FLCAC_Submission_Guidance.md

Federal LCA Commons (FLCAC)

Data Submission Guidelines Handbook

Last Updated: April 04, 2020

FLCAC Collaboration Server

https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration

PREFACE

Thank you for your interest in providing access to your life cycle inventory (LCI) and/or life cycle assessment (LCA) data through the Federal Life Cycle Assessment Commons (FLCAC). Datasets submitted to the FLCAC Database must adhere to specific data documentation, formatting, and nomenclature requirements to ensure lossless loading of data and accurate representation in the server repositories.

The FLCAC Collaboration Server application provides federal and public users access to your data in major LCA data formats and permits coordination and connectivity between your data and other LCA data developers and resources.

The guidance and requirements in this document are intended to do the following:

1. Help the Data Providers & Publishers:

1. Provide sufficient metadata to describe unit processes and/or product systems accurately

2. Prepare elementary and intermediate (i.e., technosphere) flows for use in openLCA and compatibility with the FLCAC Collaboration Server

3. Ensure consistency among and facilitate in proper interpretation of datasets in the FLCAC repository as a whole

4. Provide proper attribution for government investment

2. Help Users & Researchers:

1. Determine flow provenance and fitness for purpose

2. Ensure connectivity of their data flows to and from the other flows in their own repositories, flows in other FLCAC repositories, and to other providing/receiving LCA elements (e.g., other database unit processes and flows or life cycle impact methods).

The FLCAC data curation process is collaborative and iterative. As there is no central FLCAC curator to conduct an internal review of your dataset, each provider agency shall verify compliance with these Submission Guidelines and elementary flow connectivity with one or more impact methods. Each providing agency shall individually reconcile any issues identified in their internal dataset documentation review (i.e., metadata review). It is important to note that these guidelines do not cover conventions for technical review of the inventory data. Also, note these guidelines are a living document and are updated as the FLCAC data submission process evolves.

Before publishing data to the FLCAC, please review these guidelines, the Data Provider’s Content License Agreement (“Agreement”), and the Placing Your Data in the [Public?] Domain section of this document. If you have any questions, concerns, or recommendations, please contact: [[email protected]].

June 2019

Acronyms and Abbreviations

ANL Argonne National Laboratory

APA American Psychological Association

CPM Centre for Environmental Assessment of Product and Material Systems

DoD Department of Defense

DOE Department of Energy

EERE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

EF Elementary Flow

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

EPD Environmental Product Declaration

FAA Federal Aviation Administration

FEDEFL Federal LCA Commons Elementary Flow List

FHWA Federal Highway Administration

FLCAC Federal Life Cycle Assessment Commons

GREET Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation

ILCD International Reference Life Cycle Data System

IUPAC International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

JSON-LD JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data

KML Keyhole Markup Language

LCA Life Cycle Assessment

LCAC Life Cycle Assessment Commons

LCC Life Cycle Costing

LCI Life Cycle Inventory

LCIA Life Cycle Impact Assessment

NAICS North American Industry Classification System

NAL National Agricultural Library

NETL National Energy Technology Laboratory

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technologies

NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory

OAIS Open Archival Information System

PM Particulate Matter

PP Polypropylene

SETAC Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

SQL Structured Query Language

USACE US Army Corps of Engineers

USDA US Department of Agriculture

USFS US Forest Service

USLCI US Life Cycle Inventory

UUID Universally unique identifier

GLOSSARY

Agency repository: an agency repository is set of JSON files, which hold specific data products or data sets, as defined by the agency.

Data product: a refined or integrated data set intended for publication and re-use (e.g. product system model, unit process, Flow List, impact method, data quality system, etc.)

Data set: a generic term for a digital unit of information, which is part of a model or data product (e.g. product system model, unit process, flows, flow lists, impact methods, unit groups, flow properties, locations, etc).

Elementary flow: materials, energy, or space that are taken directly from the environment or released directly back into the environment

Interoperability: dataset consistency between agency repositories and/or repository groups in terms of metadata and documentation; life cycle inventory data exchange format; product flow correspondence and background data connectivity; and elementary flow correspondence

openLCA: a modular open-source software for life analysis and sustainability assessment

Platform administrator: manages access of agency members to minimize burden on the platform

Repository Group: FLCAC member administrated collection of repositories on the FLCAC server

Technosphere flow: an input or output to a unit process that is a product of one or more processes

Unit process: smallest element considered in the life cycle inventory analysis for which input and output data are quantified

FEDERAL DATA PRODUCTS are products of federally funded and internally executed LCA research. They have been subject to internal, agency review and clearance processes, which confer additional value through quality assurance.

FEDERAL DATA PRODUCTS are published through agency-managed repositories hosted on the LCA Collaboration Server by the NAL.

INDUSTRY DATA PRODUCTS are sponsored by industry and executed either internally or by consultants/academia. They may not have been formally reviewed for quality assurance.

INDUSTRY DATA PRODUCTS are largely published through the USLCI Repository, which is managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and hosted by the NAL.

Introduction

This handbook is divided into four major sections.

• Section 1: Publishing data in the FLCAC

• Section 2: How do I publish my data in the FLCAC?

• Section 3: Frequently Asked Questions

• Section 4: Resources

Section 1 helps provides a summary of the benefits of publishing in the Federal LCA Commons (FLCAC), an overview of the existing FLCAC repositories and repository groups, and the main dataset standards and formatting requirements. Section 2 contains detailed guidance for publishing data in the FLCAC Database in terms of onboarding, formatting, review, publication, and preservation of data. This section includes information on the agreed upon data conventions (e.g., nomenclature, formats, metadata, documentation) as well as curation and publishing instructions. Section 3 provides answers to frequently asked questions. Section 4 contains links to templates, tools, and other files that support the data submission process. This section also includes licensing agreements and the Creative Commons Legal Code.

Section 1: Publishing data in the FLCAC

This section provides an overview of existing FLCAC repositories and repository groups and their contents, a brief guide on how to choose whether to publish in an existing or create a new group, and general requirements for publishing data in the FLCAC Database. This section is intended to help interested federal agencies understand the benefits of publishing their data in the FLCAC Database and set reasonable expectations for the publication documentation and standards.

Benefits

LCA serves as a benchmarking and comparison tool for sustainable product and process development. As public and private actors increasingly utilize LCI data for decision-making and communications along the value chain, LCI data availability, reliability, and geographic specificity become increasingly important. The FLCAC Database offers federal data developers with the opportunity to share complete, representative, and well-documented LCI data with to a collection of repositories (i.e., “groups”) that are also available to the public. The FLCAC resource allows users with influence across the value chain access to transparent and representative LCI data alongside guidance for its intended use. The goals of the FLCAC Database are to maintain data quality and transparency, support the use of LCA, maintain compatibility with other LCI databases, provide exceptional data accessibility, be fully and sustainably supported, and support US industry competitiveness.

To date, the US FLCAC is the result of coordinated work by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the US Forest Service (USFS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST). This coordinated work is hereafter referred to as "the Federal LCA Commons or FLCAC." The FLCAC provides improved and coordinated access to Federal LCA data. With this collaboration, the agencies have developed a more streamlined process for FLCAC data documentation, curation, and publication aimed at:

• Expanding the FLCAC & Contribute Partner Base by:

  1. Establishing the value of the FLCAC

  2. Developing new data providers

  3. Developing a consultive group of users

• Technology Coordination, Integration, Interoperability, & Capacity Sharing by:

  4. Developing tools for interacting with data

  5. Developing tools to connect the FLCAC with users

  6. Linking open data services

• Data Coverage, Format, Quality, & Interoperability by:

  7. Establishing and maintaining FLCAC data standards

  8. Developing and maintaining a FLCAC governance structure

  9. Adding capability to openLCA

The goal of the FLCAC is to leverage individual federal agency mission activities to advance LCA data, research and information systems; improve modelling methods consistency; and enhance public access to Federal LCI data. In the near-term, FLCAC will coordinate data documentation, nomenclature, and exchange conventions. In the long-term, FLCAC will coordinate modelling conventions toward background data sets for the US (e.g., for US electricity). FLCAC is positioned to collect, compile, and provide public access to data and information that adds value to life cycle assessors in an effective manner via a single-access point. The harmonization of documentation standards and digital data preservation and access will increase reviewability and reduce not only data acquisition costs but also computer- and human-based misinterpretation errors, and thus, data misuse.

Groups & Repositories

If your main publication goals are aligned with an existing repository and/or repository group, you may consider submitting your data to an existing repository. For example, if your agency has an existing repository group, you may want to publish the datasets to a repository in this group or within a new repository under this group. If your agency does not have an existing repository and/or repository group, you may create one for the desired datasets.

Conventions for Repository Names

Repositories on the LCA Commons have a Group / Repository organizational structure. Repositories are subsets belonging to a Group and inherit all of the Group’s properties and settings. See ‘Adding a Repository’ in the Publication Workflow

Conventions for Repository Metadata

Here we need to develop and communicate clear distinctions between “Federal LCA data” and “Data publicly available through government funded resources”

Expectations

The FLCAC provides individual gate-to-gate, cradle-to-gate and cradle-to-grave accounting of the energy and material flows into and out of the environment that are associated with producing a material, component, or assembly in the US. These data are intended to cover commonly used materials, products, and processes in the US with up-to-date, critically reviewed LCI data.

[AUGMENT WITH COLLECTION POLICY TIGER TEAM WORK]

Placing Your Data in the Public Domain

To support increased access to and sharing of scholarly resources, as well as to promote novel and innovative uses of LCA data, FLCAC requires that all submitted datasets be placed in the public domain under the terms of the Creative Commons Legal Code (CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)). By placing your datasets in the public domain, according to the CC0 1.0 license, you are removing “all of [your] rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.” Please review the legal code of the CC0 1.0 Universal license before submitting your datasets, as well as the Data Use Disclaimer Agreement (“Agreement”).

Data providers provide access and use restrictions appropriate to the use of their data when publishing in the FLCAC. If your agency has their own data access use restrictions policy, it should be included in appropriate section of the published datasets. If your agency does not have a specific policy, the FLCAC default may be used (see: Data Provider’s Content License Agreement (“Agreement”)).

Dataset Citations

Each dataset should include a recommended citation to which data users may refer. All data published in the FLCAC should be cited using the following format to acknowledge and credit the work of data creators and the FLCAC as the source. For example, "Data Generator (2019). FLCAC, Repository, Repository Group Name. Accessed April 15, 2019: https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/search/group/repository.

DOI’s are to be provided [through USDA NAL or by each individual agency].

Data Formatting

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) specifies data documentation formats for LCA in ISO/TS 14048:2002.

Figure 1. Elements of ISO 14048 LCI & openLCA Process Documentation

To facilitate compliance with this standard and provide a central access portal, the FLCAC is structured upon the openLCA,[1] open source LCA software schema. This schema includes the elements designated in General Data Requirements. To minimize data formatting efforts and ensure all metadata elements persist throughout submission, unit process and product system datasets submitted to the LCA Commons should be edited in the openLCA desktop modelling application. The openLCA software can be downloaded free of charge at openLCA.org. At the beginning of the data submission process, you must check with FLCAC Platform Administrator to ensure that your openLCA versioning is compatible with the FLCAC Collaboration Server. Dataset editing guidance is provided in the Formatting and Guidance on Data Compilation in openLCA sections of this handbook. Once you compile, format, review, and curate your unit processes and/or product systems in openLCA, you may share them to the pre-selected repository via the FLCAC Collaboration Server sync tool.

Please note that EcoSpold (v1 and v2) and International Reference Life Cycle Data (ILCD) submissions generated by SimaPro, GaBi, ecoEditor, the ILCD editor, or any other editor may not support the required metadata fields. If you have data sets in these formats, you must first import and edit these datasets in openLCA. The compiled and formatted data sets may then be synced using the aforementioned Collaboration Server tool. Inspecting your data in openLCA prior to submission is an opportunity to preview how your data will appear in the LCA Commons. Alternatively, if your work is in spreadsheets, you can use the openLCA spreadsheet format to import your data into the openLCA desktop application and then edit in openLCA.

Through the openLCA desktop application, modelers can also access the work of others either through shared repositories or through the FLCAC search application. Because the FLCAC Collaboration Server is built upon the openLCA data model, agency repositories are comprised of openLCA JSON formatted files, which will be indexed by the search application. Data sets will be maintained locally as openLCA JSON files and in the agency repository(ies) by the FLCAC Platform Administrator as openLCA JSON files. The FLCAC Platform Administrator will make data products available for download in JSON-LD and ILCD formats. The FLCAC Platform Administrator will provide access to agency repositories and maintain the single public facing search application, which will index each public repository/repository group and help users browse and search data sets. The FLCAC Platform Administrator will support agency data product providers by publishing repositories and repository groups as directed.

Detailed guidance on the data submission process is covered in Section 2: How do I publish my data in the FLCAC?

General Data Requirements

The FLCAC can accommodate data types included by the openLCA data model:

• Product System Models

• Unit Process Models

• Life Cycle Impact Methods

• Elementary Flows

• Data quality methods

• Flow Properties

• Unit groups

• Currencies

• Actors

• Sources

• Locations

The FLCAC has a central Platform Administrator that will assign server user credentials and manage the server platform. The onus of curating and publishing data will fall to individual FLCAC member agencies. As the FLCAC mega-repository grows, key considerations in LCI database management are using proactive techniques that prevent technical debt and to promote consistency, quality, and efficiency of the LCI data therein. Guidance for adhering to these criteria are offered in this document to the extent possible for the general use case. Individual agencies will have specific use cases requiring additional database management and should designate a FLCAC database administrator accordingly.

Publishing in the FLCAC does not include integrating data sets into internally consistent linked data products. The FLCAC Platform Administrator does not currently have the capacity to integrate agency data sets prior to publication. Any data set integration must occur locally, at the agency prior to committing data sets to the FLCAC Collaboration Servers or by the end-user. Therefore, if an agency commits two separate Product System Models (PSMs) to two separate repositories and the models use the same electricity model upstream, two copies of the electricity model will reside in the FLCAC, rather than a single electricity data set referenced by multiple processes. The FLCAC is a collection of repositories, rather than an integrated data product. This approach will help FLCAC users find and access data sets, but the onus of integration will fall to the user.

Data Reliability and Reproducibility

Flow data within the unit process(es) must be based on measurements using a specified and standardized measurement method OR estimated using methods and data described in specified archival or other publicly available sources. Furthermore, data should represent a novel contribution (i.e., unique process, unique market, update, and dataset does not duplicate existing data) to the LCA community and be non-proprietary. If the data are an update to a previously published dataset, a note will be added to the metadata of the unit process dataset (i.e., see: Table 4. Administrative Information Field Conventions ‘Intended Application’ field of the ‘Administrative Information’ tab). Unit processes that represent proxy upstream processes from external databases should not be submitted (e.g., ecoinvent® process datasets).

Data Aggregation, Completeness, & Allocation

Many of the data sets committed to the FLCAC will be the aggregated results of dynamic process models. It is preferred that these data sets are structured as PSMs, which provides context and relationships among unit processes. However, these PSMs may be published as aggregated unit processes, if necessary. It is understood that a certain level of aggregation may be required to protect confidential data. In these cases, it is requested to aggregate only as much as needed to protect the data. Any aggregated or product system datasets must include documentation stating the type of and motivation for the aggregation (e.g., horizontal averaging, vertical aggregation; proprietary, ease-of-use).[2] Unit processes may be submitted as single gate-to-gate processes, or related processes grouped as product or intermediate product systems. If multiple unit processes for a product system are submitted, the linking between them should be explicit.

Similarly, agencies may commit “empty” PSMs, which provide the relationships and context of individual unit processes and perhaps references to background data sets, but do not include values. The use case for empty PSMs is to distribute industry standard models, which can be used to develop environmental product declarations (EPDs).

Though both unit process and system-level datasets may be submitted, the FLCAC is striving for all Federal background data to be provided at a unit process level. Please keep this in mind as you submit datasets for publication.

Multi-functional unit processes should include all co-products and may also include allocation factors or displaced products (according to the discretion of the submitter). The allocation approach should be justified and clearly described.

Agencies may also publish partial data sets (e.g. life cycle greenhouse gas or water assessments) or partially terminated data sets (foreground data sets), provided they are named, categorized, and documented according to the FLCAC conventions.

A technosphere exchange that does not have a providing process included in the same repository should be documented.

Processes from other databases should not be submitted as datasets.

Nomenclature

Detailed guidance on process and flow nomenclature is provided in M-1. General Information Field Conventions. Elementary Flow nomenclature specific guidance can be found in Appendix D: FEDEFL Nomenclature Rules, while guidance on Technosphere Flow and Process nomenclature can be found in Appendix E: ILCD Nomenclature Rules.

