Calculating Impacts¶

Overview¶

Once you've found an activity using search_activities, you can calculate its environmental impacts using the calculate_standard tool. This guide shows you how to run LCA calculations and interpret results.

Basic Calculation Workflow¶

The Three-Step Process¶

Every LCA calculation follows this pattern:

Search for an activity → Get activity code
Calculate using the code → Get task_id
Check status until complete → Get results

Step 1: Search for Activity¶

Prompt:

"Search for solar photovoltaic electricity in ecoinvent-3.11-cutoff"

Result: You get an activity code (e.g., abc123def456...)

Step 2: Calculate Impact¶

Prompt:

"Calculate the carbon footprint of 1000 kWh using that activity 
with IPCC 2013 GWP100 method"

What Happens: - Tool: calculate_standard - Database: ecoinvent-3.11-cutoff - Activity code: abc123def456... - Quantity: 1000 - Method: ecoinvent-3.11 > IPCC 2013 > climate change > global warming potential (GWP100)

Step 3: Get Results¶

The AI automatically checks the calculation status and returns:

Example Result:

✅ Calculation Complete

Activity: Solar PV electricity, 3kWp rooftop
Quantity: 1000 kWh
Impact: 45.2 kg CO2-eq

Method: IPCC 2013 GWP100
Database: ecoinvent-3.11-cutoff
Calculation time: 2.3 seconds

Impact Methods¶

Climate Change Methods¶

The most commonly used impact category:

Method	Full Specification	Unit
IPCC 2013 GWP100	`ecoinvent-3.11 > IPCC 2013 > climate change > global warming potential (GWP100)`	kg CO2-eq
IPCC 2021 GWP100	`ecoinvent-3.11 > IPCC 2021 > climate change > global warming potential (GWP100)`	kg CO2-eq

Prompts:

"Calculate carbon footprint using IPCC 2013"
"Calculate GHG emissions with IPCC 2021"
"Calculate climate change impact"

Method Versions

IPCC 2021 includes updated characterization factors. Use IPCC 2013 for consistency with earlier studies.

Other Impact Categories¶

EcoSemantic supports many impact assessment methods:

Acidification

"Calculate acidification potential using CML 2001"

Specification: ecoinvent-3.11 > CML 2001 > acidification > acidification potential

Eutrophication

"Calculate freshwater eutrophication using ReCiPe 2016"

Specification: ecoinvent-3.11 > ReCiPe 2016 midpoint (H) > freshwater eutrophication > eutrophication potential (FEP)

Human Toxicity

"Calculate human toxicity potential with USEtox"

Specification: ecoinvent-3.11 > USEtox 2.1 > human toxicity > human toxicity potential

Water Scarcity

"Calculate water use impact with AWARE"

Specification: ecoinvent-3.11 > AWARE 1.2 > water availability > water availability footprint

Finding Methods

Use search_methods to discover available impact assessment methods:

"What impact methods are available for water scarcity?"

Quantity and Units¶

Understanding Functional Units¶

The quantity parameter defines how much of an activity you want to analyze.

Examples:

Activity	Unit	Quantity	Interpretation
Electricity production	kilowatt hour	1000	1000 kWh of electricity
Steel production	kilogram	500	500 kg of steel
Car transport	kilometer	100	100 km of driving
Product manufacturing	unit	1	1 product item

Scaling Calculations¶

Prompts:

"Calculate for 1 kWh" → Single unit
"Calculate for 1000 kWh" → Scaled up
"Calculate for 0.5 kg" → Fractional amounts

The results scale linearly with quantity.

