Ecoinvent

Gabriella Buttitta and Davide Lo Presti

Chapter 48 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, 2026, pp 169-172 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Data collection is one of the most time-consuming activities during a sustainability assessment. The quality of the study, as well as the reliability of the results, strictly depends on data. It is suggested to use primary data whenever possible, but practitioners often need other sources, such as literature or databases. For this reason, in the last few years, several initiatives have been carried out to define consistent, reliable, and comprehensive databases. In this context, ecoinvent plays a predominant role in providing inputs, outputs, and environmental impacts associated with processes and activities in several sectors. It can be imagined as a library of interconnected datasets, representative of a wide range of activities temporally, geographically, and technologically referenced. Moreover, the database provides different Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods to perform the calculations. Thanks to its completeness and reliability, ecoinvent plays a key role in advancing sustainability practices.

Keywords: Ecoinvent; Database; Life cycle inventory (LCI); Data collection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035309887
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