Categorization

Flows are categorized as either elementary or technosphere flows. Datasets from different databases with disparate categorization schemes can prevent connectivity, cause duplications and/or confusion among users, and result in a bulky database.

Therefore, FLCAC has adopted the EPA Federal LCA Commons Elementary Flow List (FEDEFL) for elementary flow classification. Elementary flows are further classified into eight classes as described in Appendix D: Highlight 4. The classification of elementary flows employed by the FEDEFL allows for a systematic approach for managing elementary flows on the Federal LCA Commons.

Technosphere flows and intermediate processes are further classified using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2 digit/4 digit classification scheme for categorizing intermediate processes and technosphere flows (see: https://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/). Please ensure that your datasets are submitted using this format and reflect the latest NAICS updates, which occur roughly every three to four years.

Additional guidance for using the EPA Elementary Flow list can be found on the FEDEFL github repository wiki page or the FEDEFL guidance document. Additional guidance on the ILCD nomenclature for technosphere and process nomenclature can be located in the ILCD Handbook

Data Quality Scheme

Within openLCA, the only data quality scheme available by default is that of ecoinvent®. Publishing agencies may have developed their own scheme and still, some may not use a scheme at all. The FLCAC does not require a specific scheme be utilized; however, there is guidance in this document on how to utilize the EPA Data Quality Pedigree Matrix if it is elected. The USLCI uses the EPA Data Quality Pedigree Matrix (downloaded and imported into openLCA from the GreenDelta downloads page).

Global Parameters

Per the developers of openLCA, project- and even “global”-level parameters defined in the openLCA desktop application (i.e., agency-user-defined strings with character restrictions) are not compatible between FLCAC repositories. This means that the FLCAC has no defined list of global-level parameters and no parameterization will occur between server repositories and/or repository groups. However, parameters defined as “global” in the openLCA desktop application are reflected when committed to a single repository on the FLCAC server. To ensure data compatibility across FLCAC repositories and repository groups, FLCAC has elected to limit the number of ‘global parameters’ allowable for use in the FLCAC repository. Please check the FLCAC Platform Administrator if your datasets require the use of a repository-level, global parameter.

Change Logs

As datasets in a repository are created, modified, and/or removed, a record or change log of these occurrences shall be made. Each agency shall maintain change logs individually such that a centralized FLCAC change log may be made available by the FLCAC Platform Administrator at [an interval to be defined]. Individual agency repository administrators should track changes made to the repository alongside the commit history.Any updates to these guidelines shall be noted along with the centralized FLCAC change log.

Section 2: How do I publish my data in the FLCAC?

The purpose of this section is to help you, the Data Provider, understand the process for publishing LCI data in the FLCAC Database.

This section is divided into the following subsections.

1. Coordinating work in the FLCAC Collaboration Server

2. Overview of the `Digital Curation Process’

3. The openLCA field conventions and metadata guidance

Coordinating Working in the FLCAC Collaboration Server

The onus of curating and publishing data will fall to individual FLCAC member agencies. As the FLCAC mega-repository grows, key considerations in LCI database management are using proactive techniques that prevent technical debt and to promote consistency, quality, and efficiency of the LCI data therein. Guidance for adhering to these criteria are offered in this document to the extent possible for the general use case. Individual agencies will have specific use cases requiring additional database management and should designate a FLCAC database administrator accordingly.

Establishing a repository on the FLCAC Collaboration Server requires an ongoing institutional partnership with the FLCAC, in which your agency actively curates, manages, and updates its repository(ies) according to FLCAC’s data conventions, while the FLCAC Platform Administrator provide system administration, and persistent access to the repository.

The FLCAC Platform Administrator (NAL) will host one or multiple repository group(s) for each partner agency as necessary. Partner agencies will maintain and archive data sets within the group repository(ies) locally and maintain and version data hosted at the NAL. Partner agencies must maintain data products in the version of openLCA desktop application, which is current with the version deployed for the FLCAC Collaboration Server.

The purpose of this section is to guide you through the publication process. These guidelines are compiled to assist in the curation of data sets to ensure that agency data products are compliant with agreed upon conventions related to naming, categorization, nomenclature, and structure within the openLCA data model. These instructions can help you in, completing dataset metadata fields and using the openLCA Collaboration Server platform. The objective of these guidelines is to assure data set consistency for indexing, display, and search.

Your role in the publication process is to transform your raw LCI data into a product that is ready for publication in the FLCAC Database and to submit the data to the Collaboration Server using the openLCA desktop application. ‘Transform’ means to put your data into the FLCAC Database's data format and pair your data with robust metadata so that your data users understand how to properly interpret and apply your data.The documentation, metadata guidance, and resources in this Data Submission Guide will be essential resources in that process.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) specifies a framework for archival concepts necessary for long-term digital information preservation and access in ISO 14721:2012. This framework designates the importance of provenance information such as the history of content information, custody, and change history.

Figure 2. Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Preservation Description Information

To facilitate compliance with these standards, FLCAC users are encouraged to use the openLCA Collaboration Server including the editorial features as their principal project management and communication tool. In this way, member teams may communicate and coordinate member data curation and maintenance of their FLCAC repository(ies) on the server. The editorial features assist in the storage, handling, and migration of LCI data during the curation and publication process. This platform contains robust features for version control, issues management, and team communication. Moreover, it makes it easy for the Data Provider to keep a local version of the data curation process and end product once the project is complete. Early in the publication process, the FLCAC Platform Administrator will work with you to get you set up with a username and one or more private data repositories on the platform.

Figure 3. Team coordination schematic for database management on FLCAC Collaboration Server

Using this application, LCA data may be edited within a local openLCA database and then directly committed to the collaboration server. The new server-software synergy will allow authorized users to collaborate on data provision and editing from any workstation. Public users can access the data and make comments on the repository content

As mentioned in the Formatting section, FLCAC uses openLCA as its platform for receiving, reviewing, and publishing LCI data. The openLCA software is a free, open source LCA desktop application in which end-users can import data from many public and commercial LCA software applications including GaBi and SimaPro. The openLCA desktop application is also the platform from which your data may be synced to the FLCAC Collaboration Server online

The homepage for the FLCAC is www.lcacommons.gov. Agency members will have capability to access FLCAC data sets via this platform according to assigned user roles. Repositories, by default, are set as private but the Owner of a repository can set the status to public (see: Publication and designate users to have access with specific roles or they may be set as public, in which case, all agency members have access. Public end-users will also be able to access all published FLCAC data sets, which reside on the FLCAC Collaboration Server, through the content management application (i.e., all group repositories set to ‘public’ status).

Overview of the Digital Curation Process

FLCAC uses a Digital Curation Process for receiving, reviewing, publishing, and preserving data and metadata submitted to the FLCAC Database. The process is divided into five phases:

1. Onboarding

2. Formatting

3. Review & Curation

4. Publication

5. Preservation

Each of the five phases is discussed in detail below but a quick overview of the entire procedure for submitting data to the FLCAC is as follows:

Once the agency has developed data for the FLCAC:

• Install Software: If not already in use, download the openLCA software for free from http://www.openlca.org/download/ and install it on your desktop

• Establish Data Quality System: If using a data quality system, install or establish a consistent system for your team; e.g., use default ecoinvent® system, agency-specific system, or download the US EPA’s data quality system and import it into openLCA

• Format Data: use these Submission Guidelines to format the preliminary LCI data in openLCA, including data quality if elected

• Map Elementary Flows to FEDEFL: Use the instructions found on the FEDEFL wiki to map the openLCA database to existing FEDEFL flows

• Obtain FLCAC Server Account: If not yet an existing account user, the FLCAC Platform Administrator will set up the FLCAC Collaboration Server account for the submitting agency

• Commit to Private Repository: Commit your datasets from an openLCA database to a private repository on your selected group on the Collaboration Server

• Curate Datasets on Server: agency team may use the Collaboration Server editorial features to communicate edits and finalize the curation of the private version of the datasets on the FLCAC platform

• Publish Datasets on Server: Once the agency (agency team) has approved the indexing of the datasets in the private version, the final version is approved and migrated to the agency’s public repository group

• Maintain Datasets on Server: The agency maintains the local openLCA desktop version of the datasets for preservation individually and coordinates as a team to commit their edits to the server private working repository; here, best practices for all in the agency team are to:

  • Fetch Changes from Server: Connect to the Collaboration Server to fetch the latest changes to the private server working repository to your desktop application

  • Make Updates Locally: Edit to make changes, augment, update or add datasets in the local desktop version

  • Commit Updates to Server: Commit changes to the private agency working repository for internal agency review (using the editorial features)

  • Publish Updates: when approved, team changes can be migrated to the public agency repository group for publication by the agency repository administrator

Figure 4. General workflow schematic between agency team members on the FLCAC server

The harmonization of documentation standards as well as digital data preservation and access will increase the collaboration potential and reviewability of the LCA data exchange process. Increasing harmonized collaboration among agencies and stakeholders in compiling and maintaining LCA data will significantly reduce not only data acquisition costs but also computer- and human-based misinterpretation errors, and thus, data misuse.

The FLCAC uses JSON-LD and ILCD file formats,[3] formats that retain durability (i.e., stored metadata travel well with the moved files). Because the FLCAC Collaboration Server is built upon the openLCA data model, which supports this file type, FLCAC repositories are comprised of openLCA JSON and ILCD formatted files, which will be indexed by the search application. Data sets will be maintained locally as openLCA JSON or ILCD files and in the agency repository(ies) by the FLCAC Platform Administrator as openLCA JSON and ILCD files. The FLCAC Platform Administrator will make data products available for download in JSON-LD and ILCD formats. The FLCAC Platform Administrator will provide access to agency repositories and maintain the single public facing search application, which will index each public repository/repository group and help users browse and search data sets. The FLCAC Platform Administrator will support agency data product providers by publishing repositories and repository groups as directed.

Onboarding

The objective of the Onboarding phase is to obtain the tools needed to use the FLCAC Collaboration Server.

The Onboarding phase is composed of the following elements:

1. Download Software: Download and install the openLCA desktop application (if not an existing user)

2. Data Quality: (where appropriate) convert data quality to EPA Data Quality Pedigree Matrix system compatible with the openLCA software

3. Credentials: Acquire a FLCAC Collaboration Server username and password. The FLCAC Platform Administrator will assign your team with the required credentials

4. Guidelines: Download this & GreenDelta’s LCA Collaboration Server Manual to have on hand

5. Server: Bookmark the FLCAC portal landing page

To facilitate compliance with this standard and provide a central access portal, the FLCAC is structured upon the openLCA,[4] open source LCA software schema. The openLCA software can be downloaded free of charge at from http://www.openlca.org/download/. At the beginning of the data submission process, you must check with FLCAC Platform Administrator to ensure that your openLCA versioning is compatible with the FLCAC Collaboration Server.

If your team will be using a data quality system, ensure that system is compatible with the openLCA software and distributed among the team. Within openLCA, the only data quality scheme available by default is that of ecoinvent®. The USLCI uses the EPA Data Quality Pedigree Matrix (downloaded and imported into openLCA from GreenDelta’s web page). The FLCAC does not require a specific scheme be utilized; however, Appendix H: Using the EPA Data Quality Pedigree Matrix in openLCA provides instructions for utilizing the EPA Data Quality Pedigree Matrix.

Formatting

The Formatting phase is concerned with entering your datasets into the openLCA software. To minimize data formatting efforts and ensure all metadata elements persist throughout submission, unit process and product system datasets submitted to the LCA Commons should be edited using this modelling application.

Name all original data sets that you submit to FLCAC according to the ILCD naming convention (see Guidance on Data Compilation in openLCA). The name should reflect the process or activity as follows: base name; treatment, routes, standards; production type, location type; quantitative flow properties. If you have modified or customized a unit process from a commercial database, FLCAC requests that you submit the process named exactly as it is in the original process with an indication (i.e., in the comment field) that it is a modified version of the original. For example, the comment for the modified ecoinvent® process “carbon dioxide liquid, at plant/RER U” might read: ‘adapted to reflect US average electricity grid.’

Detailed guidance on process and technosphere flow nomenclature is provided in Table M-1. General Information Field Conventions and Appendix E: ILCD Nomenclature Rules. A technosphere flow that is not being submitted as a dataset and is not already in the FLCAC should be categorized in the Technosphere Flows\‘CUTOFF’ folder or a reasonable proxy from the FLCAC identified with a note in the ‘Input Flow, Description’ field regarding the flow origin (database and flow name). Processes from other databases should not be submitted as datasets.

Elementary Flow Names

Elementary flows are data components of LCA data that describe common physical items that move from the technosphere into nature or vice versa. They are used in exchanges in life cycle inventory (LCI) data to represent these movements into and out of processes, and they are used in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods to match inventory data with impact characterization factors. Hence, they serve a critical role in LCA modeling and are essential in achieving LCA data interoperability.

The US EPA has developed a master elementary flow list (the FEDEFL), which is available in CSV and openLCA schema JSON-LD formats, and provides resources to help with mappings. The current release version is available via the FLCAC portal. The FEDEFL wiki provides guidance on converting an established flow list in a standard openLCA format to FEDEFL flows. Please see the US EPA report, The Federal LCA Commons Elementary Flow List: Background, Approach, Description and Recommendations for Use for more information regarding the FEDEFL requirements and nomenclature.

Elementary flow names in LCI must correspond directly to the elementary flow names used in the LCIA method. Usage of the FEDEFL protocol for both LCI and LCIA datasets on the FLCAC ensures interoperability between these different types of datasets.

To assist with transition to the FEDEFL, document LCIA methods used in the ‘Intended Application’ field of the Administrative Information tab in openLCA. If data being submitted have NOT been used in an LCIA, please use flows from the openLCA reference list. If you used SimaPro or GaBi modeling software and an impact method that is also provided for in the openLCA suite of LCIA methods, please run your inventory and impact results in openLCA and compare them to those obtained in SimaPro or GaBi to confirm that openLCA is reading flows correctly.

Intermediate Flow Names

Intermediate flows are are either products or processes from the technosphere (i.e., not elementary flows).

1. Intermediate product flows are technosphere flows that are a product of one or more processes and have flowable names and flow properties. Technosphere or product flows are the result of a process (or processes) and flow as exchanges between processes (unlike elementary flows that flow as exchanges to and from environmental compartments). All intermediate product flow names should be decoupled from their associated activity flow names (i.e., process name) for transparency and clarity. That is, a product name should not contain metadata that is specific to the activity context such as the location or year. The intermediate product name should be generic to any activity context so as to avoid unnecessary duplication of product flow names. Likewise, product flow properties such as units, formulas, synonyms, infrastructural flow designation, etc. may be defined in the metadata and should also not be included in the flowable name.

2. An intermediate process is an activity containing at least one intermediate product flow. Activities are exchanges containing at least one input flow and one output flow (i.e., defining a relationship between flows). The intermediate process flow name should reflect the product or service it represents; the product reference output is given the same name as the process name; the naming conventions are as follows: Base name; treatment, routes, standards; production type, location type; quantitative flow properties. The base name is a general descriptive name of the process using technical language. The technical name should be given as it is used in the respective industry or toward their customers. The standards include qualitative information about the process in technical terms (see Rules 1-19 Appendix E: ILCD Nomenclature Rules or the full ILCD Handbook for a list of potential descriptive terms). The quantitative process properties further specify information on process in technical quantitative term(s).

As mentioned, data curation services will not include integrating data sets into internally consistent linked data products. Any data set integration must occur locally, at the agency prior to committing data sets to the FLCAC Collaboration Servers or by the end-user. To link processes in your datasets, use the exact nomenclature of the intermediate flow. If the process to be linked only exists in another agency repository, a duplicate of the process may be submitted or the exact nomenclature used and the repository noted in the ‘Input Flow, Description’ field. Processes from other databases (i.e., already existing outside the FLCAC) should not be submitted as datasets. Therefore, a technosphere flow that is not being submitted as a dataset and is not already in the FLCAC should be categorized in the Technosphere Flows\ ‘CUTOFF’ folder or a reasonable proxy from the FLCAC identified with a note in the ‘Input Flow, Description’ field regarding the flow origin (database and flow name).

Metadata Guidance

As FLCAC interagency coordination increases, the new standard for data formats and documentation is being advanced. In order to move toward interoperability and transparency, FLCAC harmonization of digital data access and preservation will increase our collaboration potential and the reviewability of the LCA data exchange process. These efforts will significantly reduce not only data acquisition costs but also computer- and human-based misinterpretation errors, and thus, data misuse.

As such, and to be more aligned with international protocols for all newly developed data, the current FLCAC repository standardization is to strive for 100 percent metadata completion To facilitate each agency’s accomplishment of this criteria, these guidelines include complete Metadata Guidance Tables with conventions and examples for every field in the openLCA JSON-LD format (except ‘Social aspects’). The tables are arranged by the field sections as displayed in the tabs of the openLCA window views.

