The environmental impacts of human activities are more and more visible and societies worldwide are working towards increased sustainability. By helping people evaluate and forecast the effects of their choices, science-based assessments are becoming an increasingly essential tool. However, the accuracy and credibility of these assessments rely on the availability of relevant, high-quality data.
The ecoinvent association is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting the availability of environmental data. We believe that people all around the world should have access to high-quality, affordable data for environmental assessments. To achieve this, we work with and for all societal actors, including policy-makers, private enterprises, NGOs and the academic community.
Our vision is for people worldwide to have access to high-quality information to easily and affordably perform sustainability assessments.
Our mission is to promote and support the availability of high-quality data for environmental assessments worldwide and in Switzerland. We compile and review the best available environmental data and publish them in a regularly maintained, transparent Life Cycle Inventory database. We support people working with ecoinvent data and methodologies. Finally, we promote good practices in Life Cycle-based data and database management by participating in related projects or initiatives.
Transparency
We commit to transparency. We provide individual unit process data for all datasets, and we provide detailed documentation for all aspects of the database so that users can understand and reproduce results independently. We also publish annual reports that document changes to the database.
Reliability
We believe in data quality. We want to provide users with the best available data. To this end, we maintain a detail-oriented approach to quality control and ensure that all data undergo thorough internal reviews, as well as external review by independent experts. The longevity of our products is a key goal, and we commit to maintaining a stable, enduring and regularly updated database.
Accessibility
We commit to making our services as accessible as possible worldwide. We are dedicated to ensuring that our products and services are available at a fair price. This is made possible by our funding model: reinvesting all funding and all revenues from our activities into the development of our products and services ensures their affordability and longevity.
Global Perspective
We believe in making data available and useful for people worldwide. We are committed to supporting LCA database initiatives as well as data and database interoperability globally. We publish data for activities worldwide and we commit to maintaining consistent standards for data from all regions and sectors.
Independence
We work independently from political, ideological, and private sector interests. We establish and follow general data guidelines for global application, unbiased by particular interests of specific sectors or regions. Furthermore, our funding model ensures the financial independence of our products and services.
Partnerships and Collaboration
We strive to build strong partnerships with actors across multiple disciplines and economic sectors. We take a global perspective, connecting academia and private enterprises, governments and local initiatives, organisations and companies. We collaborate to set standards for data quality and structure.
Scientific Engagement
We value science-based environmental assessment. We engage with the scientific community and use relevant scientific developments to continuously improve and publish a state-of-the-art LCI database. We publish data that allows working to the highest academic quality standards. We actively contribute to the scientific body of work through publications and through partnerships in relevant research projects.
Innovation
We understand the complexity of tracing environmental and other effects along supply chains and life cycles. We continuously improve and innovate with the aim of managing this complexity, so that our users have access to the highest levels of quality and transparency, while also allowing fast and simple assessments. Through our innovative practices we help our users and partners to manage complex data and systems, no matter their applications and background.