Shedding light on the shadows: Transparency challenge in background life cycle inventory data.
Life cycle assessment (LCA) hinges on the transparency and reliability of inventory data. However, the transparency of background life cycle inventory (LCI) data sources remains unexamined. This research assesses data transparency in mainstream LCI databases using a two‐step examination system based...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Industrial Ecology Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 766 - 777 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Springer Nature
Jun2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=186458317&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 186458317 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 10881980 FL1 jtl: Journal of Industrial Ecology issn: 10881980 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jun2025 vid: 29 iid: 3 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 186458317 10.1111/jiec.70010 ppf: 766 ppct: 11 formats: tig: atl: Shedding light on the shadows: Transparency challenge in background life cycle inventory data. aug: au: Guo, Jing Li, Ruiqiao Zhang, Ruirui Qi, Jianchuan Li, Nan Xu, Changqing Chiu, Anthony S. F. Wang, Yutao Tanikawa, Hiroki Xu, Ming affil: School of Management Science and Engineering, Beijing Information Science & Technology University, Beijing, China School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China School of Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China Center for Engineering and Sustainable Development Research (CESDR), De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, China Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan su: Life cycles (Biology) Environmental databases Product life cycle assessment Sampling (Process) Databases sug: subj: Life cycles (Biology) Environmental databases Product life cycle assessment Sampling (Process) Databases keyword: background database data accessibility data findability data transparency life cycle assessment life cycle inventory background database data accessibility data findability data transparency life cycle assessment life cycle inventory ab: Life cycle assessment (LCA) hinges on the transparency and reliability of inventory data. However, the transparency of background life cycle inventory (LCI) data sources remains unexamined. This research assesses data transparency in mainstream LCI databases using a two‐step examination system based on source findability and accessibility. Six major databases (ecoinvent, GaBi, U.S. Life Cycle Inventory Database, European Life Cycle Database, Inventory Database for Environmental Analysis, and Chinese Life Cycle Database) were analyzed by sampling processes and tracing their sources. The results reveal widespread transparency issues, with only 40%–60% of sampled processes having findable sources and <5% being fully accessible in certain databases. Incomplete documentation and complex cross‐referencing between processes and sources posed key barriers. The lack of transparency undermines LCA credibility and necessitates reconstructing databases for enhanced traceability. Although a preliminary study, these findings highlight the challenge of data transparency and provide a methodology to evaluate databases. This drives collective action to uphold transparency standards, restoring trust in LCA as a sustainability decision‐making tool. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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