data and information along the value chain. Several formats for data exchange that
allow for the protection of Intellectual Property (IP) already exist, but still the data
exchange across different software tools and the harmonization of methodologies
remain issues which will be further outlined here.
Each company in a value chain generally owns accurate information about
processes bound to its own operations, but faces a lack of information when it
comes to manufacturing steps or application of products outside of its operations.
Commercial or public LCA databases, providing generic information are one
valuable source to overcome data gaps for the coverage of all relevant life cycle
stages. Depending on the requirements for data quality this source of generic
information may not be sufficient as the sheer number of existing raw materials,
intermediates, processes and applications in reality makes it unlikely that good
quality data will be available for most specific product systems. This challenge
grows when proceeding in the value chain.
Thus, an exchange of data among partners in a value chain seems a viable
solution in terms of data coverage and quality. Two specific problem areas were
identified for a successful data exchange, both discussed in the following sections.
One issue relates to data format to be used for exchanges, another one to the
exchange process and harmonization in the data exchange itself.
3.1 Data Formats
The application of LCA depends on the availability of data to build reliable inventories. Data- demand and dependency are determined by the position of a company in
the value chain as discussed above. For cradle-to-gate assessments, early value chain
users are less dependent on external data and can invest their time into the analysis of
internal processes, while late value chain users have to complement their own data
with pre-catalogued values from databases or from their suppliers to cover the purchased raw material and utility inputs. To avoid using generalized datasets (proxies)
from commercial databases, exchange of LCA information between companies is
considered as an added value for the improvement of data quality in LCA.
Nevertheless, this exchange is not a standard process by now.
As an important obstacle in exchanging LCA data the need for protection of IP
has been identified. LCA data has sometimes been suspected to enable
retro-analysis of the underlying processes, thus violating the requirements of IP
protection.
Depending on how data is to be exchanged this problem might be alleviated.
LCA data could be exchanged in three different formats:
• Unit process data
• Aggregated process data
• Impact indicator results
356
A. Bednarz et al.
allow for the protection of Intellectual Property (IP) already exist, but still the data
exchange across different software tools and the harmonization of methodologies
remain issues which will be further outlined here.
Each company in a value chain generally owns accurate information about
processes bound to its own operations, but faces a lack of information when it
comes to manufacturing steps or application of products outside of its operations.
Commercial or public LCA databases, providing generic information are one
valuable source to overcome data gaps for the coverage of all relevant life cycle
stages. Depending on the requirements for data quality this source of generic
information may not be sufficient as the sheer number of existing raw materials,
intermediates, processes and applications in reality makes it unlikely that good
quality data will be available for most specific product systems. This challenge
grows when proceeding in the value chain.
Thus, an exchange of data among partners in a value chain seems a viable
solution in terms of data coverage and quality. Two specific problem areas were
identified for a successful data exchange, both discussed in the following sections.
One issue relates to data format to be used for exchanges, another one to the
exchange process and harmonization in the data exchange itself.
3.1 Data Formats
The application of LCA depends on the availability of data to build reliable inventories. Data- demand and dependency are determined by the position of a company in
the value chain as discussed above. For cradle-to-gate assessments, early value chain
users are less dependent on external data and can invest their time into the analysis of
internal processes, while late value chain users have to complement their own data
with pre-catalogued values from databases or from their suppliers to cover the purchased raw material and utility inputs. To avoid using generalized datasets (proxies)
from commercial databases, exchange of LCA information between companies is
considered as an added value for the improvement of data quality in LCA.
Nevertheless, this exchange is not a standard process by now.
As an important obstacle in exchanging LCA data the need for protection of IP
has been identified. LCA data has sometimes been suspected to enable
retro-analysis of the underlying processes, thus violating the requirements of IP
protection.
Depending on how data is to be exchanged this problem might be alleviated.
LCA data could be exchanged in three different formats:
• Unit process data
• Aggregated process data
• Impact indicator results
356
A. Bednarz et al.