Prompt Examples by Sector¶

Energy Sector¶

Solar Energy:

"Calculate the carbon footprint of 1000 kWh of solar PV electricity from Spain 
using IPCC 2013 GWP100"

Wind Energy:

"Calculate GHG emissions for 5000 kWh of offshore wind electricity 
from Denmark using IPCC 2021"

Natural Gas:

"Calculate the climate change impact of 100 kWh of natural gas electricity 
from the US grid"

Manufacturing Sector¶

Steel Production:

"Calculate carbon footprint for 1000 kg of primary steel production 
in China using IPCC 2013"

Aluminum Production:

"Calculate the environmental impact of 500 kg of recycled aluminum 
using multiple impact methods"

Plastic Manufacturing:

"Calculate GHG emissions for 100 kg of PET plastic production"

Transportation Sector¶

Passenger Car:

"Calculate carbon footprint of a 100 km passenger car trip 
with a medium-size diesel vehicle EURO 6"

Freight Truck:

"Calculate emissions for 1000 ton-km of freight transport 
by heavy truck"

Aviation:

"Calculate the carbon footprint of 5000 km of passenger air transport"

Agriculture Sector¶

Crop Production:

"Calculate impacts of 1000 kg of wheat production in France"

Livestock:

"Calculate GHG emissions from 100 kg of beef production"

Multi-Impact Analysis¶

Comparing Impact Categories¶

Prompt:

"Calculate climate change, acidification, and eutrophication 
for 1000 kWh of coal electricity"

AI Will: 1. Run calculation for climate change (IPCC 2013) 2. Run calculation for acidification (CML 2001) 3. Run calculation for eutrophication (CML 2001) 4. Present results in a comparison table

Result Interpretation¶

Example Output:

Impact Assessment for Coal Electricity (1000 kWh):

Impact Category          | Value      | Unit
------------------------|------------|-------------
Climate Change          | 950 kg     | CO2-eq
Acidification          | 2.3 kg     | SO2-eq
Freshwater Eutrophication | 0.15 kg  | P-eq

Understanding Results¶

LCA Score Components¶

Each result includes:

Component	Description	Example
lca_score	Numerical impact value	45.2
unit	Impact unit	kg CO2-eq
method	Assessment method used	IPCC 2013 GWP100
activity	Process analyzed	Solar PV electricity
quantity	Amount analyzed	1000 kWh
calculation_time	Processing duration	2.3 seconds

Interpreting Units¶

Common impact units:

kg CO2-eq - Carbon dioxide equivalents (climate change)
kg SO2-eq - Sulfur dioxide equivalents (acidification)
kg P-eq - Phosphorus equivalents (eutrophication)
CTUh - Comparative toxic units for humans (toxicity)
m³ water-eq - Water equivalents (water use)
MJ surplus - Energy surplus (resource depletion)

Comparative Analysis¶

Comparing Activities¶

Prompt:

"Search for solar and coal electricity activities, 
calculate their carbon footprints for 1000 kWh each, 
and compare the results"

AI Will: 1. Search for both activity types 2. Calculate impacts separately 3. Create comparison table 4. Highlight differences

Example Result:

Comparison: Solar vs Coal Electricity (1000 kWh)

Technology | Carbon Footprint | Difference
-----------|------------------|------------
Solar PV   | 45 kg CO2-eq     | Baseline
Coal       | 950 kg CO2-eq    | +2011%

Solar electricity has 95% lower carbon footprint than coal.

Scenario Analysis¶

Prompt:

"Calculate carbon footprint for electricity production 
using natural gas, and show how it changes if we scale 
from 1000 to 10000 kWh"

Advanced Calculation Techniques¶

Using Method Validation¶

Before calculating, validate the method exists:

Prompt:

"Validate that IPCC 2013 GWP100 exists in ecoinvent-3.11-cutoff, 
then calculate carbon footprint for solar electricity"

Calculation History¶

Review past calculations:

Prompt:

"Show me my recent LCA calculations"

Getting Statistics¶

Track your usage:

Prompt:

"Show me my calculation statistics"

Common Issues and Solutions¶

Issue 1: Method Specification Error¶

Error Message:

"Invalid method specification"

Solution:

"Search for IPCC methods first, then use the exact specification returned"

Issue 2: Calculation Timeout¶

Error Message:

"Calculation still pending after 30 seconds"

Solution: - Complex calculations take longer - Check status again: "Check the status of task [task_id]" - Usually completes within 10-30 seconds

Issue 3: Activity Code Not Found¶

Error Message:

"Activity code does not exist"

Solution:

"Search for the activity again to get the current code"

