EIO-LCA Web Forum

What are the specific boundaries for the model here? The website says that the model describes emissions up to the production phase only; I assume this would exclude any transport from production to distribution, emissions from retail, emissions from the use phase, and, of course, end-of-use disposal. Is that correct?

Also, since the model uses data from a variety of sources, is it possible to say that the emissions are reflective of a single, given year, e.g. 1997? I am guessing not.

Finally, under the "Use the Model" Advanced tab, there is an option for selecting various models. Is there a brief description of each of these and the circumstances where each one should be used?

Thanks for any guidance -
Rob

Rob - lots of questions.

1) Depending on which model you use of what is online, it could include impacts to the consumer. The default model is a producer cost model for 1997 that only includes production. However you may have seen there is another model available (in purchaser prices) that already includes estimates of warehousing, retailing, and transport through those cycles to where consumers would buy them. So its just an issue of selecting the appropriate model.

re: 1997, your point is a fair one, but we have done our best to find or adjust data to 1997 to match the model. Realistically though of course there are uncertainties as a result.

Note - we're in the midst of updating how documentation/etc is displayed on the website and this will be improved in the coming month. But in general all the models work in the same way as documented on the main "about the model" page but with different years, levels of sector detail, and countries of origin (the key difference being the single "purchaser price" model when all others are producer prices).

Hi - Thanks very much for your response. It was very helpful.

As a side note, I think the IO-LCA that CMU has built is a really amazing tool, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it develops, especially incorporating IO-LCAs for other countries.