Memorandum of Understanding

In October 2024, the Federal LCA Commons was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The MOU enables continued coordination on LCA data, research, and information systems and  expansion of existing resources and initiatives to develop additional standard products that compliment or improve the use of these resources across government and industry. 

The initiative is bolstered by a number of  additional non-signatory agencies across U.S. Federal Government mission areas. Participating agencies each support their mission, programs, and stakeholders and this initiative serves to coordinate and distribute Agency mission products for public benefit.

Collaborative activities may include, but are not limited to:

• Developing standardized background datasets and associated resources (e.g., electricity, transportation, common elementary flow list, impact methods)
• Recommending common data and approaches for use across federal agencies and federally funded research
• Providing guidance to improve consistency in LCA modeling
• Increasing public access and usability of LCA-related data products and guidance