Best Practices¶

✅ DO¶

Specify exact method specifications
Use appropriate quantities with correct units
Compare similar functional units (don't compare 1 kg steel vs 1000 kWh electricity)
Check calculation status if it takes > 10 seconds
Save important results for documentation

❌ DON'T¶

Mix databases (activity from 3.9.1, method from 3.11)
Use negative quantities
Expect instant results for complex systems
Compare incompatible units

Complete Workflow Examples¶

Example 1: Energy Comparison Study¶

Full Conversation:

You:

"I want to compare the carbon footprint of different electricity sources 
for 1 MWh of electricity using IPCC 2013 GWP100"

AI:

I'll help you compare different electricity sources. Let me search for:
1. Solar PV
2. Wind
3. Natural gas
4. Coal

[Searches and calculates for each]

Results for 1 MWh (1000 kWh):

Source        | Carbon Footprint | Ranking
--------------|------------------|--------
Solar PV      | 45 kg CO2-eq     | 1 (Best)
Wind          | 12 kg CO2-eq     | 1 (Best)
Natural Gas   | 490 kg CO2-eq    | 3
Coal          | 950 kg CO2-eq    | 4 (Worst)

Wind energy has the lowest carbon footprint, followed closely by solar.
Fossil fuels have 10-80x higher impacts.

Example 2: Transportation Analysis¶

You:

"Calculate the carbon footprint of commuting 50 km daily for a year 
(250 working days) using a medium diesel car"

AI:

Total distance: 50 km/day × 250 days = 12,500 km

[Searches for medium diesel passenger car]
[Calculates for 12,500 km]

Annual Commute Carbon Footprint:
- Distance: 12,500 km
- Vehicle: Medium diesel car, EURO 6
- Impact: 2,890 kg CO2-eq (2.89 tonnes CO2-eq)

This is equivalent to:
- Approximately 6,420 kWh of coal electricity
- Or flying ~5,780 km

Example 3: Product Manufacturing¶

You:

"Calculate all major environmental impacts for producing 1000 kg 
of recycled aluminum"

AI:

[Searches for recycled aluminum activity]
[Calculates multiple impact categories]

Environmental Profile: 1000 kg Recycled Aluminum

Impact Category           | Value     | Unit
-------------------------|-----------|-------------
Climate Change           | 890 kg    | CO2-eq
Acidification           | 3.2 kg    | SO2-eq
Eutrophication          | 0.28 kg   | P-eq
Human Toxicity          | 15.3      | CTUh
Resource Depletion      | 245 MJ    | surplus energy

Key Finding: Recycled aluminum has ~95% lower climate impact 
than primary aluminum production.

Next Steps¶

Now that you know how to calculate impacts:

Explore Data - Discover more methods and data
Examples - See complete real-world use cases

calculate_standard - Full tool documentation
get_task_status - Check calculation status
search_methods - Find impact methods
validate_method - Verify method specifications

Ready to explore more? Check out Exploring Data →

Calculating Impacts¶

Overview¶

Basic Calculation Workflow¶

The Three-Step Process¶

Step 1: Search for Activity¶

Step 2: Calculate Impact¶

Step 3: Get Results¶

Impact Methods¶

Climate Change Methods¶

Other Impact Categories¶

Quantity and Units¶

Understanding Functional Units¶

Scaling Calculations¶

Prompt Examples by Sector¶

Energy Sector¶

Manufacturing Sector¶

Transportation Sector¶

Agriculture Sector¶

Multi-Impact Analysis¶

Comparing Impact Categories¶

Result Interpretation¶

Understanding Results¶

LCA Score Components¶

Interpreting Units¶

Comparative Analysis¶

Comparing Activities¶

Scenario Analysis¶

Advanced Calculation Techniques¶

Using Method Validation¶

Calculation History¶

Getting Statistics¶

Common Issues and Solutions¶

Issue 1: Method Specification Error¶

Issue 2: Calculation Timeout¶

Issue 3: Activity Code Not Found¶

Best Practices¶

✅ DO¶

❌ DON'T¶

Complete Workflow Examples¶

Example 1: Energy Comparison Study¶

Example 2: Transportation Analysis¶

Example 3: Product Manufacturing¶

Next Steps¶

Related Tools¶