choose to activate. Examples are: Triumph (passport.vaayu.tech/dpp/triumph/10210688/0004) and Missoma (missoma.passport.vaayu.tech). Vaayu is a part of Cirpass 2.

EU regulatory readiness

Regulatory readiness reflects how a provider monitors and responds to evolving EU sustainability and supply chain regulations. It does not constitute a claim of legal compliance, as regulatory scope and timelines are still evolving.

We have a team of policy experts and receive guidance from advisors (e.g., 2BPolicy) who continuously monitor the regulatory landscape. We help brands understand regulations (part of our support) and our platform can help brands comply with CSRD, ESPR, Eco-score, Agec Law, green claims and more.