Figure 5. openLCA window view – field section tabs

The Metadata Guidance Tables will help you complete the formatting stage for your datasets so that you are prepared for the Review phase.

Review

Once your datasets are formatted in the openLCA JSON-LD desktop application and all metadata fields are completed, the datasets can be synced to the FLCAC Collaboration Server for the Review phase. The first time you sync your data to the FLCAC Collaboration Server, you will first need to complete the Onboarding tasks and create a repository (within a group) on the FLCAC server.

An overview of the Review phase is as follows:

• Obtain Server Account: If not yet an existing user, the FLCAC Platform Administrator will set up the FLCAC Collaboration Server account for the submitting agency

• Commit to Private Server Repository: Commit your datasets from an openLCA database to a private repository on the Collaboration Server

• Curate Data on Server: agency team may use the Collaboration Server editorial features to communicate edits and finalize the private version of the datasets on the platform

• 

• Figure 6. Fetch and commit practices between team members on the FLCAC server

Login

After you have completed the preliminary sign up tasks, you can familiarize yourself with the server navigation and features. First, you may login to the FLCAC Collaboration Server portal.

Figure 6. FLCAC Portal Login

Default Viewer

Once you login to the portal, the viewing window is different and a list of repositories will be the central default display.

Figure 7. Default view for FLCAC Collaboration Server Members

Repositories & Groups List View

You can switch between viewing a list of repositories and that of repository groups on the left-hand side of the portal.

Figure 8. Toggle Repository Groups view for FLCAC Members

Add a New Repository

Select a group to view the contained repositories and/or add a new repository. Creating a new repository allows you to designate in which Group the repository will be housed via a pull-down menu. Note that you will only have access to the groups to which you have been assigned roles.

Figure 9. Create a new repository on FLCAC

Repository names should follow the following conventions for syntax:

Conventions for Repository Names

Repositories on the LCA Commons have a Group / Repository organizational structure. Repositories are subsets belonging to a Group and inherit all of the Group’s properties and settings.

Conventions for naming Groups

Groups will reflect the names or titles of the organization publishing the repository on the LCA Commons. The group name will follow the standard conventions for the capitalization of titles:

• Upper case

  • First and last word

  • Nouns and important words

• Lower case

  • Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for)

  • Articles (a, an, the)

  • Prepositions (at, by, from, etc)

• Acronyms will be upper case, without spaces or other delimiters

• Words will be separated with underscores ( “_” ) (No other punctuation may be used)

Conventions for naming Repositories

Repository names will reflect the context, goal, or scope represented by the published data set. Repositories names will follow the standard conventions for capitalizing sentences:

• Upper case

  • First word

  • Proper nouns

• Acronyms will be upper case, without spaces or other delimiters

• Words will be separated with underscores ( “_” ) (No other punctuation may be used)

Examples for Group / Repository names

1. National_Renewable_Energy_Lab / USLCI

2. US_Environmental_Protection_Agency / Heavy_equipment_operation

3. NC_State_Dept_Forest_Biomaterials / Kraft_pulp

Syncing Data from openLCA to the Server

Once you have created your repository on FLCAC, you can sync your data to and use the features of the Collaboration Server.

1. First, ensure that you have collaboration enabled in your openLCA desktop application preferences by checking the “Enable collaboration” box in “File > Preferences.”

Figure 10. Enable collaboration in openLCA desktop

2. Credentials: Under “User,” you may need to enter your assigned Collaboration Server username ID and password credentials that were assigned during Onboarding by the FLCAC Platform Administrator.

Server URL: https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration

User: Your Username

Password: Your Password

3. Connect: Next, navigate to your database in openLCA, right-click on the database and select “Repository > Connect to Repository.”

Figure 11. Connect openLCA database to FLCAC repository

4. Designate: Then, you designate which repository to which to connect. You will name the repository exactly as it is in the URL at the Collaboration Server. Adjust the repository path to reflect the group and repository name using the syntax: “Group_Name/Repository_Name”.

Figure 12. Adjusting the openLCA repository connect pathname

Figure 13. Group and repository name locations

You will know that your desktop database is connected to the server by the URL in the database name.

Figure 14. Repository-connected database in openLCA

5. Commit: Now that your openLCA desktop application is connected to the server repository, you can commit the data to the server repository by right-clicking on the database and selecting “Repository > Commit.” You should see the commit window appear.

Figure 15. Commit changes to a repository

Commit, cont.: You must select the entities you wish to commit and enter a commit message. Best practices for commit messages include short phrases indicating the datasets being committed. The commit message will display next to each dataset committed in the Collaboration Server (see next page) and if the message is extensive, it will affect the ease of navigation through the data as it displays on the server.

If you are committed a large number of datasets for the first time, the commit action can take some time (minutes up to an hour for very large datasets). However, once the repository is established, updates may be committed in seconds. For reference, the entire USLCI Database takes about four minutes to commit to a new repository. You should see messages indicating that the application is:

• Searching for referenced changes

• Checking against libraries

• Committing changes

• Estimated time: # minutes

• Indexing datasets

Figure 16. Progress indicators for database change commits

6. View Commits: Once the repository is committed, you should be able to navigate to your repository on the Collaboration Server and verify the presence of your datasets, when the change was made, and the commit message.

Figure 17. Viewing commits on the FLCAC portal

Using the Editorial Features to Curate Data

Once the desktop repository has been synced to the Collaboration Server and is viewable on the FLCAC portal, you can use the editorial features to curate the initial commit and/or to curate ongoing updates to your repository. Each FLCAC member agency should coordinate with their respective team(s) to individually manage the data curation process for their respective repositories.

Figure 18. GreenDelta Collaboration Server Use Case: Editorial Features

First, repository roles should be assigned to team members. Only repository Owners can assign roles. Owners can also create, move, and delete repositories, adjust repository settings, and edit repository members. An Editor may manage reviews and comments. A Reviewer can review comments and comment on specific dataset fields. A Contributor can commit to repositories and a Reader may only view and fetch repositories. It is up to each agency repository administrator to determine the best user rights configuration for his/her team. The following table gives an overview of roles and user rights that may be assigned in the FLCAC Collaboration Server.

Table 1-1. Repository roles and associated user rights

Repository Rights	Reader	Contributor	Reviewer	Editor	Owner
View & fetch	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Commit data		✔	✔	✔	✔
Comment on specific fields			✔	✔	✔
Review comments			✔	✔	✔
Manage comments				✔	✔
Manage review tasks				✔	✔
Create repositories					✔
Edit repository members & roles					✔
Adjust settings					✔
Move repositories					✔
Delete repositories					✔

Dashboard: Once roles and user rights have been assigned, toggle the editorial features (i.e., “review mode”) by using the pencil icon in the upper-right of the home screen when you login to the FLCAC portal. The chat icon allows messaging between repository team members and the paper tray icon opens the task manager.

Figure 19. FLCAC portal member dashboard features

Task Manager: Using the platform’s task system requires that at least one team user has Reviewer user rights. This system will help the agency-assigned repository administrator orchestrate the Data Curation tasks by allowing a repository owner and his/her team members to identify, assign, track, and resolve issues that arise during the curation process.

The editorial features also allow entire data sets and/or specific fields of a data set to be commented on in the review mode (pencil icon in upper-right of the user dashboard). Once activated, the review mode displays speech bubbles for each commentable field. The comments can be released immediately as a draft or for review by the moderator. These comments will also be displayed in the ‘Comments’ tab in the local openLCA user’s desktop application in the synced database. These tools will make the curation process more efficient and ensure that all relevant correspondence is in a single location.

The features allow review tasks to be created such that specific datasets may be slated for review and tasks assigned to team members.

Figure 20. Creating a new review task on the FLCAC portal

The Collaboration Server editorial features task system allows tasks to be assigned to specific team members (i.e., as reviewers). A task noted “in progress” is awaiting release or moderation depending on whether the user has Editor or Reviewer role status. A “completed” task has been released and/or reviewed, and a “canceled” task simply indicates no further action is required.

Figure 21. FLCAC portal editorial features review task dashboard

Within the datasets slated for curation, there are comment bubbles for each field so that team members can leave notes for any element. Comments can be made in datasets but are not viewable until released.

Figure 22. Adding comments to datasets

Releasing comments allows designated team members to view the comments, either one-by-one in the individual comment bubbles of the dataset fields or all-at-once in a list of comments (viewable by toggling “Comments” on the left-hand side of the dashboard screen).

Figure 23. Releasing comments for review

Figure 24. Tracking review progress in datasets

On the left-hand side of the dashboard screen, team members can see all comments in a list view by toggling “Comments.”

Figure 25. Viewing compiled review comments

Team members can see comments in their respective desktop applications by fetching changes. Just as on the FLCAC server when signed in, users may view comments in the desktop application in two ways: 1) within the dataset, and 2) as a compiled list.

Figure 26. Viewing comments in openLCA desktop dataset

Figure 27. Viewing comments in openLCA desktop as compiled list

Fetch & Commit Workflow

For team members to coordinate maintenance and curation of FLCAC repositories, the openLCA desktop application allows changes to be made to, viewed, and/or retrieved from the remote server. The desktop application uses the term “Commit” to refer to the action of committing local changes to the server; whereas, the term “Fetch” is for retrieving server versions to the local desktop. Any changes and curation comments may also be viewed remotely and/or synced to or from the local server. Server comments may be reviewed without affecting a local database but to reflect in a local database those commits made by other team members to server repositories, users must “fetch” changes and use the “Diff Tool.” The Diff Tool displays the differences between the local version of a database and that of the associated server repository.

To fetch changes from a server repository, right-click on the desktop database in openLCA and select “Repository > Fetch.” If no changes have been committed by other team members, you will see a message “Up to date – No changes fetched.” If updates or changes have been made by team members, you will see a list of changes to be fetched, which provides a summary of changed and/or new elements. Once you select “OK,” the “Diff Tool” window will display. This tool allows you to review changes and either accept the server changes or retain the local desktop status of each element. Simply, select “move from right to left” to accept the changed element from the server and “mark as merged” to reject the server change and retain the current element of the local version. FLCAC recommends fetching changes with a frequency appropriate for the activity frequency of the team to maintain transparency and clarity of tracing changes and avoiding conflicts.

Time Requirements

The Review phase can involve iterative communications via the Tasks tracker on your FLCAC repository and often requires the most time in the data curation process. It is left to individual agencies to complete this phase for their dataset curation on an individual basis. Each member must play an active role in this collaborative effort for this phase of the process to be completed.

Best Practices

To account for multi-user collaborations on the server, and for ongoing repository maintenance, the best workflow practice is to guide your team to:

1. Fetch: Always connect to the server and fetch server updates to your local database before making changes in your local project. This practice ensures all team members are working from the most current version of the repository datasets. To perform the fetch, use the “Diff Tool” to sync all or partial changes from the server

2. Edit: Make changes in the openLCA desktop application; occasionally refresh your connection to reflect changes from team members

3. Commit: Commit your changes to the server before disconnecting

Publication

Once your data have been reviewed and curated in the private FLCAC working repository, the dataset(s) are ready for publication. By default, FLCAC repositories are private. Repository Owners must toggle them to public for publishing. FLCAC recommends for best practices that the curated private repository be cloned and made public such that the private database working copy is available in the background to receive updates and maintenance. In this way, the public version is static until scheduled/announced updates occur and the original private repository can be modified on an as needed basis. Once the private working copy update and curation tasks are complete, this copy can be repeatedly cloned to replace the outdated published version.

Figure 28. Cloning a repository on the FLCAC server

Figure 29. Publishing a repository on the FLCAC server

Your newly published repository will appear under its group name on the public FLCAC portal as a repository on the right hand side of the portal landing page.

Figure 30. Repository group names in public view

For best practices, FLCAC recommends that once repositories are made public, the agency team members ensure that their respective local openLCA desktop application databases fetch changes to reflect the most current versions. Further, as in the FLCAC server, FLCAC recommends one working copy and one ‘clean’ copy of each repository be kept on the desktop application. That is, changes should always be fetched from and updates always be committed to the private server working copy until it is ready for official publication. In this way, the public server version remains static and the desktop clean copy reflects this public version.

In summary, the best practices workflow is as follows:

• Commit to Private Server Group: Commit your datasets from openLCA to a private group on the Collaboration Server

• Curate Data on Server: agency team may use the Collaboration Server editorial features to communicate edits and finalize the private version of the datasets on the platform

• Publish Data on Server: Once the agency (or agency team) has approved the indexing of the datasets in the private version, the final version is approved and cloned/migrated to the agency’s public repository group

• Maintain Data on Server: The agency maintains the local openLCA desktop version of the datasets for preservation.

To account for multi-user collaborations on the server, and for ongoing repository maintenance, the best workflow practice is to guide your team to:

• Fetch Changes from Server: Connect to the Collaboration Server to fetch the latest changes from the private server working repository to your desktop application

• Make Updates Locally: Edit to make changes or add datasets in the local desktop version

• Commit Updates to Server: Commit changes to the private server working repository for internal agency review (i.e., using the editorial features)

• Publish Updates: Migrate changes to the public agency repository for publication

The FLCAC Database is updated with new and revised data on an as needed basis for most member agencies. Some groups (e.g., NREL) update on a quarterly basis. Thus, the publication timeline of your data depends on your agency publication schedule, the dataset/repository size and when your Onboarding & Formatting phases begin. The timeframe is heavily dependent on the response times between you and team members working to curate the repository data during the iterative communications of the Review phase as well as how many processes are being submitted.

Preservation

As the FLCAC is primarily an access system, it is left to individual agency members to preserve the final dataset files according to ISO 14721 standards for long-term digital information preservation. That is, the final dataset file versions are stabilized, checked for fixity (i.e., verifying no digital file corruption), and stored such that the original and published datasets and their supporting metadata are archived. Only the initial dataset submission and the version final dataset as published are archived. These datasets will be saved until the next update is submitted and published. Data longevity should be noted at the time of publication according to each member’s publishing schedule. Older datasets may not be saved in the FLCAC Collaboration Server but FLCAC members should retain the older datasets such that they are available upon request or for comparison and verification. Updates to previously published datasets shall contain a relevant note in the ‘Intended Application’ field of the unit process Administrative Information. If a user needs to access an older dataset, they may contact the FLCAC member source for a copy.

Guidance on Data Compilation in openLCA

The navigation scheme in openLCA contains the following elements:

1. Projects: can be created to compare product system variants

2. Product systems: can be created to link processes into process networks (necessary to calculate inventory results and impact assessment)

3. Processes: production or modification of products and materials; services

4. Flows: intermediate and elementary flows

5. Indicators and parameters: influence the LCIA and data quality definitions

   1. Impact assessment methods: method suite and individual LCIA methods area available via openLCA but must be downloaded and imported for each database

   2. Social indicators: same as LCIA methods; used for social LCA

   3. Global parameters: where database parameters are created and defined; a default value and uncertainty values may be assigned

   4. Data quality systems: database defaults have the ecoinvent® data quality system; other data quality systems are available via openLCA but must be downloaded and imported for each database

6. Background data: includes definitions for objects that populate pull-down menus used in the processes and LCIA methods

   5. Flow properties: properties of flows (e.g., length, mass, etc.)

   6. Unit groups: groups of units (e.g., units of area include m², ft2, sq.yd, etc.)

   7. Currencies: cost can be assigned to flows and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) can be performed

   8. Actors: people who have provided data or modified models

   9. Sources: literature referenced; can contain URL references

   10. Locations: provides geographic specificity; particularly, important for regionalized LCA

Metadata Guidance Tables

The tables below details the conventions for each field of the elements in the openLCA software. Each field has guidance and examples recommended by FLCAC for completing the metadata for processes submitted to the FLCAC Database. Some of these fields are mandatory (marked ‘M’), a few are automatically populated (marked ‘A’), and some are optional (marked ‘O’).

