About ecoinvent Data Formats

Jan 8th, 2026

What is the ecoSpold2 Format? 

The ecoSpold2 format is used to create life cycle inventories for ecoinvent version 3. This format sets up standards on what are mandatory and what are optional fields for a standard life cycle inventory. 

Learn more about the ecoSpold2 format here.

How Can I Use ecoinvent’s .spold Files When openLCA Asks for .zolca Files? 

openLCA is an LCA software published by the company GreenDelta and is a reseller of the ecoinvent database. In openLCA, they use the proprietary file format .zolca to store datasets. To use the ecoinvent database with openLCA, the database has to be integrated into the software. This process can only be done by GreenDelta. Please contact their support to initiate this process.