Are you struggling to find appropriate datasets for your objects? You are not alone - this can be a challenging process! This article describes the best practices and common approaches we use at Ecochain to try and find the 'best fit' dataset.
1. Use alternate terminology and synonyms
If you are using the ecoinvent database, you may notice that ecoinvent sometimes uses very specific terminology. If you can't find a dataset based on your material's name, that doesn't mean ecoinvent does not have a dataset for it. Consider using synonyms for the material in your search query.
Read this article for useful search words when modeling transport & logistics. For chemicals, PubChem is an extremely useful online encyclopedia & repository, where you will find many synonyms for the same chemical.
2. Search for the group, then the specific material
Alternatively, conduct online research to see if your material belongs to a larger, more generic 'group'. While you might not be able to find a dataset for a specific material, Ecoinvent may have a dataset for a certain material group, which may work as a good estimate for your case. A generic example of this applies to chemicals - where there are two types of chemicals - organic & inorganic. If you can't find a specific chemical you’re modeling, sometimes it suffices to model it as an ‘(in)organic chemical’.
3. Consider the contribution of the material to the total
Aside from search strategies, try to estimate how much the object you're modeling contributes to the total end product and the total impact. The larger the contribution to the end product, the more accurately you should aim to model it. If the contribution is small (<5%), you should still include it in your model, but it doesn't have to be modeled as accurately. For chemicals, for example, you could use "Chemical Organic" or "Chemical Inorganic" respectively.
4. Use Economic Activities filters (Mobius)
In Mobius, you can search databases by using filters. We have filters based on Categories. These are based on the NACE system (“Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the Europen Community”). Browse available datasets in ecoinvent within a specific domain, without searching based on specific terms or words.
5. Use custom impact (Mobius)
If you can't find a dataset, but have a source or a paper that reports the Life Cycle Assessment results for your material, you can fill in the environmental impact with the Custom Impact feature!
6. Documentation.
In the end, regardless of the approach you take to estimate your material's impact, make sure to document everything well and give disclaimers where necessary. Write down the assumptions you make in the process - it will save you lots of time when you return to your model at a later stage!
Note - Mobius users: Are you a Mobius user struggling with finding an appropriate dataset? This article offers more targeted support.