24 Years Intersectoral LCA Database Development, Growth, and Update: from PE/Thinkstep-GaBi to Sphera-MLC

抄録

Life Cycle Assessment （LCA） is recognized as a comprehensive scientific approach to quantify the overall environmental sustainability of products and organizations, including countries. The proper application of this environmental management tool requires the adequate use of current, reliable and consistent inventory data. Sphera’s LCA for Experts （LCA FE） software and Managed LCA Content Databases （MLC Databases）, formerly known as the GaBi Software and Databases, is a globally leading life cycle inventory （LCI） database and also the only comprehensive database that started in the early 1990s and continues to be maintained and updated. It has been refined and expanded over the last three decades together with and for LCA work in industry, research and development as well as for policy development. LCA application in industrial and professional practice must fulfill three basic criteria: 1） It must be reliable in order to ensure the credibility of results and decision support 2） it has to fit into existing processes, standards and practices in business to ensure applicability and 3） it must provide quantitative and relevant information.