ecoinvent

Vetted by Climatiq. For further information on data quality assurance, see: https://www.climatiq.io/methodology#Data-Quality

Climatiq provides the impact category / indicator “climate change: total (excl. biogenic CO2) - GWP100”. See https://support.ecoinvent.org/guidance-on-ipcc-methods.

The system model is "Allocation cut-off by Classification". See https://support.ecoinvent.org/system-models#Allocation_classification.

This is the dataset recommended for use by ecoinvent. Note that “excl. biogenic CO2” suffix is to differentiate it from another dataset “incl. biogenic CO2” that is intended only for specialist use. It does not mean that biogenic CO2 emissions are ignored completely; the relevant sources are covered within the “direct land use change” indicator.

The emission factor "name" in the Climatiq database is derived from the source Activity Name and Reference Product Name. It is important to understand the importance of the reference product in ecoinvent as emissions are expressed in terms of units of the reference product. For example:

Succinic acid (adipic acid production) - the emission factor is for the production of the quantity of Succinic acid (name) required to produce unit (e.g. 1kg) of adipic acid (reference product). The quantity required is not given by the source meaning that these "production" emission factors are difficult to use without understanding the underlying processes.

We therefore recommend using the "market for" emission factors with "(market for)" in the names and "market_for_" in the activity_id e.g. "Succinic acid (market for)". Market-for emission factors are for the production of one unit (e.g. 1 kg) of the activity. These factors include all upstream emissions, transportation to the "consumer" and losses. See https://support.ecoinvent.org/market-activities.

Emission factors with lca activity 'processing' are usually cradle_to_gate of the process and may include production of the machinery used. The material being processed is not included. See individual emission factor descriptions for more details.

Starting with v3.12, additional AR6 breakdown indicators were added, covering total emissions including biogenic CO2, net fossil, direct land use change (emissions and removals), and net biogenic CO2e. Also included is a calculated biogenic carbon content (kg C), derived from the source's dry mass and non-fossil carbon content data.

We recommend using only "market for" emission factors as these include all upstream emissions for the production of one unit of the activity. Note that these also include transportation to the "consumer" so you may be double-counting if you add inward freight to your calculations.