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Life Cycle Assessment Commons

FLCAC Resources

This page is the central hub for information, training, and tools related to the Federal Life Cycle Assessment Commons (FLCAC). Here you will find FAQs, common terms, and links to important resources such as the Federal Elementary Flow List and openLCA tools.

 

FEDERAL LCA COMMONS RESOURCES

Centralized guidance materials for Federal LCA Commons data users.

  • The companion documentation site contains guidance for data use, submission, and additional resources.
  • Have questions? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions or send us an email in the contact form.
  • More details on LCIA methods for the Federal LCA Commons can be found here.
  • Visit the glossary for definitions of technical language and organizations associated with the Federal LCA Commons.

 

USLCI

The portal for industry Life Cycle Inventory data on the Federal LCA Commons.

  • The USLCI GitHub Homepage hosts documentation on submitting data, repository change logs, metadata guidelines, and more.
  • Visit the Metadata Guidance section of the data submission handbook for help developing or interpreting process metadata. 
  • The Change Log documents changes made to the USLCI repository in each release version. 
  • Video tutorials on using USLCI and submitting data can be found on the USLCI Quick Help Series YouTube playlist.

 

DATA SUBMISSION RESOURCES

Thinking of submitting data to the Federal LCA Commons? 

  • Review the data submission toolkit and fill out the data submission questionnaire. The Federal LCA Commons Data Curators will provide guidance and training on data submission. Industry data will be considered for incorporation in the USLCI.
  • The data submission handbook is a more detailed reference document supporting federal and industry data submission.

 

FEDERAL ELEMENTARY FLOW LIST (FEDEFL)

A standardized elementary flow list that supports harmonization of data on the Federal LCA Commons. Read more about the development of this list here.

  • The FEDEFL GitHub Homepage hosts documentation and scripts used to develop and work with the FEDEFL. 
  • Reference the Flow Mapping Instructions for guidance on how to harmonize third-party elementary flow lists (e.g. SimaPro, openLCA, Ecoinvent) with the FEDEFL.

 

OpenLCA RESOURCES 

A free-to-use and accessible LCA software. The Federal LCA Commons platform is based on the openLCA Collaboration Server. 

  • To download openLCA or for more information, visit the OpenLCA Homepage.
  • The OpenLCA Schema defines the structure of the data exchange format of openLCA.
  • The openLCA Collaboration Server hosts data on the FLCAC. Visit the Collaboration Server Manual  for technical details on this tool.
  • To participate in conversations with other practitioners, visit the OpenLCA Forum. This forum includes many openLCA questions and answers from users and developers.

 

VIDEO TUTORIALS

 

FEDERAL AGENCY DATA & TOOLS

U.S. Department of Agriculture: 

Environmental Protection Agency: 

National Energy Technology Laboratory: 

U.S. Forest Service: 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory: 

National Institute of Standards and Technology: 

Argonne National Laboratory, Greenhouse gasses, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies model (GREET):

 

 

Please report any issues with repositories on the Federal LCA Commons GitHub Issues page, the USLCI GitHub Issues page, or the Contact Us form.