The US Life Cycle Inventory Initiative

The US LCI database has completed its first two phases, and now has 45 common unit processes available for use on its website www.nrel.gov/lci. The initiative is now moving into its third phase, and is looking for more data from industry and other partners.

USGBC

The US Green Building Council (USGBC) recently announced that they intend to integrate LCA into their LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program certifying green buildings. A meeting held in Washington DC on September 29th was the kickoff for their efforts. Over 120 people attended, mostly from the industries that supply the building industry.

The Ecobalance Conference

The Sixth Ecobalance conference was held in Tsukuba, Japan, October 25-27, 2004. The conference was attended by over 400 people from over 20 countries. Only three US nationals attended.