Life Cycle Assessment Commons

Stored: Life Cycle Assessment Commons

Life Cycle Assessment Commons

Type	Program
Sponsor Organization	National Agricultural Library
Top Organization	Department of Agriculture
Creation Legislation	None
Website	Website
Purpose	USDA LCA Commons offers open LCA data on U.S. agriculture and bioproducts, aiding environmental analysis, policy, and research with standard tools.
Program Start	2012
Initial Funding	Not publicly specified
Duration	Ongoing
Historic	No

The USDA LCA Commons is a Department of Agriculture initiative launched in 2012 by the National Agricultural Library (NAL) to create a centralized, searchable database of life cycle assessment (LCA) data, emphasizing U.S. agricultural systems like commodity crops, biofuels, and food production. Hosting nearly 19,000 unit process datasets—covering field operations and farm implements for nine crops across 36 states—it integrates with the Federal LCA Commons (FLCAC) as a key repository, using openLCA software to standardize data like the USLCI Database, fully updated to the Federal Elementary Flow List (FEDEFL) since 2020. It supports a range of users, from researchers to policymakers, and has evolved into a cornerstone of federal LCA efforts following its inclusion in the 2018 FLCAC MOU.

Official Site

Goals

• Deliver standardized, accessible LCA data for U.S. agriculture and bioproducts.
• Support environmental decision-making in policy, technology, and industry applications.
• Enhance data interoperability within FLCAC through tools like openLCA and FEDEFL.

Organization

The USDA LCA Commons is managed by NAL under the Department of Agriculture, with data curation led by NAL staff, though no specific Program Manager title is publicly designated. It operates within the FLCAC partnership, collaborating with agencies like DOE and EPA, and uses NAL’s Ag Data Commons infrastructure for metadata and submissions. Funding comes from USDA budgets, supporting server hosting, data management, and guideline development, with contributions integrated into broader FLCAC efforts.

Partners

• Department of Energy
• Environmental Protection Agency
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory

History

The USDA LCA Commons began in 2012 with NAL’s effort to make agricultural LCA data publicly available, initially hosting commodity crop models and the USLCI Database on openLCA servers. A 2014 USDA-hosted meeting expanded this into the FLCAC vision, formalized by a 2018 MOU with DOE and EPA. Key milestones include the 2020 FEDEFL update of USLCI and ongoing dataset growth (e.g., 19,000 field operation datasets by 2022), with plans to refine submissions via evolving guidelines into the 2030s.

Funding

Initial funding in 2012 was not publicly detailed, sourced from NAL’s operational budget within USDA. Ongoing support continues through USDA appropriations, covering hosting, curation, and integration with FLCAC—no centralized amount is specified, and there’s no end date as it aligns with federal data-sharing goals.

Implementation

The USDA LCA Commons operates via lcacommons.gov, using openLCA to host datasets like USLCI and field operation models since 2012. It unfolded in phases—initial setup (2012-2014), FLCAC integration (2018-2020), and expansion (2020-present)—offering standardized downloads in JSON-LD and Excel. The program is ongoing, adapting to user needs with no fixed end.

Related

• Federal Life Cycle Assessment Commons
• Energy Data eXchange

External links

• https://www.lcacommons.gov/nrel/search
• https://data.nal.usda.gov/dataset/lca-commons
• wikipedia:Life-cycle assessment

Social media

• https://twitter.com/USDANIFA
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/usda