Quality and accuracy of any life-cycle assessment relies on quality and accuracy of input data, LCA datasets and the underlying LCA method. This article provides a summary of One Click LCA’s data management practices and discusses the LCA datasets in further detail. For any further queries please contact support.

Below is our customer promise on LCA data. The customer promise is a synthetic, plain text explanation of what we do and what we promise to the customers using One Click LCA. This does not mean all users get all the data – users get data matching the LCA modules they use.

At One Click LCA, we seek to integrate all the third party LCA data available, as it becomes available, anywhere in the world.

At One Click LCA, we seek to create generic LCA datasets to fill the gaps left by available third party LCA data so that our customers can complete all their LCA projects.

The quality and accuracy of life-cycle assessment (LCA) results depend above all on the quality of input data — something that remains the responsibility of the user preparing the assessment. To support users, One Click LCA provides built-in validation tools that help ensure results are both credible and compliant.

Alongside these safeguards, the LCA methods themselves are encapsulated within One Click LCA’s library of over 100 dedicated tools. Each tool implements the rules of a specific standard or certification, from EN 15804+A2 and ISO 14025 to Level(s) and BREEAM, including the datasets permitted, life-cycle modules applied, modelling scope, and reporting formats. This ensures that every assessment is performed in line with the correct methodology, while the plausibility and quality checkers add an extra layer of assurance. A partial list of these tools can be foundhere.

The One Click LCA platform provides different types of LCA and LCI datasets. Some of these are covered by One Click LCA’s Data Quality Policy (DQP), while others are not.

All data covered by the DQP will only be made available once the review process for the dataset is completed. For datasets not covered by the DQP, One Click LCA does not make quality assurances, but we classify, label, and in some cases adapt the datasets to ensure it can be applied correctly.

General LCA data requirements according to EN 15804 are that the underlying data should be consistent, reproducible and comparable, and EN 15978 requires that the “data shall have been checked for plausibility and consistency with the rules in prEN 15804”.

According to the UN Environment Global Guidance on LCA database development, also adopted for EN 15804+A2, the key criteria for LCA data representativeness are:

In general, the accuracy of LCA data is higher when moving from a generic dataset to manufacturer average data, or from manufacturer average data to product-specific data, or from product-specific data representing several plants to a plant-specific dataset.

Our guiding principle for LCA data in plain terms is that we aim to have all of it, and in consistent quality. The more detailed principles can be found in the below table.

While we operate by the principles above, we also operate the data quality-related processes on limited resources. We prioritize the databases and data that have high value for our customers – generally, European and North American databases are updated and reviewed more frequently.

This will in practice mean that at times, some of the latest datasets have not yet been inspected nor integrated for availability in the platform. However, they will be integrated eventually. Depending on the license level and agreement, making a custom data inclusion request can also be a possibility.

Our Data Quality Policy (DQP) is designed specifically for ensuring dataset fit for construction sector applications, using attributional LCA models and standardized life-cycle impact results in line with CML, TRACI or EN 15804+A2 and specific extensions. The intent of the data quality policy is to provide as high a degree of plausibility and consistency as possible considering we do not have access to background reports or other supporting information when data is reviewed.

The Data Quality Policy can result for any individual dataset to one of the following cases.

The purpose of the Data Quality Policy is to ensure high-quality data to One Click LCA end users. The Data Quality Policy is operated completely independently of commercial priorities by our data team.

Every EPD has been independently verified – so in theory, there should be no need for additional verification, aside from controlling for differences arising from standards and Product Category Rules. But actual verification practices vary to a significant extent between different Program Operators and different schemes, and therefore we are adding a new level of information about the verification quality, as explained in the following section.

There is currently an issue that lots of documents claim to be EPDs which do not meet the requirements of EPDs, including the most basic one on independent verification.

Today, EPD is a shorthand for an environmental product declaration in conformance with ISO 14025: Environmental labels and declarations. Type III environmental declarations. Principles and procedures-standard. This standard requires “independent verification of data from LCA, LCI (Life Cycle Inventory) and information modules” to be carried out on each and every EPD. The standard allows each program operator to choose if EPD verification must be third-party, or if it can be a person who can act without compromising the independence of the verifier within the same company.

Another standard is provided for self-declarations: ISO 14021: Environmental labels and declarations. Self-declared environmental claims (Type II environmental labelling). However, the buyer-side market does not recognize ISO 14021-based documents, and third-party verification costs money. This leads to a commercial incentive for “EPD lite” solutions, nominally ISO 14025 compliant, which boast a digitally reproduced signature of the third-party verifier on the cover page – even if the verifier could have only verified the software generating the EPD, not the EPD itself. This practice is not recognized in the current standards. Therefore, to add transparency to the marketplace, we are therefore appending the following labels on verification quality to the data we integrate.

We append this information based on the knowledge we have, and will correct any verification quality statements for datasets for which proof of an actual third-party verification is provided. Currently, the level of verification is not a disqualifying factor for integrating data to One Click LCA.

Currently, the level of verification is not a disqualifying factor for integrating data to One Click LCA. For internally verified and self-declared datasets, including unverified TM65 data, we clearly label them as such. These datasets provide valuable information where verified data is unavailable, but users should be aware that they do not carry the same level of assurance as third-party verified EPDs.

One Click LCA has a robust policy for managing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in its database to ensure the integrity and accuracy of both ongoing and past projects. Below is an explanation of how outdated or corrected EPDs are handled.

One Click LCA does not remove previously published EPD data points from the database, even if a corrected or updated version becomes available. This policy ensures that:

Instead, both the original and the updated or corrected versions are retained in the database. This allows users to reference the most suitable EPD for their specific needs while keeping older data available for context and transparency.

If an outdated EPD causes confusion or overlaps with a corrected version, users can take the following steps:

We believe providing this additional information will increase transparency about One Click LCA data for our end users. This may also provide protection for our users if they rely on data that might have a lesser degree of verification than they require.