Helix account settings manage how your organization works with environmental data, from user access to calculation methods. This article explains what you can do in the Settings menu, who has permission to make changes, and how each section affects your results and workflow. This article covers the following questions:
How do account settings work in Helix?
What are account settings in Helix?
Feel like you're missing information? This article connects to the following articles; check them out if you want to learn more:
How do account settings work in Helix?
Helix gives Admin users access to account-wide settings that control your company data, user permissions, and calculation preferences. This article walks you through what you can view or change in the Settings menu and who can access what.
Note - Editing account settings: Not everything is editable for all users. Some settings are view-only unless you have Admin (or editor) rights. Read more about user access here.
What are account settings in Helix?
Account settings in Helix are accessed by clicking the gear icon in the top-right corner of the main menu (Figure 1). You’ll see a menu with several categories, described below.
Figure 1: Accessing settings (gear symbol on the right side) in the main menu of Helix.
Personal information
Here, all users (i.e., readers, editors, and admins) can:
Edit your personal information (e.g., name, email).
Change your password.
Enable multi-factor authentication.
Regional preferences
Here, editors and admins can:
Set the language preferences.
Scientific notation and formatting (e.g., decimal separator, number of decimals).
Company accounts
Your account may contain multiple sub-accounts (e.g., regions, sites, teams). Users can:
(All users) Switch between sub-accounts.
(Admins) Manage access for each one.
Editors and Read-only users can view account info; they can:
See and access all associated accounts and subaccounts (i.e., company name).\
Log in to an account (select ‘Log in’).
Can’t make any changes.
Note - Copying accounts: Only Ecochain (i.e., internal) users with admin access to a company account can copy accounts. This thus means this feature is not available to customers.
Company information
Here, admins can:
Set and change company-related information like company name, country, industry, address, etc.
Calculation methods
Admins can define how impact is calculated across the account.
What are calculation methods?
These settings influence everything from modeling to reporting (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Accessing calculation methods in Helix.
Key calculation method considerations (and recommendations) include:
Scope distribution method: Defines how emissions are grouped by scope (e.g., Scope 1, 2, 3).
Recommended: GHG Protocol (international)
Standard database: Determines the background data available in Helix (e.g., electricity, fuels). Learn more about LCI databases, ecoinvent, etc.
Recommended: Worldwide – Ecoinvent v3.11
LCA standard: Determines the impact categories (e.g., climate change, water use) results are generated. Choose based on your LCA goal. Learn more about LCIA methods.
Caution - Standard database & LCA standard: The Standard database and LCA standard must align. This affects the correctness of your results. Why?
LCI databases contain background data aligned with specific LCIA methods.
LCA standards define which impacts are calculated and how.
Together, they affect how Helix translates input data into reliable environmental results.
Think of it as: LCI database (Phase 2) + LCIA method (Phase 3) = Your product’s impact results
Find corresponding databases and methods (i.e., LCA standard) in Helix here.
PCR (optional): Can be selected for reporting alignment with Product Category Rules.
Presentation of results: Choose Full to see detailed category results (varies by selected standard).
How to adjust calculation methods?
To adjust, go to Settings → Calculation Method.
Adjust the calculation method considerations as needed (above).
Click save.
Company subsidiaries
Here you can set it up so that you can view the results of the company account you are in, plus any subsidiaries (via ‘Results’ -> ‘Statistics’ -> ‘Subsidiaries’).
To enable this, admins first have to set up the subsidiary accounts in account settings. If you select subsidiaries, you can only select from subaccounts that are linked to your main account.
Users
Here, admins can:
Add new users.
Change user roles (e.g., from Editor to Admin).
Remove users who no longer need access.
Pro tip - Managing users: Keep your user list up to date to ensure the right people have the right access.
What are user roles and permissions?
Helix supports three levels of user access. Table 1 shows what each role can (and cannot) do.
Table 1: User roles and permission capabilities in Helix.
Role | View | Edit | Invite Users | Lock Levels | Publish Products |
Read-only | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Editor | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Admin | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Note - Editors vs Admins: Editors can model products and edit datasets, but only Admins can make account-wide changes or publish results.
User permissions
Here, admins can:
See the full list of users.
Provide access to other users.
Product protection
Admins can protect specific models from being changed by:
Locking levels (useful for audits).
Controlling who can edit sensitive datasets.
Preventing unwanted overwrites.
Next steps
Account settings help ensure your data, access levels, and modeling preferences are consistent across your organization. If you're an Admin, check that your calculation method, database, and LCA standard are aligned. For help choosing the right settings or managing users, reach out to your Environmental Specialist or Customer Success Manager.