The key sources for the guidance are the:

• FLCAC Submission Guidelines Data Management Team

• FLCAC Policy Management Team

• FLCAC Communications Management Team

• USLCI Databases Submission Guidelines

• USDA NAL Ag Library Submission Guidelines

• GreenDelta: Class Data Set Information (http://greendelta.github.io/olca-modules/olca-ilcd/apidocs/org/openlca/ilcd/flowproperties/DataSetInformation.html)

• GreenDelta: LCA Collaboration Server User Manual & Introduction (

• ILCD Handbook: Nomenclature and other conventions (http://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/uploads/MANPROJ-PR-ILCD-Handbook-Nomenclature-and-other-conventions-first-edition-ISBN-fin-v1.0-E.pdf)

• Chalmers University Guide to LCA Data Documentation (http://cpmdatabase.cpm.chalmers.se/Document/CPM_Report_2003_3_Introduction_and_guide.pdf)

• UNEP SETAC ‘Shonan Guidelines’ – Global Guidance Principles for LCA Databases: A Basis for Greener Processes. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). © United Nations Environment Programme, 2011. Accessed at: (https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2011%20-%20Global%20Guidance%20Principles.pdf)

Metadata Guidance Tables (M1 – M8)

↓ Field contents are the same as the field above; (M) (M)Mandatory field; (A)Automatically populated field; (O)Optional field

Table M-1. General Information Field Conventions

Field Name	Convention	Examples
General Information
(M) Name[5]	Process name based on the FLCAC naming convention; the name should reflect the product or service it represents; the product reference output is given the same name as the process name; the naming conventions are as follows: Base name; treatment, routes, standards; production type, location type; quantitative flow properties The base name is a general descriptive name of the process using technical language. The technical name should be given as it is used in the respective industry or toward their customers. The standards include qualitative information about the process in technical terms (see Rules 12-17 Appendix E: ILCD Nomenclature Rules or the full ILCD Handbook for a list of potential descriptive terms). The quantitative process properties further specify information on process in technical quantitative term(s). Base name and treatment/routes/standards are mandatory; production/location type is mandatory if relevant to the process (if not, it can be ignored); the location type of availability (LCAC) is designated only if the process is not a mix; if the process is a production or consumption mix, the mix type is indicated; finally, any essential quantitative properties of the product or process should be included. For consistent nomenclature, use the following guidelines: separate components with a semi-colon separate elements within a component with a comma abbreviations should be avoided limit names to 220 characters	Example with 3 components Clinker; average mineral mix, at kiln, 1415 kg/m3 Example with 3 components Transport; long-haul truck, diesel powered; trip length > 200 mi Example with 2 components Scanner manufacture; Kodak Alaris i940 desktop manufacturing process

Table M-1. General Information Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
General Information, cont.
(A) Description	A combination of the following: 1. Technology description (only introduction and PROCESS DESIGN paragraph) 2. System boundaries (Boundary conditions only) 3. Any additional details key to understanding the process (may or may not be a repeat of metadata included in other fields)	This process represents the production of "Calcium carbonate, ground, 20 micron, at plant" using average technologies for the United States from 2015-2016. The process includes three sub-processes: Quarry Operations; Transport and Plant Processing. Quarry Operations includes the following unit operations: mechanical extraction; primary crushing; screening; and intermediate storage of calcium carbonate rock (marble, limestone, or chalk). Transport includes the transport of materials from Quarry Operations to Plant Processing via barge, train, or truck. Plant processing which includes jaw crushing, washing, impact crushing, ball milling to particle size, and then classifying. The system boundary includes: 1) the transport of raw materials to multiple manufacturing facilities where various subcomponents are produced; 2) the manufacture of subcomponents; 3) the transport of subcomponents to a different manufacturing plant for final assembly; 4) the assembly of subcomponents into a complete scanner; and 5) the transport of generated waste from the manufacturing facilities to a municipal solid waste landfill. The following processes and life cycle phases fall outside the system boundary: 1) packaging of the completed scanner; 2) all transport downstream of the assembly plant gate; 3) sale of product; 4) product use phase; and 5) end-of-life phase (including recycling).
(M) Category	The category/subcategories schema follows North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) coding. Categorize process by placing it in the proper folder in the repository process tree (using the FLCAC categorization convention as a guide); Once the openLCA data set(s) have been synced to the FLCAC Collaboration Server, the processes may be filtered by category providing a ‘process tree’ similar to that of other LCA software displays and should guide the placement of your datasets in the FLCAC categorization scheme; use the format main category (2-digit NAICS)/ (4-digit NAICS) schema (see Appendix E: 2018 NAICS United States Structure).	22: Utilities/2211: Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 31-33: Manufacturing/3253: Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing
Table M-1. General Information Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
General Information, cont.
(A) Version	Per the ILCD, the data set version; the first two digits indicate major updates, while the second two digits refer to minor revisions and error corrections; the final three digits are used for automatic and internal version counting during dataset development; Unless discussed in advance with the Data Curator, the value will be generated automatically by openLCA	01.00.000
(A) UUID	32-digit Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) for the data set[6]	961fad56-bde2-4fbe-8895-5be03461729b
(A) Last change	The date and time when the dataset was last saved	2019-04-01T17:38:55-0600
(M) Infrastructure process	Checking this box indicates that the process that produces infrastructure (i.e., inventory are only infrastructure). Leave this box unchecked if the process is not a process that produces infrastructure	False
Quantitative reference
(M) Quantitative reference	When you create a new process, this is the basis by which all the process flows are scaled; often the functional unit; the quantitative reference must be one of the process output flows; the output flows appear in a pull-down menu by default (See Rule 8: “Quantitative flow properties” name field, in Appendix E: ILCD Nomenclature Rules).	Scanner; Kodak Alaris i940 desktop scanner; Global supply chain; 1 unit, 1.55 kg
Time
(M) Start date	Start date for the time period that the process represents. The date format is MM/DD/YYYY	01/01/2018
Table M-1. General Information Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
Time, cont.
(M) End date	End date for the time period that the process represents. The date format is MM/DD/YYYY	12/31/2018
M Description	Additional information regarding the temporal characteristics and period that the process represents. Examples can include the period for which the process is valid, any temporal aggregation, data collection period, seasonal/annual variations, and carbon provenance	This unit process is representative of operations from 2014-2015. Water consumption varied seasonally but was averaged over an annual period.
Geography
(M) Location	The geographic area to which the unit process data were collected or refer. The FLCAC recommends that the geography reference the highest geographic resolution possible. Indicate ‘US’ unless higher geographic resolution is available. Use ISO 3166-2 code indicating the process’ geographic location if it is a US state. If the data are not a US state, also describe the locations in the geography ‘Description’ field	US-CO
(O) KML	Keyhole Markup Language (KML) file which allows users to create a coordinate point, bounding box or polygon indicating the geographic area the process represents; external KML files cannot be submitted	Polygon [-77.92, 39.55… -77.92, 39.55]
Table M-1. General Information Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
Geography, cont.
(M) Description	Description of the process' geographic representativeness and any geographic aggregation methods	This process is representative of production in the state of Colorado. Production data were aggregated across five sites ranging from eastern to western Colorado.
Technology
(M) Description	A short (i.e., 1-3 paragraphs), general description of the process intended technical scope, representativeness, and relevance. Include the following information (if applicable): 1. Process design including sub-processes, unit operations, and/or other activities (anthropogenic or natural) included in the process. 2. Material selection and quality. 3. Operational conditions. 4. A description of any fate and transport modeling	This process represents the production of "Calcium carbonate, ground, 20 microns, at plant" using average technologies for the United States from 2015-2016. The process includes three sub-processes: Quarry Operations; Transport and Plant Processing. Quarry Operations includes the following unit operations: mechanical extraction; primary crushing; screening; and intermediate storage of calcium carbonate rock (marble, limestone, or chalk). Transport includes the transport of materials from Quarry Operations to Plant Processing via barge, train, or truck. Plant processing which includes jaw crushing, washing, impact crushing, ball milling to particle size, and then classifying. Material selection and quality represent industry averages from the contiguous United States. Operational conditions represent industry averages from the contiguous United States. Fate and transport modeling was not considered for this process.
Data quality
(M) Process schema	Currently, the only default process schema for data quality available in openLCA is adapted from ecoinvent®; an agency may have their own scheme and/or other data quality schemes may be downloaded from openLCA and imported (e.g., the US EPA Data Quality system for the process schema)	US EPA Data Quality system
Table M-1. General Information Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
Data quality, cont.
(M) Data quality entry	Selecting the “(not specified)” link opens the Pedigree matrix, in which you can select the cardinal indicators for flow reliability, temporal correlation, geographical correlation, further technological correlation, and data collection methods (i.e., completeness). For details on the data quality scheme, see the pull-down menu descriptors in openLCA or the EPA 2016 Guidance Document on Data Quality Assessment for LCI Data.	(1;2;1;1;1)
(O) Flow schema	Currently, the only default flow schema for data quality available in openLCA is adapted from ecoinvent®; an agency may have their own scheme and/or other data quality schemes may be downloaded from openLCA and imported (e.g., the US EPA Data Quality system for the flow schema).	US EPA Data Quality system
(O) Social schema	Currently, the only default social schema for data quality available in openLCA is adapted from ecoinvent®	ecoinvent® data quality system

Table M-2. Inputs Field Conventions

Field Name	Convention	Examples
Inputs
(A) Flow	Elementary Flows: Elementary flows should be named based on the FEDEFL nomenclature guidelines. For general elementary flow information see Highlights 1-14 of Appendix D: FEDEFL Nomenclature Highlights. See the full FEDEFL Guidance for detailed conventions. Technosphere Flows: Flow name based on the ILCD Naming Convention (see General Information, Name Field Conventions). For general technosphere flow and for general product/process flow names, see Rules 1-19 of Appendix E: ILCD Nomenclature Rules. See the full ILCD Handbook for detailed conventions	Elementary Flow 'Biological' Hardwood, Resource/Biotic Technosphere Flow EPS virgin resin manufacture; batch suspension polymerization; industry average, at plant
(A) Category	Flow category as elementary flow or detailed technosphere flow categorization based on the FLCAC Categorization Convention (see General Information, Name Field Conventions)	Technosphere Flow 31-33: Manufacturing/3252: Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing
Table M-2. Inputs Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
Inputs, cont.
(M) Amount	Flow quantity	0.484
(M) Unit	Flow unit; the openLCA software includes a set of unit groups and units; these units must be used to ensure proper data importation. If these units are not appropriate for one or more of your dataset flows, let your Data Curator know and FLCAC will assist in adding a unit to the list	kg
(O) Costs/ Revenues	This field is provided for documenting Life Cycle Costing (LCC) data; the currency and costs may be provided for each flow; the costs per unit are automatically generated based on this information and flow amount	1.45 USD/kg
(O) Uncertainty	Describe flow's data uncertainty. This information is not required, but if provided it increases the process' usefulness. The distribution type, mean, and standard deviation may be provided	Normal distribution Mean = 0.484 Standard deviation = 0.15
(O) Avoided waste	If there is a scrap or waste flow that is utilized in your process, the flow may be listed as an input to your dataset and marked as an avoided waste	Bottle waste
(O) Provider	If the flow is produced by more than one process, you may use the drop-down menu to select a default provider.	Aluminum production; hot rolling; production mix, at plant
(O) Data quality entry	Describe the flow's data quality. This information is not required, but if provided it increases the process' usefulness. The flow data quality schema must first be defined on the ‘General information’ tab to be entered for each flow in the ‘Inputs/Outputs’ tab. Currently, the only default flow schema for data quality available in openLCA is adapted from ecoinvent®; an agency may have their own scheme and/or other data quality schemes may be downloaded from openLCA and imported (e.g., the US EPA Data Quality system for the flow schema).. For details on the data quality scheme, see the pull-down menu descriptors in openLCA or the EPA 2016 Guidance Document on Data Quality Assessment for LCI Data.	(1;2;1;2;4)
(M) Description	This field is required where applicable. Briefly describe the flow's relationship to the process and assumptions used to obtain the quantitative reference or data quality.	Transport to secondary processing

Table M-3. Outputs Field Conventions

Field Name	Convention	Examples
Outputs
(A) Flow	Elementary Flows: Elementary flows should be named based on the FEDEFL nomenclature guidelines. For general elementary flow information see Highlights 1-14 of Appendix D: FEDEFL Nomenclature Highlights. See the full FEDEFL Guidance for detailed conventions. Technosphere Flows: Flow name based on the ILCD Naming Convention (see General Information, Name Field Conventions). For general technosphere flow and for general product/process flow names, see Rules 1-19 of Appendix E: ILCD Nomenclature Rules. See the full ILCD Handbook for detailed conventions	Elementary Flows: 'Groups of Chemicals' Particulate matter, ≤ 10μm, Emission/Air Technosphere Flows: Scanner; Kodak Alaris i940 desktop scanner; Global supply chain; 1 unit, 1.55 kg
(A) Category	Flow category as elementary flow or detailed technosphere flow categorization based on the FLCAC Categorization Convention (see General Information, Name Field Conventions)	Technosphere Flow 31-33: Manufacturing/3341: Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing
(M) Amount	Flow quantity	1.55
(M) Unit	Flow unit	kg
(O) Costs/ Revenues	This field is provided for documenting Life Cycle Costing (LCC) data; the currency and costs may be provided for each flow; the costs per unit are automatically generated based on this information and flow amount	15 USD/unit
(O) Uncertainty	Describe flow's data uncertainty. This information is not required, but if provided it increases the process' usefulness. The distribution type, mean, and standard deviation may be provided	Normal distribution Mean = 1.55 Standard deviation = 0.44
(O) Avoided product	Used to indicate allocation has been avoided in a multi-functional process. This box should only be checked for the by-product flow(s). If the box is checked, the process avoiding the product flow must also be submitted.	Blank
Table M-3. Outputs Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
Outputs, cont.
(O) Data quality entry	Describe the flow's data quality. This information is not required, but if provided it increases the process' usefulness. The flow data quality schema must first be defined on the ‘General information’ tab to be entered for each flow in the ‘Inputs/Outputs’ tab. Currently, the only default flow schema for data quality available in openLCA is adapted from ecoinvent®; an agency may have their own scheme and/or other data quality schemes may be downloaded from openLCA and imported (e.g., the US EPA Data Quality system for the flow schema). For details on the data quality scheme, see the pull-down menu descriptors in openLCA or the EPA 2016 Guidance Document on Data Quality Assessment for LCI Data.	(1;2;1;2;4)
(M) Description	This field is required where applicable. Briefly (1 sentence or less) describe the flow's relationship to the process	Transport to secondary processing

Table M-4. Administrative Information Field Conventions

Field Name	Convention	Examples
Administrative Information
(M) Intended application	Use one of the four Main Goal Situations below to describe how the process is intended to be used. The term, "Main Goal Situations," refers to an LCA study's primary intended purpose per the ILCD Handbook’s Detailed Guidance[7]. Additionally, you should indicate the target audience and the context for which the model was built (e.g., carbon footprint, Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), policy development, policy information, generic unit process data, etc.). Indicate the completeness level of the elementary flows such that users can interpret the correct application of LCIA methods to the dataset. If the data were originally developed and analyzed with a LCIA method, indicate the method utilized here. If these data are an update to a previously published dataset, a note should be included here. SITUATION A -- MICRO-LEVEL DECISION SUPPORT The intended application for this process is for micro-level decision support as described in Goal Situation A from the ILCD Handbook's Detailed Guidance. LCA studies with this intended application are often used to answer product-related questions. Decisions stemming from these LCA studies "are assumed to have only limited or no structural consequences outside the decision-context,...do not change available production capacity...[and do not cause] large-scale consequences in the background system or other parts of the technosphere[.]" SITUATION B -- MESO/MACRO-LEVEL DECISION SUPPORT The intended application for this process is for meso/macro-level decision support as described in Goal Situation B from the ILCD Handbook's Detailed Guidance. LCA studies with this intended application are often used to support strategic level decisions such as "raw materials strategies, technology scenarios, policy options, etc. [Such decisions] are assumed to [result in] large-scale consequences in the background system or other parts of the technosphere." SITUATION C1 -- ACCOUNTING The intended application for this process is for accounting purposes as described in Goal Situation C1 from the ILCD Handbook's Detailed Guidance. LCA studies with this intended application offer "purely descriptive documentation of the system under analysis (e.g., a product, sector or country), without being interested in any potential consequences on other parts of the economy.” The studies categorized under Goal Situation C1 do consider existing benefits outside the analyzed system such as recycling. SITUATION C2 -- ACCOUNTING Same as in SITUATION C1 except LCA studies categorized under Goal Situation C2 do NOT consider existing benefits outside the analyzed system such as recycling.	These data are an update to the 2007 dataset with the same process name. SITUATION A -- MICRO-LEVEL DECISION SUPPORT The intended application for this process is for micro-level decision support as described in Goal Situation A from the ILCD Handbook's Detailed Guidance. These data were developed as specific, average or generic unit process LCI results for use in answering internal company product-related questions. A full inventory of environmental flows are included, thus this unit process can be used for a full range of LCIA impact categories, on the fate and transport considerations have been applied. The original study results were analyzed using the TRACI LCIA factors.

