Democratization of LCA through the use of non-commercial LCA software

Session Coordinator: Gontran Bage- CIRAIG, Canada

Session Description

Due to the vast amount of data that must be collected and processed, LCA studies are generally performed using a commercial LCA software program. While for most LCA practitioners these software tools fulfill their needs and expectations, they may present limitations for some. Researchers working on new features of LCA methodology, for instance, cannot easily test these new modules since these programs are not open-source. In addition, the cost of both LCA software and databases may be an impediment for LCA use in developing countries. It could also prove more beneficial to teach LCA using a traditional mathematical software tool instead of a commercial LCA software program.

Over the last few years, several LCA projects performed without commercial LCA software have been initiated. This special session provides an overview of some of these projects. It aims to introduce these projects to LCA practitioners and researchers and open a discussion on the possibilities of collaboration and exchange. A further general objective of this special session is to explore how to improve access to the LCA tool by using either commercial or non-commercial software.

 

The OpenLCA Project
Andreas Ciroth- GreenDelta, Germany

Open source projects are peculiar for several reasons: they (promise to) deliver a software at no cost, fully transparent and to be modified by anybody; they can further exploit other existing open source libraries and therefore achieve results faster. Therefore, open source projects can indeed revolutionise user behaviour and software application. At the same time, open source projects have no access to direct license sales. They are also usually community driven, raising concern about the quality of the generated software. The openLCA project started 1.5 years ago with the aim to create a modular framework for sustainability assessment, including life cycle assessments according to the ISO 14000 series. Meanwhile, a first plugin, the format converter, was released, and the framework is currently under test by an external test community.

In the presentation, I will critically discuss the present situation of the project, including development of the community, consisting of financers, users, testers, and advisors, and the status of the software; I will then present an application in the German textile industry, and give an outlook on, and put for discussion, next steps.

 

Earthster, an Open Life Cycle Inventory Database
Greg Norris- Sylvatica, USA (presentation)

Earthster is an open source web application that enables cradle to gate life cycle inventory calculations for products in all sectors of the economy. Users can make use of data published in the system by their suppliers, thereby generating an improved LCA representation of their product when compared with the use of generic data.

Earthster and OpenLCA have teamed to provide full data transfer between the two open-source applications, which allows for a number of benefits, including privacy and full-scale LCA functionality with OpenLCA, and networking effects when using Earthster.

This presentation will discuss and demonstrate the capabilities of Earthster. It will explore how users can combine Earthster with other LCA applications to enrich their data gathering and Life Cycle Assessment practices.

 

Taking LCA results one step further with Analytica
Gontran Bage- CIRAIG, Canada

LCA results depend in great part of the assumptions made in the study. Hence, there is a real interest in seeing how modifying these assumptions can translate into a change in results. Such modifications can however be difficult to perform for a client having only access to his LCA report and not the actual LCA model. In addition, even if the development of commercial LCA software programs takes into consideration the latest developments in LCA methodology and are useful to build the overall product system, they cannot perform all the calculations or the interpretation that an LCA practitioner or an LCA researcher might want to conduct.

This presentation will show how the mathematical software Analytica (Lumina) can be used to extract the primary results of an LCA study performed with SimaPro and to take these results one step further. It will highlight how easy it is for a client to modify his own assumptions without giving him access to the overall LCA model developed by the practitioner. This presentation will also demonstrate how to perform uncertainty simulations on these results and how to interpret them.

 

Brightway: an open, innovative LCA model
Chris Mutel, Matthias Kestenholz, Stefanie Hellweg - ETH Zurich
(presentation)

We will release the first public version of an innovative LCA model under development at the Ecological Systems Design group at ETH Zurich for the last two years during the InLCA conference. Our model, called Brightway, offers a number of new features:

Brightway is web based, allowing for LCA work from any networked computer. In addition, Brightway leverages web technologies, allowing for interaction between users, with comments and wikis for open LCI databases, such as the European ELCD and the US Life Cycle Inventory Database, LCIA implementations, and general LCA methodology. Brightway also provides application programming interfaces (APIs) to access data, so that other systems can be built on top of its databases and user comments.

Brightway is built using Python, an elegant yet simple language that allows for even novice users to extend its functionality. Python numerical and scientific libraries are extensive and fast, and Django, the web infrastructure toolkit, is well-developed and widely used. The documentation provides a series of tutorials for beginning and advanced users.

Brightway contains advanced regionalization. Using GeoDjango, PostGIS and the PostgreSQL database, support for regionalization over arbitrary geographic objects is built-in. Several existing regionalized LCIA methods are also provided with the initial database.

Brightway allow parameterization, the process of using mathematical formulas instead of fixed numbers in project definitions. Formulas can be used in exchanges between processes, project process amounts, and user-defined variables, and instructions are provided to extend the formula logic to any object in Brightway.

Most importantly, Brightway is open to its users and the future. The integration of web technologies into everyday computing tasks is changing the way people understand and use information, and Brightway provides a platform for creative LCA practitioners and the public to take LCA in new directions. Brightway is licensed under the GPL, a license that allows for free use and modification.