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.
Oct 30th, 2023
The ecoSpold2 format replaces the ecoSpold1 format for ecoinvent version 3 released in May 2013. New developments in the field of LCA software demanded a revision of the data format. An ad-hoc expert working group was formed by ecoinvent to guide the revision process and an open hearing has been conducted among users of the ecoSpold format. The result of this hearing and the way the input has been treated can be seen in this public report. The final ecospold2 format is designed to represent all three stages of life cycle assessment: UPR, LCI, and LCIA on an xml basis.
Among others, the ecospold2 format adds features such as:
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Properties of exchanges like dry mass, wet mass, carbon content etc.
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Mathematical relations in a new formula language and variable names for exchanges, properties, and parameters
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Use of UUIDs for referencing certain fields
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New fields for production volumes
For a comparison between ecospold1 and ecospold2 visit: Changes ecospold1 to ecospold2
Today, ecospold2 is used by most of the software providers that use the ecoinvent database. The open-source python framework Brightway2 supports the import of ecospold2 as well.
Supporting Files and Documents
This zip file contains the following files describing datasets and master data files:
- schema definition (xsd)
- stylesheets (xsl)
- user-friendly description of the formats (html)
This webpage describes the creation and processing of geodata for the ecoinvent database.
A short introduction to the ecoEditor for ecoinvent v3
This document assists in the proper documentation of datasets explaining the requirements and expectations for these fields.
The ecoSpold2 format introduces the new field “mathematicalRelation” for exchanges, properties and parameters. The allowed content for this field is described in this document.