Table M-4. Administrative Information Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
Administrative Information, cont.
(M) Data set owner	Name of the agency/program that owns the dataset directly from which the process was generated. The field is populated from the list of Actors in the openLCA navigation tree. If your agency/program is not yet listed in the Actors menu, then it may be added.	National Energy Technology Laboratory
(M) Data generator	Name of the person, group of persons, or entity responsible for generating the dataset from which the process was generated. This field is also populated from the list of Actors in the openLCA navigation tree. If your person/group/entity is not yet listed in the Actors menu, then it may be added.	Timothy Skone
(M) Data documentor	Name of the individual or entity that transformed the dataset into the published openLCA version of this dataset. The field is populated from the list of Actors in the openLCA navigation tree. If your person/group/entity is not yet listed in the Actors menu, then it may be added.	Timothy Skone
(M) Publication	Reference to an openLCA Source that illustrates how the processes' LCI data were developed and/or used, i.e., a foundational publication that illustrates how the data are used. The Citation should use the American Psychological Association (APA) format. The field is populated from the list of Sources in the openLCA navigation tree. If your publication is not yet listed in the Actors menu, then it may be added.	National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). 2013. Surface Coal Mining – Overburden Removal, Extraction, and Reclamation
(A) Access and use restrictions	If your agency has their own data access use restrictions policy, it should be included in the published datasets. If your agency does not have a specific policy, the FLCAC default may be used (see: Data Provider’s Content License Agreement (“Agreement”)). This field is populated by individual agencies and contains legal language about how the dataset may be used.	See Appendix A: Data Use Disclaimer Agreement (“Agreement”)
(O) Project	Information about the project in which the data were generated. Where applicable, this field should indicate the project name, funding agency(ies), office(s) or program(s), and the grant or contract names and numbers.	This project was supported by the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, grant no. 2011-10006-30357 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Table M-4. Administrative Information Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
Administrative Information, cont.
(A) Creation date	The date and time when the dataset was published to the FLCAC. The date format is MM/DD/YY HH: MM AM/PM. This field will be automatically generated when the dataset is published to the FLCAC.	06/1/18 12:45 PM
(M) Copyright	The openLCA software has a checkbox that will indicate whether the dataset is copyrighted. No processes published in the FLCAC are copyrighted. Leave the box unchecked	Blank

Table M-5. Modeling and Validation Field Conventions

Field Name	Convention	Examples
Modeling and validation
(M) Process type	Indication of whether the data represent a unit or system process, where a system process is an LCI result.	Unit process
(M) LCI method	Indicate whether the LCI method was attributional, consequential, input/output, hybrid, etc.	Attributional
(M) Modeling constants	State the primary assumptions used to create this process; for multi-functional processes, describe how emissions were allocated among the co-products; provide allocation factors and supporting calculations as necessary	This process was adapted from an ecoinvent® process for wood pellet manufacturing for pellets of a specific energy value. The process weight factors were adapted for the energy density of a typical US biomass fuel.
Table M-5. Modeling and Validation Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
Modeling and validation, cont.
(M) Data completeness	A qualitative and quantitative description of missing and excluded data. This field is comprised of three elements: 1. TREATMENT OF MISSING ENVIRONMENTAL DATA List and describe accounting methods for missing environmental data (e.g., cut-off rules) and/or intentional environmental data omissions. As applicable, discuss missing data related to the following: air used in combustion; nutrients to/from air and soil; occupied area; particulate matter; transformed area; water withdrawal; and other directly extracted resources. 2. TREATMENT OF MISSING TECHNOSPHERE DATA List and describe accounting methods for missing technosphere data and/or intentional technosphere data omissions. As applicable, discuss missing data related to the following: co-production; consumption of ancillary materials such as energy, fuel, and product materials; transport; and water production or use. 3. MASS BALANCE Either quantify and describe the mass imbalance ((mass of material outputs - mass of material inputs)/mass of material outputs) or state, "The mass balance for this process was not calculated."	TREATMENT OF MISSING ENVIRONMENTAL DATA Elementary flows are cut-off at less than 1% based on environmental relevance. TREATMENT OF MISSING TECHNOSPHERE DATA Intermediate flows are cut-off at less than 1% based on environmental relevance. Capital equipment is not included in this unit process. MASS BALANCE The mass imbalance for this unit process is -17.87 kg (-0.72%).
(O) Data selection	The principle that have been used when selecting which data to include in the process; e.g., the principle applied for choosing data sources to use for different parts of the process.	Source 1 disaggregated waste inputs and listed heating values and emission factors for the incineration; whereas, Source 2 had only heating values for waste flow inputs. Therefore, Source 2 waste heating values were excluded from the averages.

Table M-5. Modeling and Validation Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
Modeling and validation, cont.
(M) Data treatment	Detailed description of the methods and assumptions used to transform primary and secondary data into flow quantities through recalculating, reformatting, aggregation, or proxy data. Also includes a description of the data quality according to FLCAC convention	Primary data were taken from precise engineering specifications specific to this unit process. These data were then transformed into material and energy flows using the methodology described in Publication (2016) which is due to be released in April 2017. The Publication (2016) methodology is almost identical to the methodology described in Other Publication (2012) which is an ISO 14044 compliant, peer-reviewed LCA report of three [insert product]. Secondary data were taken from the ecoinvent® 3.2 database (Wernet et al. 2018) and the US Life Cycle Inventory Database (National Renewable Energy Laboratory 2018). The data were North American except where otherwise specified.
Data source information
(M) Sampling procedure	Detailed description of how boundary conditions were defined, how data were collected, and how uncertainty is estimated. This field is comprised of three elements: BOUNDARY CONDITIONS A description of what is included and excluded from the system boundaries. DATA COLLECTION A description of how primary and/or secondary data were collected for this unit process. UNCERTAINTY ESTIMATION A description of if and how uncertainty was calculated for this process. If uncertainty was not calculated, this should be explicitly stated.	BOUNDARY CONDITIONS The system boundary includes: 1) the transport of raw materials to multiple manufacturing facilities where various subcomponents are produced; 2) the manufacture of subcomponents; 3) the transport of subcomponents to a different manufacturing plant for final assembly; 4) the assembly of subcomponents into a complete scanner; and 5) the transport of generated waste from the manufacturing facilities to a municipal solid waste landfill. The following processes and life cycle phases fall outside the system boundary: 1) packaging of the completed scanner; 2) all transport downstream of the assembly plant gate; 3) sale of product; 4) product use phase; and 5) end-of-life phase (including recycling). DATA COLLECTION For material inputs, data collection was based on facility data provided by facilities to the National Database. Other inputs (e.g. energy; waste transport and disposal) were calculated using engineering estimates and secondary literature on the basis of quantity of input per kg of product produced. UNCERTAINTY ESTIMATION Uncertainty was estimated based on engineering judgment. Material inputs had some uncertainty because they were based off of reported quantities. Other inputs (e.g. energy; waste transport and disposal) had more uncertainty.
Table M-5. Modeling and Validation Field Conventions, cont.
Field Name	Convention	Examples
Data source information, cont.
(M) Data collection period	Time period in which the data were collected.	Secondary data were collected from 2005-2018 per Source [1] 2005, Source [2] 2010, and Source [3] 2018.
Process evaluation and validation
(M) Reviewer	Reference to the openLCA Actor who reviewed the dataset.	Robert James
(O) Data set other evaluation	Additional review information pertaining to the dataset (e.g., single or panel review, internal or third party, data entry proofreading, mass balance verification, data documentation review, etc.).	The LCA study that produced this unit process was critically reviewed per ISO 14040 and 14044 standards by Ph.D. Office of Strategic Energy Analysis & Planning, National Energy Technology Laboratory.
Sources
(M) Sources	Reference to the publication(s), agency(ies), program(s), and/or entity(ies) from which data were obtained (from the openLCA Sources pull-down menu; add a new one, if the desired reference is not available).	Illinois Department of Natural Resources. 2006. Annual Statistical Report, 2006 Bucyrus International. 2008b. Continuous Miner Specifications. Bucyrus International. 2008a. Continuous Miners: The Range. National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). 2010. Continuous coal miner; Manufacture; At underground mine; 563 kW National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2016). US Life Cycle Inventory Database.Sustainable Solutions Corporation. (2016). IMA-NA Calcium Carbonate Life Cycle Assessment US Department of Commerce Census of Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories & Orders, May 2018 Report BTS – Bureau of Transportation Statistics Commodity Flow Survey of 2012.

Table M-6. Global Parameters Field Conventions

Field Name	Convention	Examples
General Information
(O) Name	Parameter name. Parameter names have the following restrictions: no spaces; no special characters; no more than 255 characters	belt_length
(O) Description	Brief description of how and why the parameter was developed.	Total conveyor belt length in meters.
Additional Information (used when creating new Global Parameters in the openLCA navigation tree)
(O) Type	Designates whether the parameter is an input or dependent parameter type: Input parameters: are only valid in the process/LCIA method/product system in which they are defined and saved Dependent parameters: include input or global parameters in their formula	Input
(O) Amount/Value	The default numeric value for the database	73.32
(O) Uncertainty	Describe parameter's uncertainty. This information is not required, but if available and provided, increases the dataset's clarity.	Triangle distribution Minimum = 50 Mode = 75 Maximum = 100
(O) Dependent Parameter Formula	Parameter formulas have the following rules: 1. Operators include "+","-","*","/". 2. Must use the parameter names as named in the ‘Parameters’ tab or otherwise already defined as global parameters in the openLCA database navigator. 3. Maximum of 255 characters and no units so the unit should be added to the ‘Description’ field 4. More complex functions are possible (such as using Booleans and regular expressions), but are not documented and described here. 5. Additional information on parameter functions can be found in the openLCA user manual	(cold_st_wt*belt_length)+tail_pulley+drive_pulley

Table M-7. Process Parameters

Field Name	Convention	Examples
Input & Dependent Parameters
(O) Name	Parameter name. Parameter names have the following restrictions: no spaces; no special characters; no more than 255 characters	belt_length
(O) Description	Brief description of how and why the parameter was developed.	Total conveyor belt length in meters.
Additional Information
(O) Amount/Value	The default numeric value for the database	73.32
(O) Uncertainty	Describe parameter's uncertainty. This information is not required, but if available and provided, increases the dataset's clarity.	Triangle distribution Minimum = 50 Mode = 75 Maximum = 100
(O) Dependent Parameter Formula	Parameter formulas have the following rules: 1. Operators include "+","-","*","/". 2. Must use the parameter names as named in this ‘Parameter’ tab in the process or otherwise already defined as global parameters in the openLCA database navigator under ‘Indicators and parameters/Global parameters.’ 3. Maximum of 255 characters and no units so the units should be added to the ‘Description’ field 4. More complex functions are possible (such as using Booleans and regular expressions), but are not documented and described here. 5. Additional information on parameter functions can be found in the openLCA user manual	(cold_st_wt*belt_length)+tail_pulley+drive_pulley

Table M-8. Allocation Field Conventions (Only for Multi-Functional Processes)

Field Name	Convention	Examples
Physical & economic allocation (Mandatory only for physical & economic allocation)
(M) Default method	Pull-down menu allows designation of no method or causal, economic, or physical allocation methods for multi-functional processes	Physical
(A) Product	Is the first reference flow by default; the primary product and co-products must have the same flow property	bark (0.3 kg) wood (1.00 kg)
(A) Physical	Allocation factors are based on the physical (e.g., mass or energy) ratio of the product flows; the ratio for the product will be 1.0 for a single-output process; for multi-output processes, the ‘Calculate default values’ button will automatically calculate the ratios based on the default (reference) flow property	0.23076923076923075 0.7692307692307692
(A) Economic	Allocation factors are based on the economic value of the product flows; the ratio of the product will be 1.0 for a single-output process; for multi-output processes, an economic flow property must first be added to each product flow; then, the ‘Calculate default values’ button will automatically calculate the ratios based on the economic value of the product flows	0.1071428571485712 0.8928571428571428
Causal allocation (Mandatory only for causal allocation)
(A) Flow	Lists the process flow outputs and inputs	Green lumber
(A) Direction	Indicates whether the flow is a process input or output	Output
(A) Category	Indicates the flow category	Forestry and logging/Logging
(A) Amount	The amounts are automatically calculated given the causal allocation ratio entered in the columns to the right of the amounts (i.e., for each product/by-product); the ratios are added manually	Bark 0.4 kg; Wood 0.6 kg for a causal ratio of 0.4 to 0.6

Social aspects field conventions: Social aspects are not addressed in this handbook.

Section 3: Frequently Asked Questions

Section 4: References & Resources

CPM (2003). Introduction and guide to LCA data documentation using the CPM documentation criteria and ISO/TS 14048 data documentation format, CPM Report 2003:3 by Karolina Flemstrom and Ann-Christin Palsson at Chalmers University of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden 2003. Accessed at: http://cpmdatabase.cpm.chalmers.se/Document/CPM_Report_2003_3_Introduction_and_guide.pdf.

EPA (2019). The Federal LCA Commons Elementary Flow List: Background, Approach, Description and Recommendations for Use. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-19/092. Accessed at: https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_Report.cfm?dirEntryId=347251&Lab=NRMRL.

EPA (2016). Guidance on Data Quality Assessment for Life Cycle Inventory Data, Version 1, National Risk Management Research Laboratory Office of Research and Development, EPA/600/R-16/096, June 2016. Accessed at: https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_file_download.cfm?p_download_id=528687.

GreenDelta: Class Data Set Information. Accessed at: https://github.com/GreenDelta/olca-app

GreenDelta (2018). LCA Collaboration Server: User Manual & Introduction, v 1.0.4

ILCD (2010). European Commission - Joint Research Centre - Institute for Environment and Sustainability: International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook – General Guide for Life Cycle Assessment – Detailed Guidance. First edition March 2010. EUR 24708 EN. Luxembourg. Publications Office of the European Union, 2010. Accessed at: http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC48157/ilcd\_handbook-general\_guide\_for\_lca-detailed\_guidance\_12march2010\_isbn\_fin.pdf.

ILCD (2010) ILCD Handbook: Nomenclature and other conventions. Accessed at: http://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/uploads/MANPROJ-PR-ILCD-Handbook-Nomenclature-and-other-conventions-first-edition-ISBN-fin-v1.0-E.pdf.

ISO/TS 14048:2002: Environmental management—Life cycle assessment—Data documentation format, Available at https://www.iso.org/standard/29872.html.

ISO 140721:2012: Space data and information transfer systems—Open archival information system (OAIS)—Reference model. Available at: https://www.iso.org/standard/57284.html.

McBride, B., & Norris, G. (2010). Earthster Core Ontology: Description and Rationale. Version 0.1-SNAPSHOT. New Earth, Boston.

NREL (2009). US Life Cycle Inventory Database Roadmap, Prepared by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) NREL is a national laboratory of the US Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. DOE/GO-102009-2881 August 2009. Accessed at: https://www.nrel.gov/lci/pdfs/45153.pdf.

NAL (2018) LCA Commons Submission Guidelines, Accessed at: https://www.lcacommons.gov/.

US EPA Federal LCA Unit Process Template

UNEP SETAC (2011). Global Guidance Principles for Life Cycle Assessment Databases: A Basis for Greener Processes and Products, a.k.a. the ‘Shonan Guidelines,’ ©2011 United Nations Environment Programme. Accessible at: https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2011%20-%20Global%20Guidance%20Principles.pdf.

Appendices

Appendix A - Data Use Disclaimer Agreement

Default FLCAC Data Use Disclaimer (“Agreement”)

These FLCAC Database Project data (“Data”) are provided by the Federal Life Cycle Assessment (“FLCAC”), operated by the [Insert Project Name] (“Project”) for the [Insert Departments (“Departments”) under Contract No. [Insert Contract #]. The United States Government (the “Government”) retains and the user acknowledges that the Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of these data, or allow others to do so, for Government purposes.

Access to and use of these Data shall impose the following obligations on the user, as set forth in this Agreement. The user is granted the right, without any fee or cost, to use, copy, modify, alter, enhance and distribute these Data for any purpose whatsoever, provided that this entire notice appears in all copies of the Data. Any modification, alteration or enhancement of these data shall be identified and documented by the user. Further, the user agrees to credit the FLCAC in any publication that results from the use of these Data. The name FLCAC, however, may not be used in any advertising or publicity to endorse or promote any products or commercial entities unless specific written permission is obtained from FLCAC. The user also understands that FLCAC is not obligated to provide the user with any support, consulting, training or assistance of any kind with regard to the use of these Data or to provide the user with any updates, revisions or new versions of these Data.

YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY THE GOVERNMENT AND FLCAC, AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, AGENTS, AND EMPLOYEES AGAINST ANY CLAIM OR DEMAND, INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES, RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THESE DATA. THESE DATA ARE PROVIDED BY FLCAC "AS-IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE GOVERNMENT OR FLCAC BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOSS OF DATA OR PROFITS, WHICH MAY RESULT FROM AN ACTION IN CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS CLAIM THAT ARISES OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE ACCESS, USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THESE DATA.

