The world’s most transparent life cycle inventory database—reimagined.
At ecoinvent, our mission is to enable people and organizations to make science-based, data-driven sustainability decisions.
The world’s most transparent life cycle inventory database—reimagined.
At ecoinvent, our mission is to enable people and organizations to make science-based, data-driven sustainability decisions.
Version 4 follows two decades of building the world’s most trusted sustainability database—transparent, non-profit, peer-reviewed, and widely cited.
It’s the first version built with users through structured beta testing. Participants from academia, software developers, and enterprises confirmed our strategic direction, which includes:
– Greater supply chain accuracy
– Deeper regional granularity
– Improved usability and integration
ecoinvent v4.0 will lay the foundation for how sustainability data is created and used for the next decade.
This means…
Supply chains that better reflect how the world works. Real trade flows. Real transport. Moving away from global averages.
More granular supply chains: Supply chains will be linked by real trade statistics where available—users will be able to see which inputs are locally produced vs. imported from specific countries.
Visible upstream detail: Users will be able to see what is imported, domestically produced, and where it is consumed. In ecoinvent v3, this was not always easy to find, and not available for all commodities.
Representative transport: Because we know where inputs come from, transport flows will be modeled more accurately.
New data and more: v4.0 will introduce new data, alongside more accurate supply chain linking (trade and transport). On the process side, while v4.0 will include interesting updates and additions, not every sector will be restructured (yet).
This means…
Location-specific results. More granular production data and AWARE impact assessment for water built in.
Better regional representation: Better representation of where production happens, as local and regional data will replace global proxies across more sectors and geographies. This will be the first step towards better process representation.
AWARE implementation: ecoinvent v4 will introduce the technical capability to calculate regionalized impact assessment scores, with AWARE for water as the first method to use it (other methods will follow). AWARE will be implemented using two approaches: net freshwater extraction and evaporation. This will allow users to quickly check the robustness of results and enable the community to further improve water modeling over time.
To support the net freshwater extraction approach, relevant processes in water supply chains will be regionalized: irrigation, tap water production, and wastewater treatment. This will mean more accurate scores for everyone, whether accessing ecoinvent directly or through LCA software.
v4.0 will also provide scores that distinguish irrigation from industrial use and reflect crop-specific use, all based on official AWARE characterization factors—a level of specificity not yet available, to ecoinvent’s knowledge, in any software.
This means…
Easier to use. Faster workflows. JSON format. Standards-aligned nomenclature. Better structure.
Nomenclature alignment: ecoinvent v4 will further align its nomenclature with established standards and terminology used across the field, making it more familiar and intuitive for users. For example, v4 will use “process” instead of “activity” and “flow” instead of “exchange”.
JSON format: ecoinvent v4 will introduce the JSON format, which most beta testers opted for over ecoSpold. Implementing JSON will remove the biggest technical barrier for developers and integrators. JSON will bring meaningful technical advantages over ecoSpold2, and it is the de facto standard in the broader data and software industry, which means better long-term tooling and community support.
Updated dataset structure: An improved dataset structure will result in faster dataset selection for LCA practitioners and consultants.
ecoQuery updates: Enhanced visualizations will make workflows easier to understand and use, creating a better overall user experience. For example, supply chains will appear on ecoQuery with a visualization, instead of just as information on a table. Similarly, regional granularity will be visualized.
Beyond v4.0, we’re building the platform to match our data ambitions.
It is a multi-year journey, and with v4.0, the foundational infrastructure will be in place. We will continuously improve our data, expand our coverage, and embrace the opportunities that emerging technologies create to make high-quality lifecycle data more accessible and useful.
Learn how our vision translates into our product through our white paper and webinar, available from the forms below.
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