A Quick Guide to Sphera’s 2023.1 LCA Databases Update

As the world leader in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data, Sphera publishes one of the largest high-quality, internally consistent Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) databases, featuring a wealth of products, processes and even comprehensive models to support corporate and product sustainability efforts.

With the release of the Sphera Managed LCA Content (MLC) 2023.1, we are proud to offer around 18,500 high-quality LCI datasets.  

This update includes a refresh of energy, technology and process operation data; further alignment with the latest standards and policies; new LCIA methods data; and expanded content. We have added nearly 400 new datasets, available for free to clients with annual maintenance contracts or subscription licenses.  

We are also excited to announce the rebrand of the GaBi Databases to Sphera Managed LCA Content and of the GaBi Software to Sphera LCA for Experts (LCA FE). These updates are designed to make it easier than ever to access the information needed to drive ESG performance improvements. Read on to learn more about the most important changes in this year’s upgrade. 

Notable Updates in 2023  

Here is a brief overview of the main updates to our datasets this year:   

Road Transport Update

One of this year’s most significant updates is reflected in the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) passenger and duty vehicle transport datasets. These updates are based on the latest values in the Handbook Emission Factors for Road Transport (HBEFA) 4.2, published in 2022. HBEFA includes emissions factors for all current vehicle categories, including passenger cars, buses, motorcycles, new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric trucks. Transport datasets have also been extended to the Euro 6 A-C and Euro 6 D categories.   

New Metals Data

We have made the following improvements and updates to metals data for gold, tin, zinc, cobalt and titanium dioxide: 

• Gold: The global gold dataset has been updated based on data from Barrick Gold Corporation, a Canadian mining company with operations spanning 16 sites and 13 countries. These updates provide more differentiated data from underground and open pit mining, as well as improved recovery rate from ore to gold.  

• Tin: The producer country shares for tin mining have been updated using the latest literature from the International Tin Association (ITA). 

• Zinc: The International Zinc Association (IZA) provided a new special high-grade zinc dataset in the summer of 2022. This dataset has been used now to update all datasets for products that directly or indirectly use special high-grade zinc, including steel sheets, fungicides, dip switches and more.    

• Cobalt: New datasets have been added on cobalt sulfate heptahydrate, cobalt hydroxide and tricobalt tetraoxide, ensuring battery models and datasets have the most recent, relevant and high-quality data available.   

• Titanium dioxide: ​The titanium dioxide chloride and sulfate route has been refreshed with new data from the Zircon Industry Association (ZIA), Best Available Techniques Reference Documents (BREF) and Titanium Dioxide Manufacturers Association reports. 

New Textiles Data

Sphera textile experts checked and updated a broad range of datasets with the recent BREF technology information, reflecting new legal changes related to the EU Industrial Emissions Directive. Key changes apply to “the wet processing of textiles,” according to the European Commission. 

Expanded Plastics Data

This year’s update includes PlasticsEurope data for expanded polystyrene (EPS) grey and white, a widely used thermoplastic foam for shock absorption and insulation.   

New LCIA Methods Data

The MLC includes new and updated LCIA methods and characterization factors. This includes the new Environmental Footprint (EF) 3.1, the new 2022.1 LANCA method, the ISO 14067 update and the new cumulative abiotic resource depletion potentials for elements (CML ADPe) 2020 ultimate reserve. Minor corrections have also been made based on the revised publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR 6. Former versions of the various methods are still available for comparison as well.   

Our Next Chapter: Sphera LCA for Experts (LCA FE) 

This year’s MLC update also more closely aligns the GaBi solutions with the Sphera portfolio by renaming GaBi Software as Sphera LCA FE and the GaBi databases as Sphera MLC. The reasoning behind this change is to make it easier for our customers to understand and navigate our many solutions.  

These changes will be reflected across marketing communications, invoices, the Sphera Customer Network (SCN), the annual database release and the Sphera website. Ultimately our goal is to provide a streamlined, intuitive suite of apps, content and services to support carbon accounting and footprinting throughout the entire product lifecycle, and this rebranding is part of that mission. See the new name changes here.

Supporting Sustainability Goals with Data 

Sphera is proud to offer updated and improved datasets for life cycle assessment, carbon footprint calculations and analysis of products and technologies on a corporate level. We are committed to making sustainability data as accurate, accessible and up-to-date as possible. This year’s MLC update offers the most complete and high-quality databases available to support organizations across sectors in our shared goal of carbon neutrality and sustainability.   

Learn more about the Sphera MLC Annual Release in our free webinar here.