Example Agency Agreement – NAL (“Agreement”)

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Appendix D - FEDEFL Nomenclature Highlights

This section includes highlights from the FEDEFL guidance. The full guidance document can be found at https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_Report.cfm?dirEntryId=347251&Lab=NRMRL.

Highlight 1: A flow must consist of a Flowable + Context + Unit

1. Flowable - The name of the material, energy, or space (e.g., “Carbon dioxide” or “Water, fresh”) that comes from or goes to the biosphere. This is commonly called “substance” or “flow name” but this term is too limited and the term “flowable” from the Earthster Core Ontology (ECO) is used in the FEDEFL (McBride & Norris, 2010).
2. Context - A set of environmental media/compartments that describe the flow origin or destination (e.g., “Air”). Although the term "compartment" is sometimes used in LCA, the FEDEFL uses the term context to provide a broader meaning that includes the directionality (e.g. “resource” from biosphere or “emission” to biosphere), environmental media (e.g. “Air”, “Water”, “Ground” and “Biotic”), and additional secondary context information that is further described in Section 3.3 of the FEDEFL report. It is mandatory that a flow have a primary context (directionality + environmental media). The FEDEFL also includes preferred flows, which further specify secondary context information such as the type of water body (e.g., lake, river) an emission is discharged to. Highlight 5 provides more detail on secondary context information.
3. Unit - Flow units may be associated with conversion factors that can be used to convert between different units within a flow property (e.g., kg to lbs.) or even between flow properties (e.g., kg to m^3).

Highlight 2: Elementary flow primary contexts

Contexts are listed by directionality (Resource/Emission) and environmental media (Air, Ground, Water, Biotic)

Resources

Resource, Ground

Resource, Water

Resource, Air

Resources, Biotic

Emissions

Emissions, Ground

Emissions, Water

Emissions, Air

Highlight 3: Environmental media based on phase (e.g. solid, liquid, gas, biosphere)

The FEDEFL distinguishes between the environmental media and the vertical strata creating a flow context.

Example:

A resource flow from "groundwater, well" would conventionally have the flow context resource/ground. However, ground more accurately describes the vertical strata from which the resource is extracted, while the environmental media from which the resource is flowing is water. Therefore, in the FEDEFL the terms air, water and ground refer to the media, while another class is used to describe the vertical strata. It is important to note that for emission, the environmental media reflects the media the flow is going to and that for resources it is the media from which a resource originated.

The biotic media is used to describe the living media which some material flows from, such as the flow of wood from trees (e.g. Hardwood, Resource/Biotic).

Highlight 4: Classifying elementary flows (Eight class system)

It is recommended that users utilize the eight-class system as seen below to classify all elementary flows. Usage of the flow classification system helps improve the structure used to organize flows. Flow classes are a way to group elementary flows by their flowable type. Classes may have sets of contexts and units that distinguish them from flows in other classes.

Flow Class	Input/Output	Definition	Default flow units	Example Flowable(s)
Element or Compound	Both	A unique chemical element or compound	kg	1,1,2,2-Tetrachloethane
Groups of Chemicals	Both	A group or mixture of chemicals	kg	Volatile organic compounds
Geological	Both	A mineral or metal in an ore or aggregate material extracted for use or refining	MJ or kg	Anthracite
Biological	Both	Input: biomass or organic matter Output: biological matter (e.g. microorganisms, mites and pollen)	kg	Input Hardwood Output Bacillus Subtilis
Land Use	Input	Land types	area*time	Forest
Water	Both	Water	kg	Water, fresh
Energy	Both	Energy input NOT associated with consumed materials Energy output in the form of heat	MJ	Input Energy, Geothermal Output Energy, heat
Other	Both	None of the above. May include water quality parameters.		Biological Oxygen Demand

Highlight 5: Further differentiation of context information (secondary context information)

Secondary context information provides further details. Not all secondary context information applies to each of the flow classes. Below is a complete list of all combinations of primary and secondary flow context: (It is recommended that users use the appropriate context with as much specificity as possible).

Emissions

Air

emission/air, emission/air/indoor, emission/air/stratosphere, emission/air/subterranean, emission/air/troposphere/ground-level, emission/air/troposphere/high, emission/air/troposphere/low, emission/air/troposphere/rural, emission/air/troposphere/rural/ground-level, emission/air/troposphere/rural/high, emission/air/troposphere/rural/low, emission/air/troposphere/urban, emission/air/troposphere/urban/ground-level, emission/air/troposphere/urban/high, emission/air/troposphere/urban/low, emission/air/troposphere/very high

Ground

emission/ground emission/ground/human-dominated, emission/ground/human-dominated/agricultural, emission/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/rural, emission/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/urban, emission/ground/human-dominated/commercial, emission/ground/human-dominated/commercial/urban, emission/ground/human-dominated/commercial/rural, emission/ground/human-dominated/industrial, emission/ground/human-dominated/industrial/rural, emission/ground/human-dominated/industrial/urban, emission/ground/human-dominated/residential, emission/ground/human-dominated/residential/rural, emission/ground/human-dominated/residential/urban, emission/ground/subterranean, emission/ground/terrestrial/barren land, emission/ground/terrestrial/forest, emission/ground/terrestrial/grassland, emission/ground/terrestrial/shurbland, emission/ground/terrestrial/snow and ice, emission/ground/terrestrial/wetland

Water

emission/water emission/water/brackish water body, emission/water/brackish water body/lake, emission/water/brackish water body/lake/rural, emission/water/brackish water body/lake/urban, emission/water/fresh water body, emission/water/fresh water body/lake, emission/water/fresh water body/lake/rural, emission/water/fresh water body/lake/urban, emission/water/fresh water body/river, emission/water/fresh water body/urban, emission/water/saline water body, emission/water/saline water body/ ocean, emission/water/subterranean, emission/water/subterranean/brackish water body, emission/water/subterranean/brackish water body/confined aquifer, emission/water/subterranean/brackish water body/unconfined aquifer, emission/water/subterranean/fresh water body, emission/water/subterranean/fresh water body/confined aquifer, emission/water/subterranean/fresh water body/ unconfined aquifer, emission/water/subterranean/saline water body, emission/water/subterranean/saline water body/ confined aquifer, emission/water/subterranean/saline water body/unconfined aquifer

Resources

Air

resource/air resource/air/subterranean resource/air/troposphere

Biotic

resource/biotic

Ground

resource/ground resource/ground/human-dominated, resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural, resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/rural, resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/urban, resource/ground/human-dominated/commercial, resource/ground/human-dominated/commercial/rural, resource/ground/human-dominated/commercial/urban, resource/ground/human-dominated/residential, resource/ground/human-dominated/residential/rural, resource/ground/human-dominated/residential/urban, resource/ground/human-dominated/rural, resource/ground/human-dominated/urban, resource/ground/subterranean, resource/ground/terrestrial/barren land, resource/ground/terrestrial/forest, resource/ground/terrestrial/grassland, resource/ground/terrestrial/shrubland, resource/ground/terrestrial/snow and ice, resource/ground/terrestrial/wetland

Water

resource/water resource/water/brackish water body, resource/water/brackish water body/lake, resource/water/brackish water body/lake/rural, resource/water/brackish water body/lake/urban, resource/water/fresh water body, resource/water/fresh water body/lake, resource/water/fresh water body/lake/rural, resource/water/fresh water body/lake/urban, resource/water/saline water body, resource/water/saline water body/ocean, resource/water/subterranean, resource/water/subterranean/brackish water body, resource/water/subterranean/brackish water body/confined aquifer, resource/water/subterranean/brackish water body/unconfined aquifer, resource/water/subterranean/fresh water body, resource/water/subterranean/fresh water body/confined aquifer, resource/water/subterranean/fresh water body/unconfined aquifer, resource/water/subterranean/saline water body, resource/water/subterranean/saline water body/confined aquifer, resource/water/subterranean/saline water body/unconfined aquifer

Highlight 6: Alternative units

Some flows can be used with different units, e.g. radioactive chemicals can use the ‘kg’ or ‘kBq’ units. In instances where multiple units are possible, one unit is set as the FEDEFL default unit and other units are considered alternative units. All flows with an alternative unit exist within the AltUnit files on github by flow class (see example below).

Alternate units exist using a conversion factor between the different unit types. For each alternate unit there is a single default conversion factor. When mapping flows from an existing source to the FEDEFL users may input their own conversion factors.

Example: When converting flow names from an existing source, if the source contains conversion factors in the name (e.g. “Hard coal; 32.7 MJ/kg” and the units do not match the default units in the FEDEFL then users should use 32.7 MJ/kg as a conversion factor in the mapping file. However, there is no need to input a conversion factor in the mapping file when the units match the default units in FEDEFL.

Highlight 7: Geological ‘fuel’ flows, how to use alternative units and account for energy losses

In general, when creating flows to represent the extraction of raw resources, it is recommended that the name of the raw material being extracted be used. For raw material that is used to produce energy (e.g. fuels), it is important to note that in the FEDEFL there exists default conversion factors (higher heating values (HHV)) to convert the ‘kg’ of raw resource into an energy content. Users should apply an increase (e.g., 5-10%) in their Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) during refining to address the energy loss from the raw material to the refined material for all non-renewable fuels.

Highlight 8: Minerals, metals and ores

When modeling geological flows, the raw resource, or mineral names should be used as the elementary flow flowable. The reason for this recommendation is that this method requires users to track flows through the technosphere transformations to create the metals that are used during manufacturing. Mining metals, gangue or excess rock and non-valuable products as well as trace elements/metals are part of the initial raw resource extraction process. By modeling the raw material mineral, users can account for these by-products in the refining process. However, in some instances this is not possible as users may not know this information. Therefore, metals as raw resources are still included in the ‘Geological’ flow class. Users should be careful when using these flows that they account for the raw material losses from extraction through refining. It is recommended that users apply a loss of material (e.g., 5-10%) during refining when back-calculating the input quantity of the raw material.

Highlight 9: Land use

Land transformations are not included as elementary flows in the FEDEFL. Transformations are an activity and should be modeled as a process with land inputs. Only land occupations are elementary flows in the FEDEFL and are named based on the land types. All land occupation should have units of area*time. Any land flows that do not have such units are not in compliance with FEDEFL nomenclature.

Highlight 10: Identifying and formatting ‘Element or Compound’s and ‘Groups of Chemicals’

All ‘Element or Compound’s and ‘Groups of Chemicals’ are identified using the US EPA Substance Registry Services (SRS) and US EPA Chemistry Dashboard. No ‘Element or Compound’ or ‘Groups of Chemicals’ flowables may be added to the FEDEFL without some type of identification found in either of the two databases. At this time, formatting of the ‘Element or Compound’ and ‘Groups of Chemicals’ flowables reflects the formatting found in SRS and Chemistry dashboard.

Ions

Ions should be named using the numerical numbers to identify the ion. Below are some examples of the appropriate nomenclature for ions.

Examples:

Chromium(IV), Vanadium(V), Barium(II), Tin(II)

Radioactive elements

Radioactive elements should include the numerical value of the isotope.

Examples:

Antimony-125, Radon-222

Abbreviations should be avoided.

Naming of chemicals in combination should be avoided.

When mapping, it is better to estimate the conversion factor for each chemical and name a chemical as an individual speciated chemical rather than by chemical group or in combination. This improves the connection between LCI data and LCIA characterization factors and will yield more accurate results.

Example

'Dioxins and Furans' should now be two flows 'Dioxins' and 'Furans'

Highlight 11: Water flows

Assigning fresh, brackish and saline

Whenever possible, users should include the salinity of water flowables. The FEDEFL does include the generic term Water for use when mapping sources that do not specify the salinity. Context information should be used to capture additional information such as water body type and environmental media.

Example Water Flowable	FEDEFL Flowable	FEDEFL context
Rainwater	Water,fresh	resource/air*
Water, ocean	Water, saline	resource/water/saline water body/ocean
Water emission to freshwater lake	Water**	emission/water/fresh water body/lake

*It is recommended that rainwater be named 'Water, fresh' and be a resource from air. Rainwater should only be describing the flow of water from the atmosphere into a rainwater collection systems. Rainwater flowing from a collection system is a technosphere flow as it is NOT flowing directly from the biosphere.

**When the original source flow does not provide enough detail; the generic term, in this case 'Water' can be used when naming the flow even though this is not a preferred FEDEFL term.

Water quality parameters

Water quality parameters like Chemical/Biological Oxygen Demand are classified under the ‘Other’ elementary flow class. Additional quality parameters like pH are measured using the flowable ‘Hydrogen ion’ because the source reporting is in H+ units. This flow is found in the ‘Element or Compound’ flow class.

Highlight 12: Location specific data

There is no need to include locations in the naming of flowables since this information can be captured as part of the exchange metadata. An exchange is defined as a flowable used in a process with specific situational metadata included to describe the flowable. Example: When a ‘Particulate Matter, <2.5µm’ flowable is used in process to describe the total particulate matter in ‘kg’ emissions to air from coal power plant in Kentucky, USA from January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019. The flowable takes on the additional context information of an emission to air and units ‘kg’ to become a unique flow. The additional metadata of being from a specific process (e.g., coal power plant) at a specific location (e.g., Kentucky, USA) from a specific time period (e.g., 2019) is part of the exchange. The additional location, time period and process are not part of the FEDEFL nomenclature, but additional metadata to describe the use of this flowable.

Highlight 13: “Biogenic and fossil gases (e.g. methane and carbon dioxide) ” field

The FEDEFL nomenclature is founded on the principle that flowables are unique substances. Therefore, when dealing with biogenic or fossil gases the flowables it is recommended not to include these terms. Biogenic carbon dioxide is chemically identical to carbon dioxide and therefore NOT a unique substance.

Currently, naming gases as biogenic is used as a modelling and accounting workaround for LCA. Since the FEDEFL recommends that users do not distinguish biogenic gases, the FEDEFL recommends the following method for ensuring that biogenic gases are accounted for correctly. A basic rule is to have the gas (e.g., Carbon dioxide) with the context resource/air to account for any uptake. Users should then add a -1 characterization factor (e.g., kg CO2 equivalent/kg) to the GHG LCIA method for this flow to account for this uptake, which will cancel out the “biogenic CO2” emissions.

Highlight 14: End-of-life waste

While end-of-life waste flows are technically flows back to the biosphere, they are classified differently than elementary flows and not included in the FEDEFL. Waste sent for further processing or management (e.g., to landfill, incineration) should be considered technosphere flows. Whenever possible, it is recommended that final waste released to the biosphere be characterized by the 'Element or Compound' or 'Groups of Chemicals' so that flows can be characterized in LCIA methods. When specifics are not possible, it is recommended that users use the ILCD format for waste flows in naming End of life waste.

Appendix E - ILCD Nomenclature Rules

It is recommended by the FLCAC to use the ILCD nomenclature rules when creating technosphere and process flow names.

All rules paraphrased from the International Reference Life Cycle Data (ILCD) System Handbook on Nomenclature and other Conventions, First edition 2010. EUR 24384 EN and apply to technosphere and process flow naming conventions only. For the complete versions of each rule with details and examples, please access the handbook at: http://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/uploads/MANPROJ-PR-ILCD-Handbook-Nomenclature-and-other-conventions-first-edition-ISBN-fin-v1.0-E.pdf.

Rule 1: ILCD-compliant deliverables

All deliverables shall meet all the ‘mandatory’ rules; ‘recommended’ rules are optional

Rule 2: Top-level classification for Product flows, Waste flows, and Processes

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

“Energy carriers and technologies”

“Materials production”

“Systems”

“End-of-life treatment”

“Transport services”

“Use and consumption”

“Other services”

Rule 3: Second level classifications for Product flows, Waste flows, and Processes

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

“Energy carriers and technologies”

“Energetic raw materials” (Note: this refers to the extracted products and related technologies, not the resources e.g. in the ground)

"Electricity”

"Heat and steam”

"Mechanical energy"

"Hard coal based fuels"

"Lignite based fuels"

"Crude oil based fuels"

“Natural gas based fuels”

"Nuclear fuels"

"Other non-renewable fuels"

"Renewable fuels"

“Materials production”

“Non-energetic raw materials” (Note: this refers to the extracted products and related technologies, not the resources e.g. in the ground)

"Metals and semimetals"

"Organic chemicals"

"Inorganic chemicals"

"Glass and ceramics"

"Other mineral materials"

"Plastics"

"Paper and cardboards"

"Water"

"Agricultural production means"

“Food and renewable raw materials"

"Wood"

"Other materials"

“Systems"

"Packaging"

"Electrics and electronics"

"Vehicles"

"Other machines"

"Construction"

"White goods"

"Textiles, furniture and other interiors"

"Unspecific parts"

"Paints and chemical preparations"

“Other systems”

"End-of-life treatment"

Reuse or further use"

"Material recycling"

"Raw material recycling"

“Energy recycling"

"Landfilling"

"Waste collection"

"Waste water treatment"

"Raw gas treatment"

"Other end-of-life services"

"Transport services"

"Road"

"Rail"

"Water"

"Air"

"Other transport"

“Use and consumption"

"Consumption of products"

"Use of energy-using products"

"Other use and consumption"

"Other Services"

"Cleaning"

"Storage"

"Health, social services, beauty and wellness"

"Repair and maintenance"

"Sale and wholesale"

"Communication and information services"

“Financial, legal, and insurance”

“Administration and government”

“Defense”

“Lodging and gastronomy”

“Education”

“Research and development”

“Entertainment”

“Renting”

“Engineering and consulting”

"Other services"

Rule 4: General flow and process naming rules

(Recommended for both technical and non-technical target audience)

• Entries within the same name component field should be listed separated by the character,",". Within the entries of the various name component fields the character ";" should be avoided.

