How we work with data

• We integrate all publicly and freely available, qualifying LCA data for construction.
• We review data before inclusion for quality using our Data Quality Process. Data that does not pass our process will not be integrated. Some data may be added with warnings.
•  We ensure our customers access to the latest versions of covered LCA databases. We review rapidly evolving LCA databases bi-weekly. For these, we do not accept ad hoc data requests.
• Customers with a Business level license can request new public datasets to be added. Data is reviewed, and assuming it passes, we strive to make it generally available by the end of week after the request.
• We integrate dataset variants (from a pool of variants) if per unit GWP varies by at least +/- 5 %; or in the case of regulatory or other specific need for an exact dataset, also on request.
• Customers with Expert level license can add and manage their private LCA datasets.
• We reserve the right to modify this policy at any time.

What factors influence the quality of results of life-cycle assessment?

Quality and accuracy of input data is predominantly the responsibility of the user performing the assessment. In the case of One Click LCA, LCA Checker provides two tools to help users with this. The first tool is Plausibility Checker, which checks plausibility of building material inputs. The second is Completeness Checker, which checks if all required elements are in place for the applicable standard or certification in question. This works based on the choices made in the Create design dialogue.

With One Click LCA, the LCA method itself is encapsulated in LCA tools. The platform provides over 100 different tools for calculating environmental impacts according to different standards and certifications. These tools operate independently of each other, and provide different compliance results. Each tool independently sets the requirements for the LCA data it allows to be used, the modelling scope, life-cycle modules used in calculation and detailed rules used for applying them, as well as formats and methods for reporting the results.

Different types of LCA data in One Click LCA and how they are handled

The One Click LCA platform provides the following types of market-based LCA data. All the data in these categories are inspected under One Click LCA’s Data Quality Policy (DQP, explained later on), and will only be made available once the process for the dataset is completed.

The following types of LCA data are not covered by One Click LCA’s Data Quality Policy (DQP), and consequently One Click LCA does not make assurances about the quality of individual datapoints. However, One Click LCA’s implementation of Ecoinvent is characterized and classified in a way to make it fit for use for construction product EPD generation under ISO 21930 and EN 15804.

Key requirements for quality and accuracy of LCA data 

General LCA data requirements according to EN 15804 are that the underlying data should be consistent, reproducible and comparable, and EN 15978 requires that the “data shall have been checked for plausibility and consistency with the rules in prEN 15804”.

According to the UN Environment Global Guidance on LCA database development, also adopted for EN 15804+A2, the key criteria for LCA data representativeness are:

• Geographical representativeness, very good level defined as “Data from area under study”.
• Technical representativeness, very good level defined as “Data from processes and products under study. Same state of technology applied as defined in goal and scope (i.e. identical technology)”.
• Time representativeness, very good level defined as “Less than 3 years difference between the reference year…, and the time period for which data are representative”.

In general, the accuracy of LCA data is higher when moving from a generic dataset to a manufacturer average data, or when moving from a manufacturer average to a product-specific data, or when moving from a product-specific data representing several plants to a plan specific dataset.

One Click LCA principles for availability, quality and consistency of LCA data

Our guiding principle for LCA data in plain terms is that we aim to have all of it, and in consistent quality. The more detailed principles can be found in the below table.

While we operate by the principles above, we also operate the data quality related processes on limited resources. We prioritize the databases and data that has high value for our users – generally, European and North American databases are updated and reviewed more frequently.

This will in practice mean that at times, some of the latest datasets have not yet been inspected nor integrated by us into the platform. However, they will be integrated eventually. Depending on the license level and agreement, making a custom data inclusion request can also be a possibility.

One Click LCA Data Quality Policy – how we check the data 

Our Data Quality Policy (DQP) is designed specifically for ensuring data fit for construction sector applications, using attributional LCA models and standardized life-cycle impact results in line with CML, TRACI or EN 15804+A2 and specific extensions. The intent of the data quality policy is to provide as high a degree of plausibility and consistency as possible considering we do not have access to background reports or other supporting information when data is reviewed.

The Data Quality Policy can result for any individual datapoint to one of the following cases.

The purpose of the Data Quality Policy is to ensure high quality data to One Click LCA end users. The Data Quality Policy is operated completely independently of commercial priorities by our data team.

Every EPD has been independently verified – so in theory, there should no no need for an additional verification, aside for controlling for differences arising from standards and Product Category Rules. But actual verification practices vary to a significant extent between different Program Operators and different schemes, and therefore we are adding a new level of information about the verification quality, as explained in the following section.

Problems with the quality of the original LCA or EPD verification 

There is currently an issue that lots of documents claim to be EPDs which do not meet the requirements of EPDs, including the most basic one on independent verification.

Today, EPD is a shorthand for an environmental product declaration in conformance with ISO 14025: Environmental labels and declarations. Type III environmental declarations. Principles and procedures-standard. This standard requires “independent verification of data from LCA, LCI (Life Cycle Inventory) and information modules” to be carried out on each and every EPD. The standard allows each program operator to choose if EPD verification must be third party, or if it can be a person who can act without compromising the independence of the verifier within the same company.

Another standard is provided for self-declarations: ISO 14021: Environmental labels and declarations. Self-declared environmental claims (Type II environmental labelling). However, the buyer-side market does not recognize ISO 14021-based documents, and third-party verification costs money. This leads to a commercial incentive for “EPD lite” solutions, nominally ISO 14025 compliant, which boast a digitally reproduced signature of the third-party verifier on the cover page – even if the verifier could have only verified the software generating the EPD, not the EPD itself. This practice is not recognized in the current standards. Therefore, to add transparency to the marketplace, we are therefore appending the following labels on verification quality to the data we integrate.

We append this information based on the knowledge we have, and will correct any verification quality statements for datasets for which proof of an actual third-party verification is provided. Currently, level of verification is not a disqualifying factor for integrating data to One Click LCA.

A note about this statement

We believe providing this additional information will increase transparency about One Click LCA data for our end users. This may also provide protection for our users if they rely on data that might have a lesser degree of verification than they require.