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Life Cycle Data Network

The Life Cycle Data Network (LCDN) was launched in 2014. It aims to provide a globally usable infrastructure for the publication of quality assured LCA dataset from different organizations ( e.g. industry, national LCA projects, research groups, and consultants).

LCDN Developer tools

  • Topic / Tool | Last updated: 16 Jul 2026

Look@eILCD (LED): 

Look@eILCD enables the analysis of datasets in the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) format directly from the XML data files, without requiring any mapping of EF/ILCD nomenclature to software-specific terms. It is designed to work natively with the extended-ILCD (eILCD) format, also directly from XML files. The eILCD format was developed to support disaggregated datasets (e.g. level-1 partly aggregated datasets) as well as more complex Environmental Footprint (EF) models.

The software includes multiple validation checks and automatically aggregates the model (i.e. the XML files located in the lifecyclemodel folder) into a fully aggregated, EF-compliant dataset. A user guide is included.

 

 

ILCD Schema

This page provides the format specifications for all XML file types used in ILCD. For each file type, it offers a comprehensive list of allowed fields, their required order, and the expected content type (e.g. text, numeric values, enumerated entries, etc.). It also specifies the level of recommendation for each field (mandatory, recommended, optional) according to the ILCD Entry-Level Scheme.

For a complete overview of the mandatory information and fields required under the PEF/OEF scheme, please refer to the EF Data Guide.

 

View ILCD Schema


 All the previous documents can be download here as a single ZIP file.

 

ILCD SDK

Download the extended-ILCD (eILCD) Data Format SDK (ZIP).

A new dataset type—the life cycle model dataset—has been introduced to enable the representation of complete models composed of ILCD process datasets.

The SDK includes sample data for all XML dataset types, schemas, stylesheets, licensing information, and additional documentation. The Interface Paper outlining the modelling requirements is also included in the package.

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