• Abbreviations should be avoided in the base name field, unless these are very widely in use and complement the long name in the name field (e.g. do not use "PP" for "Polypropylene", but it can be added as "Polypropylene, PP") or chemical element symbols (e.g. do not use "Fe" for "Iron").

• Chemical symbols can be used in the "Quantitative flow properties" field to indicate concentrations (e.g. "45% Fe" for an iron ore can be used).

• Brackets within the field entries should be avoided.

Note: the entries among the four separate name component fields are separated by the character ";."

Rule 5: “Base name” field

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

Definition: "General descriptive name of the flow. Technical language should be used."

Additional recommendations: The technical name should be given as it is used in the respective industry or toward their customers. For emissions the "base name" is the only one to be used; for certain resource flows also the last name component "quantitative flow properties" (see more below) is required, e.g. for energetic raw materials such as "Hard coal; 32.7 MJ/kg net calorific value". Recommendations for land use flows will depend on further developments in the LCIA area.

Rule 6: “Treatment, standards, routes” name field

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

Definition: "Qualitative information on the (product or waste) flow in technical term(s): treatment received, standard fulfilled, product quality use information, production route name, educt name, primary / secondary etc. separated by commata."

Additional recommendations and examples: Examples for types of terms that should be used preferably are:

• For "treatment received": e.g. "polished," "cleaned," "chromium plated," "sterilized," etc.

• For "standard fulfilled": technical standards such as for material grades/purity, fulfilled emission limits, etc.

• For "product quality": other qualitative information such as e.g. "glossy," "UV-resistant," "flame-retardant," "antibacterial finishing," etc.

• For "use information": e.g. "indoor use," "bottle grade," "for wafer production," etc.

• For "production route name": process or production route used for producing this product, such as "suspension polymerization," "spray dried," "Fischer-Tropsch," etc.

• For "educt name": main in-going products ("educts") in case different routes exist may be needed, such as "from ore roasting" for sulfuric acid, "pine wood" for timber, etc. (note that in practice often the educt is part of the commonly used base name, e.g. "Pine wood table").

• For "primary / secondary": "primary," "secondary;" for mixes with a fixed share of primary/secondary it should be enough to quantify the shares in the next name field on "Quantitative flow properties."

Rule 7: “Mix type and location type” name field

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

Definition: "Specifying information on the (product or waste) flow whether being a production mixture or consumption mix, location type of availability (such as e.g. "to consumer" or "at plant"), separated by commata."

Rule 8: “Quantitative flow properties” name field

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

Definition: "Further, quantitative specifying information on the (product or waste) flow, in technical term(s): qualifying constituent(s)-content and / or energy content per unit, as appropriate. Separated by commata. (Note: non-qualifying flow properties, CAS No, Synonyms, Chemical formulas etc. are documented exclusively in the respective fields.)"

For "qualifying constituent(s)-content and / or energy content per unit": quantitative element-, substance-, or energy content, expressed in units per unit of a relevant other flow property. Examples: "24% Fe," "9.6 MJ/kg net calorific value," "90.5% methane by volume." Note that often the units are not required explicitly; e.g. "24% Fe" refers per default to "mass/mass." If another relation is meant, this one has to be given explicitly, of course, e.g. "24% Fe molar" for chemical interim products or e.g. "13.5% ethanol by volume" for wine. Any ambiguity should be avoided, of course.

Rule 9: Naming pattern of flows and processes.

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

<“Base name;” “Treatment, standards, routes;” “Mix type and location type;” “Quantitative flow properties”>.

Rule 10: Naming of product and waste flows

(Recommended for both technical and non-technical target audience)

Product and waste flows are to be named using technical names, being as precise as possible, with the different types of information being documented into the four names fields as defined in Rules 12-17. Other information such as represented country/region or year should not be part of the flow name but be documented in separate documentation fields.

Rule 11: Naming of processes

(Recommended for both technical and non-technical target audience)

• The name of process data sets with exactly one "reference flow" should be identical to the name of that reference flow.

• Geographical and data set age information is documented not as part of the flow or process name, but in a separate documentation field.

• The name of multi-functional process data sets with more than one "reference flow" should combine the name of the technology/plant represented and include information on all reference flows.

• The name of process data sets with quantitative references other than "reference flow" (e.g. “functional unit,” “production period,” "other flow," etc.) should be named according to their quantitative reference. If required for clarity, this name should be combined with the technology or plant name.

Rule 12: Classification for flow properties

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

• “Technical flow properties" (e.g. "Net calorific value," "Mass" etc.)

• "Chemical composition of flows" (e.g. "Iron content," "Methane content" etc.)

• "Economic flow properties” (e.g. "Market value US 1997, bulk prices," "Market value EU-27 2008, private consumer prices," etc.)

• “Other flow properties”

Rule 13: Classification of unit groups

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

• “Technical unit groups" (e.g. "Units of energy," "Units of mass," etc.)

• "Economic unit groups" (e.g. "Units of currency 1997," "Units of currency 1998," etc.)

• “Other unit groups”

Note that no "Chemical composition unit groups" class is required, as the related flow properties / LCIA factors will always use technical Unit groups and units (e.g. mass, volume, etc.). E.g. it will be "kg" Iron content (per given reference unit of an enriched ore flow, i.e. kg Fe per kg iron ore).

Rule 14: Reference flow properties and reference units for types of flows, first criterion

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

All flows that possess a mass, are measured in the flow property “Mass,” as long as none of the below rules would require to use a different flow property. The unit group for mass is “Units of mass” with the reference unit “kg.”

Rule 15: Reference flow properties and reference units for types of flows, second criterion

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

Elementary flows, for which the energy content is the most relevant unit, are measured in the flow property “Net calorific value.” The unit group for the net calorific value is “Units of energy” with the reference unit “MJ.”

Product and waste flows such as fuels, in contrast, can be measured as-is general usage, e.g. in mass (e.g. diesel, hard coal, etc.), normal volume (e.g. natural gas), "Net calorific value" with the unit "MJ," or other. Note that for Uranium ore, for which a net calorific value per se cannot be given, the usable fission energy content is expressed nevertheless as "Net calorific value" to ease aggregation with other fossil energy resources to primary energy consumption figures.

Rule 16: Reference flow properties and reference units for types of flows, further criteria

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

Further criteria for reference flow properties and reference units are:

• Product and waste flows that are typically dealt with in standard volume and for which none of the other units named in Rule 21-27 in use in practice, are measured in the flow property “Standard volume” (e.g. for the product flows “Compressed air; 10 bar,” "Oxygen; from refill gas cylinder of 40 l; 150 bar," etc.). Not applicable to elementary flows. The unit group is “Units of volume” with the reference unit “m3.”

• Flows that are typically dealt with in number of items are measured in the flow property “Number” (e.g. product flows "Spare tire passenger car; generic average," "Milk cow; Holstein, alive, start of lactation" etc.).

• Product and waste flows that are typically dealt with in duration are measured in the flow property “Time” (e.g. product flow / functional unit "Storage in warehouse; unheated"). Not applicable to elementary flows. The unit group is “Units of time” with the reference unit “d,” i.e. days.

• Product and waste flows that are typically dealt with in weight multiplied with distance are measured in the flow property “Mass*length” (e.g. product flow / functional unit "Road transport; bulk goods, generic mix; long distance"). Not applicable to elementary flows. The unit group is “Units of mass*length” with the reference unit “t*km.”

• Product and waste flows that are typically dealt with in volume multiplied with distance are measured in the flow property “Volume*length” (e.g. product flow / functional unit "Road transport; voluminous goods, generic mix; long distance"). Not applicable to elementary flows. The unit group is “Units of volume*length” with the reference unit “m3*km.”

• Person transport product flows / functional units are given in the flow property “Person*distance.” Not applicable to elementary flows. The unit group is “Units of items*length” with the reference unit “Items*km.”

• Flows that are typically dealt with in surface area are measured in the flow property “Area” (e.g. elementary flow "Land conversion; XY specification," product flow / functional unit "Surface cleaning; heavily soiled, plastic; 1 m²"). The unit group is “Units of area” with the reference unit “m².”

• Flows that are typically dealt with in surface area multiplied with time are measured in the flow property “Area*time” (e.g. elementary flow "Land occupation; XY specification," product flow / functional unit "Façade weather protection; exposed, white; 70% reflection").The unit group is “Units of area*time” with the reference unit “m²*a.” (1 year approximated as 365 days).

• Product and waste flows that are typically dealt with in volume multiplied with time are measured in the flow property “Volume*time” (e.g. product flow / functional unit "Landfill occupation"). Not applicable to elementary flows. The unit group is “Units of volume*time” with the reference unit “m3*a.” (1 year approximated as 365 days).

• For products where the content of specific elements or of well-defined chemical compounds is of interest, the respective information should be given as secondary flow property for conversion, display, or modeling purposes. This is done using flow properties of the type “Substance/element X content,” e.g. “Cadmium content,” “Ammonia content,” “Water content,” “Methane content” etc. (Nomenclature for the element or substance name should be identical to the one for these elements or substances as given elsewhere in these rules). Depending on the specific interest, the information can be given in mass or volume units: E.g. “Iron content” in the product flow “Iron ore, enriched; floating …” as mass information or “Methane content” in the product flow “Natural gas; …” volumetric. The required “Unit group data set” is then the same as already defined “Units of mass” and “Units of volume,” i.e. there is no necessity to define new Unit group data sets.

• For product and waste flows where the economic value should be given (typically as secondary flow property for allocation purposes or cost calculation in Life Cycle Costing) this is done using the flow property “Market value,” which is further specified as required, typically referring to the country or region, time period, and wholesale/retail etc. situation, by adding the respective information: E.g. "Market value US 1997, bulk prices," "Market value EU 2000, private consumer prices." (Can be used for e.g. product / waste / elementary flows "Gold," "Waste tires," "Carbon dioxide," etc.). The unit group name is formed by the combination of the string "Units of currency" and an addition that characterizes the time period to which it refers, e.g. "1997," "1990-1999," "May 1995" etc., e.g. “Units of currency 1997” with the reference unit “EUR,” i.e. Euro.

(Note: The reference to a time period is required to allow giving correct average conversion numbers for other currencies for that time period).The unit group is “Units of items” with the reference unit “Item(s)".

Rule 17: Creation and naming of flow properties, unit groups and units

(Mandatory for technical target audience, recommended for non-technical target audience)

The creation/use of new flow properties, unit groups and units should be avoided, if possible, and any of the existing ones as provided in the upcoming more complete list of the ILCD system should be used.

If the creation of new flow properties and unit groups is unavoidable (as to be expected e.g. for economic flow properties), they should be named following the same pattern as the ones above, i.e. flow properties carry the name of the physical or other property, units carry the unit short as name (with the option to provide a long name and further info in the comment field foreseen in the data format). Unit groups are named by a combination of the string “Units of” and the name of the flow property they refer to. Please note, that in certain cases it is useful to have common unit groups for more than one flow property were all are measured in the same units. In such cases the naming can be referred to a more general flow property (e.g. “Energy” → “Units of energy”) and not only to one specific one (e.g. NOT “Units of net calorific value” or “Units of exergy” etc.).

Rule 18: Classification of contact data sets

(Recommended for technical and non-technical target audience)

"Group of organizations, project"

"Organizations"

"Private companies"

"Governmental organizations"

"Non-governmental organizations"

"Other organizations"

"Working groups within organizations"

"Persons"

"Other"

Rule 19: Classification of source data sets

(Recommended for technical and non-technical target audience)

"Images"

"Data set formats"

"Databases"

"Compliance systems"

"Statistical classifications"

"Publications and communications"

"Other source types"

Appendix F - 2017 NAICS United States Structure

The following page contains a summary table of the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) United States structure. The presentation (i.e., lighter font for excluded 3-digit codes) reflects the FLCAC adoption of the NAICS 2 digit/4 digit classification scheme for categorizing intermediate processes

This table shows the counts of subsectors, industry groups, industries, and United States detail industries for each of the NAICS sectors. This list displays the codes and official full titles for the sectors, subsectors, and industry groups. A “T” superscript on the title indicates a level at which Canada, Mexico, and the United States formally agreed to maintain comparability. Detail below that level may or may not be comparable to detail for one or both of the other countries.

The complete table with industries and United States detail industries may be found at: census.gov/naics.

Sector 11--Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting^T

111 Crop Production^T

1111 Oilseed and Grain Farming^T

1112 Vegetable and Melon Farming^T

1113 Fruit and Tree Nut Farming^T

1114 Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture Production^T

1119 Other Crop Farming^T

112 Animal Production and AquacultureT

1121 Cattle Ranching and Farming^T

1122 Hog and Pig Farming^T

1123 Poultry and Egg Production^T

1124 Sheep and Goat Farming^T

1125 Aquaculture^T

1129 Other Animal Production^T

113 Forestry and Logging^T

1131 Timber Tract Operations^T

1132 Forest Nurseries and Gathering of Forest Products^T

1133 Logging^T

114 Fishing, Hunting and Trapping^T

1141 Fishing^T

1142 Hunting and Trapping^T

115 Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry^T

1151 Support Activities for Crop Production^T

1152 Support Activities for Animal Production^T

1153 Support Activities for Forestry^T

Sector 21--Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction^T

211 Oil and Gas Extraction^T

2111 Oil and Gas Extraction^T

212 Mining (except Oil and Gas)^T

2121 Coal Mining^T

2122 Metal Ore Mining^T

2123 Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying^T

213 Support Activities for Mining^T

2131 Support Activities for Mining^T

Sector 22--Utilities^T

221 Utilities^T

2211 Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution^T

2212 Natural Gas Distribution^T

2213 Water, Sewage and Other Systems^T

Sector 23--Construction^T

236 Construction of Buildings^T

2361 Residential Building Construction^T

2362 Nonresidential Building Construction^T

237 Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction^T

2371 Utility System Construction^T

2372 Land Subdivision^T

2373 Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction^T

2379 Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction^T

238 Specialty Trade Contractors^T

2381 Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors^T

2382 Building Equipment Contractors^T

2383 Building Finishing Contractors^T

2389 Other Specialty Trade Contractors^T

Sector 31-33--Manufacturing^T

311 Food Manufacturing^T

3111 Animal Food Manufacturing^T

3112 Grain and Oilseed Milling^T

3113 Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing^T

3114 Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing^T

3115 Dairy Product Manufacturing^T

3116 Animal Slaughtering and Processing^T

3117 Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging^T

3118 Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing^T

3119 Other Food Manufacturing^T

312 Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing^T

3121 Beverage Manufacturing^T

3122 Tobacco Manufacturing^T

313 Textile Mills^T

3131 Fiber, Yarn, and Thread Mills^T

3132 Fabric Mills^T

3133 Textile and Fabric Finishing and Fabric Coating Mills^T

314 Textile Product Mills^T

3141 Textile Furnishings Mills^T

3149 Other Textile Product Mills^T

315 Apparel Manufacturing^T

3151 Apparel Knitting Mills^T

3152 Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing^T

3159 Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing^T

316 Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing^T

3161 Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing^T

3162 Footwear Manufacturing^T

3169 Other Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing^T

321 Wood Product Manufacturing^T

3211 Sawmills and Wood Preservation^T

3212 Veneer, Plywood, and Engineered Wood Product Manufacturing^T

3219 Other Wood Product Manufacturing^T

322 Paper Manufacturing^T

3221 Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills^T

3222 Converted Paper Product Manufacturing^T

323 Printing and Related Support Activities^T

3231 Printing and Related Support Activities^T

324 Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing^T

3241 Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing^T

325 Chemical Manufacturing^T

3251 Basic Chemical Manufacturing^T

3252 Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial and Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing^T

