Today the ecoinvent centre is releasing the ecoinvent database version 3.0. It has been several years in the making and it is therefore a proud moment for all of us at the ecoinvent centre tolaunch it today. As a not-for-profit competence centre of five Swiss research institutes, the ecoinvent centre aims to provide reliable, consistent and transparent LCI data for use in LCA and other environmental assessments, and version 3 of our database is the latest step in our development towards more coverage, more possibilities and more data.
Along with many new and updated datasets there have also been changes in terms of structure and methodology. These include multiple system model choices, more global supply chains, more detailed and consistent information on product properties, and much more – giving you as a user numerous new possibilities to analyse and use LCI data.
With a valid ecoinvent version 3 license, you can access the data, including LCIA results, today! On our website you will find the full LCI and LCIA results available for download as spread sheets or ecospold2 files, allowing you to work with the data immediately. Log in to the ecoinvent database version 3.0 with your valid account or order an upgrade license. Even if you have not purchased an upgrade yet you can enter the ecoinvent database version 3.0 and register for free as guest, giving you the possibility to get a first impression and view the meta information. If you are using the ecoinvent database through an LCA software please have a look at what some of our resellers have to say on the implementation of ecoinvent version 3 in
software tools.
We have summarised the new features and their advantages in an introduction to ecoinvent version 3 which you can find on our website. For a complete and detailed overview over of ecoinvent version 3, the website also offers several other resources that are linked to in the introduction.
We have given our website an overall face-lift to make it more user-friendly and easier to navigate. The new support section includes a glossary of frequently used terminologies, a FAQ and a forum to discuss topics related to ecoinvent version 3. In this section you can also find a summary of all files and documents which are available on the ecoinvent website.
We value your feedback as end users of the ecoinvent database and therefore would like to ask you to send any questions you have that are not answered on our website to our support email or to discuss the topics on our forum for ecoinvent version 3.
As of 1st May 2013, Roland Hischier has replaced Rainer Zah as part of the ecoinvent Board to represent Empa. Roland Hischier has been involved in ecoinvent in various roles for over 10 years. His expert knowledge and extensive experience with ecoinvent will prove an asset to the ecoinvent Centre. We would like to thank Rainer Zah for his valuable contribution to the development of ecoinvent.
The release of the ecoinvent database version 3.0 will open a new chapter in the continued development of the ecoinvent database and we are all looking forward to fruitful cooperation with the ecoinvent community!