Why provide data for use in the ecoinvent database?

(You can find the following text as a pdf-File here !)

Providing environmental performance data on their production processes can be very advantageous for corporations and many have helped to generate inventory data for the ecoinvent database.

Due to its position as an independent, not-for-profit organization with a scientific background, the thorough review structure of the ecoinvent database and the full transparency and documentation of all datasets, ecoinvent is one of the most trusted sources of LCA data.

The availability of independently reviewed and accepted inventory data on your products and supply chain offers many benefits:

• The independence and the thorough review procedure of the ecoinvent database guarantee a broad acceptance of the data.
   
  
• The ecoinvent centre provides the review process for free, therefore the costs of submitting datasets are low. The ecoinvent centre also co-ordinates and assists data collection efforts.
   
  
• By following the ecoinvent code of practice and data quality guidelines – supported by ecoinvent reviewers and editors – companies gain easy access to Life Cycle Assessments of their products and supply chains. Since providing data to ecoinvent is free, the ecoinvent centre has no financial interest in the results of such studies and is therefore a very trustworthy source of LCA results.
    
  
• By following the established methods of ecoinvent, companies can provide data in a form that respects their concerns about confidentiality issues. Often, industry associations facilitate a joint dataset of several companies to ensure the safety of the original production data. On the other hand, companies that prefer to be directly identified have the option of providing branded datasets to demonstrate the sustainability of their production. Unit process information may also be kept confidential by submitting datasets as restricted datasets, in which case only the cradle-to-gate results will be visible for the database users.
    
  
• Providing data to an initiative like ecoinvent demonstrates the environmental commitment of a company and it greatly simplifies future inquiries about the sustainability standards of a company.
    
  

If you are interested in the possibility of providing data to the ecoinvent database, don't hesitate to contact us at support(at)ecoinvent.org.