3253 Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing^T

3254 Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing^T

3255 Paint, Coating, and Adhesive Manufacturing^T

3256 Soap, Cleaning Compound, and Toilet Preparation Manufacturing^T

3259 Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing^T

326 Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing^T

3261 Plastics Product Manufacturing^T

3262 Rubber Product Manufacturing^T

327 Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing^T

3271 Clay Product and Refractory Manufacturing^T

3272 Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing^T

3273 Cement and Concrete Product Manufacturing^T

3274 Lime and Gypsum Product Manufacturing^T

3279 Other Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing^T

331 Primary Metal Manufacturing^T

3311 Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing^T

3312 Steel Product Manufacturing from Purchased Steel^T

3313 Alumina and Aluminum Production and Processing^T

3314 Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Production and Processing^T

3315 Foundries^T

332 Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing^T

3321 Forging and Stamping^T

3322 Cutlery and Handtool Manufacturing^T

3323 Architectural and Structural Metals Manufacturing^T

3324 Boiler, Tank, and Shipping Container Manufacturing^T

3325 Hardware Manufacturing^T

3326 Spring and Wire Product Manufacturing^T

3327 Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing^T

3328 Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities^T

3329 Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing^T

333 Machinery Manufacturing^T

3331 Agriculture, Construction, and Mining Machinery Manufacturing^T

3332 Industrial Machinery Manufacturing^T

3333 Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing^T

3334 Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing^T

3335 Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing^T

3336 Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing^T

3339 Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing^T

334 Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing^T

3341 Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing^T

3342 Communications Equipment Manufacturing^T

3343 Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing^T

3344 Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing^T

3345 Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing^T

3346 Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media^T

335 Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing^T

3351 Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing^T

3352 Household Appliance Manufacturing^T

3353 Electrical Equipment Manufacturing^T

3359 Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing^T

336 Transportation Equipment Manufacturing^T

3361 Motor Vehicle Manufacturing^T

3362 Motor Vehicle Body and Trailer Manufacturing^T

3363 Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing^T

3364 Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing^T

3365 Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing^T

3366 Ship and Boat Building^T

3369 Other Transportation Equipment Manufacturing^T

337 Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing^T

3371 Household and Institutional Furniture and Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturing^T

3372 Office Furniture (including Fixtures) Manufacturing^T

3379 Other Furniture Related Product Manufacturing^T

339 Miscellaneous Manufacturing^T

3391 Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing^T

3399 Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing^T

Sector 42--Wholesale Trade^T

423 Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods

4231 Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Parts and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers

4232 Furniture and Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers

4233 Lumber and Other Construction Materials Merchant Wholesalers

4234 Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers

4235 Metal and Mineral (except Petroleum) Merchant Wholesalers

4236 Household Appliances and Electrical and Electronic Goods Merchant Wholesalers

4237 Hardware, and Plumbing and Heating Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers

4238 Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers

4239 Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers

424 Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods

4241 Paper and Paper Product Merchant Wholesalers

4242 Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers

4243 Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers

4244 Grocery and Related Product Merchant Wholesalers

4245 Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers

4246 Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers

4247 Petroleum and Petroleum Products Merchant Wholesalers

4248 Beer, Wine, and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers

4249 Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers

425 Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers

4251 Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers

Sector 44-45--Retail Trade^T

441 Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers

4411 Automobile Dealers

4412 Other Motor Vehicle Dealers

4413 Automotive Parts, Accessories, and Tire Stores

442 Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores

4421 Furniture Stores

4422 Home Furnishings Stores

443 Electronics and Appliance Stores

4431 Electronics and Appliance Stores

444 Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers

4441 Building Material and Supplies Dealers

4442 Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Stores

445 Food and Beverage Stores

4451 Grocery Stores

4452 Specialty Food Stores

4453 Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores

446 Health and Personal Care Stores

4461 Health and Personal Care Stores

447 Gasoline Stations

4471 Gasoline Stations

448 Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores

4481 Clothing Stores

4482 Shoe Stores

4483 Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores

451 Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores

4511 Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores

4512 Book Stores and News Dealers

452 General Merchandise Stores

4522 Department Stores

4523 General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters

453 Miscellaneous Store Retailers

4531 Florists

4532 Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Stores

4533 Used Merchandise Stores

4539 Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers

454 Nonstore Retailers

4541 Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses

4542 Vending Machine Operators

4543 Direct Selling Establishments

Sector 48-49--Transportation and Warehousing^T

481 Air Transportation^T

4811 Scheduled Air Transportation^T

4812 Nonscheduled Air Transportation^T

482 Rail Transportation^T

4821 Rail Transportation^T

483 Water Transportation^T

4831 Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation^T

4832 Inland Water Transportation^T

484 Truck Transportation^T

4841 General Freight Trucking^T

4842 Specialized Freight Trucking^T

485 Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation^T

4851 Urban Transit Systems^T

4852 Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation^T

4853 Taxi and Limousine Service^T

4854 School and Employee Bus Transportation^T

4855 Charter Bus Industry^T

4859 Other Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation^T

486 Pipeline Transportation^T

4861 Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil^T

4862 Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas^T

4869 Other Pipeline Transportation^T

487 Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation^T

4871 Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land^T

4872 Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water^T

4879 Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Other^T

488 Support Activities for Transportation^T

4881 Support Activities for Air Transportation^T

4882 Support Activities for Rail Transportation^T

4883 Support Activities for Water Transportation^T

4884 Support Activities for Road Transportation^T

4885 Freight Transportation Arrangement^T

4889 Other Support Activities for Transportation^T

491 Postal Service^T

4911 Postal Service^T

492 Couriers and Messengers^T

4921 Couriers and Express Delivery Services^T

4922 Local Messengers and Local Delivery^T

493 Warehousing and Storage^T

4931 Warehousing and Storage^T

Sector 51--Information^T

511 Publishing Industries (except Internet)^T

5111 Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers^T

5112 Software Publishers^T

512 Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries^T

5121 Motion Picture and Video Industries^T

5122 Sound Recording Industries^T

515 Broadcasting (except Internet)^T

5151 Radio and Television Broadcasting^T

5152 Cable and Other Subscription Programming^T

517 Telecommunications^T

5173 Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers^T

5174 Satellite Telecommunications^T

5179 Other Telecommunications^T

518 Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services^T

5182 Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services^T

519 Other Information Services^T

5191 Other Information Services^T

Sector 52--Finance and Insurance^T

521 Monetary Authorities-Central Bank^T

5211 Monetary Authorities-Central Bank^T

522 Credit Intermediation and Related Activities^T

5221 Depository Credit Intermediation 5222 Nondepository Credit Intermediation

5223 Activities Related to Credit Intermediation

523 Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities^T

5231 Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage^T

5232 Securities and Commodity Exchanges^T

5239 Other Financial Investment Activities^T

524 Insurance Carriers and Related Activities^T

5241 Insurance Carriers^T

5242 Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities^T

525 Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles

5251 Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds 52511 Pension Funds

5259 Other Investment Pools and Funds

Sector 53--Real Estate and Rental and Leasing^T

531 Real Estate^T

5311 Lessors of Real Estate^T

5312 Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers^T

5313 Activities Related to Real Estate^T

532 Rental and Leasing Services^T

5321 Automotive Equipment Rental and Leasing^T

5322 Consumer Goods Rental^T

5323 General Rental Centers^T

5324 Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment Rental and Leasing^T

533 Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works)^T

5331 Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works)^T

Sector 54--Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services^T

541 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services^T

5411 Legal Services^T

5412 Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services^T

5413 Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services^T

5414 Specialized Design Services^T

5415 Computer Systems Design and Related Services^T

5416 Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services^T

5417 Scientific Research and Development Services^T

5418 Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services^T

5419 Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services^T

Sector 55--Management of Companies and Enterprises^T

551 Management of Companies and Enterprises^T

5511 Management of Companies and Enterprises^T

Sector 56--Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services^T

561 Administrative and Support Services^T

5611 Office Administrative Services^T

5612 Facilities Support Services^T

5613 Employment Services^T

5614 Business Support Services^T

5615 Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services^T

5616 Investigation and Security Services^T

5617 Services to Buildings and Dwellings^T

5619 Other Support Services^T

562 Waste Management and Remediation Services^T

5621 Waste Collection

5622 Waste Treatment and Disposal

5629 Remediation and Other Waste Management Services

Sector 61--Educational Services^T

611 Educational Services^T

6111 Elementary and Secondary Schools^T

6112 Junior Colleges^T

6113 Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools^T

6114 Business Schools and Computer and Management Training^T

6115 Technical and Trade Schools^T

6116 Other Schools and Instruction^T

6117 Educational Support Services^T

Sector 62--Health Care and Social Assistance^T

621 Ambulatory Health Care Services^T

6211 Offices of Physicians^T

6212 Offices of Dentists^T

6213 Offices of Other Health Practitioners^T

6214 Outpatient Care Centers^T

6215 Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories^T 62151 Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories^T

6216 Home Health Care Services^T

6219 Other Ambulatory Health Care Services^T

622 Hospitals^T

6221 General Medical and Surgical Hospitals^T

6222 Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals^T

6223 Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals^T

623 Nursing and Residential Care Facilities^T

6231 Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)^T

6232 Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities^T

6233 Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly^T

6239 Other Residential Care Facilities^T

624 Social Assistance^T

6241 Individual and Family Services^T

6242 Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services^T

6243 Vocational Rehabilitation Services^T

6244 Child Day Care Services^T

Sector 71--Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation^T

711 Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries^T

7111 Performing Arts Companies^T

7112 Spectator Sports^T

7113 Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events^T

7114 Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures^T

7115 Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers^T

712 Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions^T

7121 Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions^T

713 Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries^T

7131 Amusement Parks and Arcades^T

7132 Gambling Industries^T

7139 Other Amusement and Recreation Industries^T

Sector 72--Accommodation and Food Services^T

721 Accommodation^T

7211 Traveler Accommodation^T

7212 RV (Recreational Vehicle) Parks and Recreational Camps^T

7213 Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers’ Camps^T

722 Food Services and Drinking Places^T

7223 Special Food Services^T

7224 Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)^T

7225 Restaurants and Other Eating Places^T

Sector 81--Other Services (except Public Administration)^T

811 Repair and Maintenance^T

8111 Automotive Repair and Maintenance^T

8112 Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance^T

8113 Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment Repair and Maintenance^T

(except Automotive and Electronic)

8114 Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance^T

812 Personal and Laundry Services^T

8121 Personal Care Services

8122 Death Care Services

8123 Drycleaning and Laundry Services

8129 Other Personal Services

813 Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations^T

8131 Religious Organizations

8132 Grantmaking and Giving Services 81321

8133 Social Advocacy Organizations

8134 Civic and Social Organizations

8139 Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations

814 Private Households^T

8141 Private Households^T

Sector 92--Public Administration^T

921 Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support

9211 Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support

922 Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities

9221 Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities

923 Administration of Human Resource Programs

9231 Administration of Human Resource Programs

924 Administration of Environmental Quality Programs

9241 Administration of Environmental Quality Programs

925 Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development

9251 Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development

926 Administration of Economic Programs

9261 Administration of Economic Programs

927 Space Research and Technology

9271 Space Research and Technology

928 National Security and International Affairs

9281 National Security and International Affairs

Appendix G - Example openLCA Element Addition

In the openLCA interface, there is a navigation tree in the gray panel to the left. Here you will find all the ‘Processes’ and ‘Flows’ from the uploaded FLCAC Database. However, before using an element to compile your datasets, it must either exist in the FLCAC Database or have been defined in your database. If a field has a pull-down menu with options but your desired content is not available, you may add items to the associated field list using the openLCA navigation panel. For example, you may need to add yourself as an actor. Shown below is the sequence for adding this element. Once added as an actor, you will appear as a choice in the pull-down menu for selecting Actors, e.g., in populating the Administrative Information fields. Other additions (e.g., processes, flows, providers, sources, etc.) follow a similar procedure. NREL requests that processes be filed in existing categories. Please contact the Data Curator if you feel none of the available categories are appropriate and NREL will work with you to add a category.

STEP 1. openLCA Element Addition: Right-click on the element in the navigation tree

STEP 2. openLCA Element Addition: Select “New [element]”

STEP 3 openLCA Element Addition: Enter content as applicable

STEP 4. openLCA Element Addition: Complete additional fields once the UUID is created

STEP 5. openLCA Element Addition: The newly created element now available in the navigation tree

Appendix H - Using the EPA Data Quality Pedigree Matrix in openLCA

Step 1: DOWNLOAD THE MATRIX

You may download the US EPA Data Quality Matrix from the openLCA Downloads page (https://www.openlca.org/download/).

STEP 1: Downloading the US EPA Data Quality Pedigree Matrix Zip Files from openLCA Downloads

Step 2: IMPORT THE MATRIX

To add the US EPA Data Quality to your openLCA “Indicators & Parameters,” you must import it for each database in which you wish to use this Pedigree Matrix (as the only default matrix available is that from ecoinvent®).

• Thus, you can open the database of interest in openLCA, right-click on the database name, and select “Import.”

• You may then select “Linked Data (JSON-LD)” and “Next.”

• In the “Choose Directory” field, designate your “Downloads” folder and the “USEPA_DataQualitySchemes_JSON-LDforopenLCA1.6.zip” you just downloaded should appear as an option.

STEP 2: Importing the US EPA Data Quality Pedigree Matrix Zip File into openLCA

Step 3: DESIGNATE THE MATRIX INSIDE EACH PROCESS

• Select “USEPA_DataQualitySchemes_JSON-LDforopenLCA1.6.zip” and click “Finish.” The Pedigree Matrix file is not very large so should import very quickly.

• Next, open your process of interest and on the first “General Information” tab, you may scroll down to the “Data quality” section and “Process schema” field. There is a drop-down menu and the “US EPA – Process Pedigree Matrix” should now be an option you may select.

• You will also want to go to the “Flow schema” field just below and select “US EPA – Flow Pedigree Matrix” from its drop-down menu such that you can elect data quality indicators at both the process and flow levels.

STEP 3a: Designating the US EPA Process Pedigree Matrix

STEP 3b:Designating the US EPA Flow Pedigree Matrix

Step 4: SELECT PROCESS INDICATORS

Now, you may select the “Data quality entry” “not specified” hyperlink (still on the first “General information” tab, “Data quality” section). You should now be able click on matrix cells to select entries for “Process Review” and “Process Completeness” data quality indicators.

**STEP 4a: Designating the Data Quality Entry at Process Level **

STEP 4b: Selecting Process Indicator Matrix Cell Entries

Step 5: SELECT FLOW INDICATORS

You may now go to the “Data quality entry” column of any input or output flow on the “inputs/Outputs” tab to select entries for the following data quality categories:

• Flow reliability

• Temporal correlation

• Geographical correlation

• Technological correlation

• Data collection methods

STEP 5: Selecting Flow Indicators

For guidance on selecting process- and flow-level indicators for your life cycle inventory (LCI) data, please see the: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidance on Data Quality Assessment for Life Cycle Inventory Data (https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?Lab=NRMRL&dirEntryId=321834).

If you need to cite the EPA Data Quality Guidance document:

Edelen, A. AND W. Ingwersen. Guidance on Data Quality Assessment for Life Cycle Inventory Data. US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-16/096, 2016.

1. This requirement exists to enable data transfer and does not imply an official endorsement of openLCA as a life cycle modeling tool.

2. For more information regarding motivations for data aggregation, see: Table 3.1 Motivations for aggregated datasets, UNEP/SETAC 2011 Global Guidance Principles for Life Cycle Assessment Databases: A Basis for Greener Processes and Products, a.k.a., The “Shonan Guidance Principles,’ available at: https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2011%20-%20Global%20Guidance%20Principles.pdf.

3. JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data (JSON-LD) files are a method of encoding linked data designed around the concept of “context” for ontologies and recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This notation format is lightweight, human-readable, can be directly parsed and so linked to ontologies.

4. This requirement exists to enable data transfer and does not imply an official endorsement of openLCA as a life cycle modeling tool.

5. Note, when creating a new process in openLCA, it is possible to create a waste treatment process selecting a waste flow previously created as quantitative reference (the reference input of this process).

6. Data exported from SimaPRO and ecoinvent® in the ecospold file format do not have a UUID. Therefore, if a SimaPRO-generated ecospold file is imported into a users’ openLCA, the software will assign a new UUID and can cause breaks in the linking between existing flows and processes in the FLCAC repository.

7. ILCD (2010). European Commission - Joint Research Centre - Institute for Environment and Sustainability: International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook – General Guide for Life Cycle Assessment – Detailed Guidance. First edition March 2010. EUR 24708 EN. Luxembourg. Publications Office of the European Union, 2010. Accessed at: http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC48157/ilcd\_handbook-general\_guide\_for\_lca-detailed\_guidance\_12march2010\_isbn\_fin.pdf.

8. Beaufort-Langeveld, A. et al. (Eds.): SETAC Code of Life-Cycle Inventory Practice, 2001. Developed by the former SETAC Working Group on Data Availability and Quality 1998-2001.