Overview of indicators
The available indicators are described in detail in this article. They are based on the EN 15804 Cumulative LCIA model from the ecoinvent database. It is recommended to use a consistent version of ecoinvent throughout a report, for example the latest version v3.12.
Environmental impact
| Indicator | Unit | ||
| GWP-total | Global warming potential – total | kg CO2e | Kilograms of CO₂ equivalents |
| GWP-fossil | Global warming potential – fossil | kg CO2e | Kilograms of CO₂ equivalents |
| GWP-biogen | Global warming potential – biogenic | kg CO2e | Kilograms of CO₂ equivalents |
| GWP-luluc | Global warming potential from land use and land change (luluc) | kg CO2e | Kilograms of CO₂ equivalents |
| ODP | Depletion potential of the stratospheric ozone layer | kg CFC 11 e | Kilograms of CFC-11 equivalents |
| AP | Acidification potential of land and water | mol H+ e | Mole H⁺ equivalents |
| EP-fw | Eutrophication potential – freshwater | kg P e | Kilograms of phosphorus equivalents |
| EP-m | Eutrophication potential – marine | kg N e | Kilograms of nitrogen equivalents |
| EP-t | Eutrophication potential – terrestrial | mol N e | Mole nitrogen equivalents |
| POCP | Formation potential of tropospheric ozone photochemical oxidants | kg NMVOC e | Kilograms of NMVOC equivalents |
| ADPE | Abiotic depletion potential for non-fossil resources (elements/minerals and metals) | kg Sb e | Kilograms of antimony equivalents |
| ADPF | Abiotic depletion potential for fossil resources | MJ | Megajoules |
| WDP | Water (user) deprivation potential | m³ world e deprived | Cubic meters world equivalents – One m³ world-eq represents an average cubic meter of water consumed globally, weighted by the locations where water consumption occurs. |
Indicators to describe resource use
| Indicator | Unit | ||
| PERE | Use of renewable primary energy excluding renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials | MJ | Megajoules |
| PERM | Use of renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials | MJ | Megajoules |
| PERT | Total use of renewable primary energy resources | MJ | Megajoules |
| PENRE | Use of non-renewable primary energy excluding non-renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials | MJ | Megajoules |
| PENRM | Use of non-renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials | MJ | Megajoules |
| PENRT | Total use of non-renewable primary energy resources | MJ | Megajoules |
| SM | Use of secondary material | kg | Kilograms |
| RSF | Use of renewable secondary fuels | MJ | Megajoules |
| NRSF | Use of non-renewable secondary fuels | MJ | Megajoules |
| FW | Use of net fresh water | m3 | Cubic meters |
Waste indicators and output flows
| Indicator | Unit | ||
| HWD | Hazardous waste disposed | kg | Kilograms |
| NHWD | Non-hazardous waste disposed | kg | Kilograms |
| RWD* | Radioactive waste disposed | kg | Kilograms |
| CRU | Components for re-use | kg | Kilograms |
| MFR | Materials for recycling | kg | Kilograms |
| MER | Materials for energy recovery | kg | Kilograms |
| EEE | Exported electrical energy | MJ | Megajoules |
| EET | Exported thermal energy | MJ | Megajoules |
| EE | Exported energy – total | MJ | Megajoules |
*RWD: Summed indicator of ILLRW (intermediate and low-level radioactive waste disposed) and HLRW (high-level radioactive waste disposed)
Additional impact categories
| Indicator | Unit | ||
| PM | Potential incidence of disease due to PM emissions | Disease Incidence | Measure of health impacts expressed as disease incidence due to particulate matter emissions |
| IRP | Potential Human exposure efficiency relative to U235 | kBq U235 e | Kilobecquerel uranium-235 equivalents |
| ETP-fw | Potential comparative Toxic Unit for ecosystems | CTU e | Comparative Toxic Unit for ecosystems |
| HTP-c | Potential comparative Toxic Unit for humans (cancerogenic) | CTU h | Comparative Toxic Unit for humans |
| HTP-nc | Potential comparative Toxic Unit for humans (not cancerogenic) | CTU h | Comparative Toxic Unit for humans |
| SQP | Potential soil quality index | - | Dimensionless indicator (no unit) |
Biogenic carbon content
| Indicator | Unit | ||
| Biogenic carbon content packaging | Biogenic carbon content in the packaging of the product | kg C | Kilograms of carbon |
| Biogenic carbon content product | Biogenic carbon content in the product | kg C | Kilograms of carbon |