Disclaimer: This document describes Earthster's list of environmental exchanges and logic thereof, used from November 9th 2025 onwards (last and most meaningful extension from FEDEFL). To read the report and log from before that date, see here.
At Earthster, we believe in global standards. As such, we did not create a new exchange list from scratch. Instead, we adopted the Federal LCA Commons Environmental Flow List (FEDEFL), developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
FEDEFL offers several key advantages:
Extremely comprehensive: Over 330,000 exchanges, compared to 94,000 in the widely used ILCD list and to 9,800 exchanges in ecoinvent. Provides more options for specifying context.
Minimal redundancy: Substances with the same meaning do not appear under different names, reducing confusion (often a problem in ILCD), since it has a consistent structure.
Open-source: Built on LCA research and designed for practical LCA applications by the community. Earthster has contributed updates and improvements to the list.
Highly interoperable: Mappings exist to other systems such as ecoinvent, openLCA, ILCD, and for implementing impact assessment methods, and several databases are natively available, including USLCI, CORRIM, and USEEIO.
Why extend FEDEFL
One of the benefits of FEDEFL (its consistency) comes at a cost: structural changes take longer to be implemented, since they require discussion with the LCA community and consensus.
Because of this, Earthster has developed as system to implement extensions quickly, and adjust when FEDEFL catches up to those extensions. Since Earthster is an active contributor, FEDEFL sometimes just incorporates those extensions. In other cases, FEDEFL may diverge from Earthster's path, in which case we backfill our data accordingly to stay in sync with the standard. This makes the Earthster extended FEDEFL a superset of FEDEFL, that is more compatible with other environmental exchange lists like ILCD or ecoinvent.
Earthster extensions to FEDEFL
Below can be found the extensions Earthster has introduced, with the date of introduction of those extensions. More recent extensions are shown on top.
Long-term flows
Introduced 2025-11-10
Some emissions occur only centuries to millennia after the original production process—for example, the release of heavy metals from landfills or construction rubble into water, which can harm freshwater ecosystems. Because of this extreme temporal lag, there is no scientific consensus on whether such long-term emissions should be included in life cycle impact assessment. The decision is therefore left to method and database developers.
The FEDEFL applies a conservative approach by treating long-term emissions as normal emissions. However, method and database providers often report those environmental exchanges independently. One notable case reporting those is Ecoinvent. Following FEDEFL strictly means much higher impacts than ecoinvent for the EF inorganic toxicity categories, and on average about a 5% higher impact for EF Particulate matter.
To align the impact results better with ILCD and ecoinvent, we therefore added two new long-term contexts: one for emission water (long-term) and another for emission/air (long-term). These are the equivalent long-term flows for EF and ecoinvent:
Table 4: Long-term contexts in earthster and their equivalent in ecoinvent and ILCD
Context name in Earthster | Context name in ecoinvent | Context name in ILCD |
emission/air/long-term | low population density, long-term | Emissions to air, unspecified (long-term) |
emission/water/long-term | ground-, long-term | Emissions to water, unspecified (long-term) |
New exchanges were created for each exchange name belonging to the following classes: Group, Chemical, Geological, Water, Energy and Other.
These contexts only make sense for chemical substances and groups of chemical substances (~5.8k substances). Which means ~11.6k new flows.
Impact methods without long-term exchanges: For impact methods that do not specify the characterization factors for long-term exchanges (ReCiPe, CML, IPCC, TRACI), we used the values of closely-related contexts (emission/air/troposphere/rural for long-term emissions to air, and emission/water/subterranean for long-term emissions to water) for a given substance.
Land use and land transformation exchanges
Introduced 2024-11-28
In LCA literature, exchanges of the class “Land” are divided into three main types:
Land use exchanges, which represent the occupation of a given area over a certain period (measured in m²·year).
Land transformation exchanges, which represent the conversion of one land type into another (measured in m²).
Volume occupied exchanges, which represent the permanent occupation of a given volume of land (measured in m³)
The FEDEFL flow list includes only land use exchanges. This shortcoming was brought up in review but the original authors' response is:
The critical review by Edelen et. al (2018) revealed two main types of ‘Land’ flowables, land occupation and land transformation. Current usage of land transformation flows provides incomplete information as it describes either the land before transformation or the land after transformation, but never both. For example, ‘transformation to cropland’, only describes the product of the transformation, but not the original land. It is the perspective of the authors that land transformation is not a flow, but rather an activity and land flowables should describe the land cover.
Since this theoretical justification causes a practical data loss in regards to existing databases and methods, and a shortcoming to the usage of those, Earthster has added explicit transformation flows:
Land transformation (before, from)
Land transformation (after, to)
To model the permanent occupation of land for hazardous and radioactive waste, we added the following exchanges:
Volume occupied, final repository for radioactive waste resource/ground`
Volume occupied, final repository for low-active radioactive waste resource/ground`
Volume occupied, underground deposit resource/ground`
For both land use and land transformation exchanges, the context in which they occur is crucial. For example, occupying land as a forest (Land use resource/ground/terrestrial/forest) is generally much more beneficial to the environment than occupying the same area for industrial purposes (Land use resource/ground/human-dominated/industrial/urban).
The FEDEFL resolution for land use categories is relatively coarse and does not capture the full diversity of land use types found in databases such as ecoinvent or ILCD. To improve compatibility, we extended FEDEFL by adding additional land type flows that fully cover the ecoinvent and ILCD categories.
The table below shows how FEDEFL land use contexts correspond to ecoinvent land use flows:
Table 3: Land use and land transformation contexts used in Earthster, whether they are native FEDEFL contexts and corresponding Ecoinvent land use.
Context | original FEDEFL context? | Ecoinvent flowable |
resource/ground | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated | yes | unspecified |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural | yes | arable land, unspecified use |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/annual crop | no | annual crop |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/annual crop/flooded crop | no | annual crop, flooded crop |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/annual crop/greenhouse | no | annual crop, greenhouse |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/annual crop/irrigated | no | annual crop, irrigated |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/annual crop/irrigated/extensive | no | annual crop, irrigated, extensive |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/annual crop/irrigated/intensive | no | annual crop, irrigated, intensive |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/annual crop/non-irrigated | no | annual crop, non-irrigated |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/annual crop/non-irrigated/extensive | no | annual crop, non-irrigated, extensive |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/annual crop/non-irrigated/intensive | no | annual crop, non-irrigated, intensive |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/heterogeneous | no | heterogeneous, agricultural |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/pasture, man made | no | pasture, man made |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/pasture, man made/extensive | no | pasture, man made, extensive |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/pasture, man made/intensive | no | pasture, man made, intensive |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/permanent crop | no | permanent crop |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/permanent crop/irrigated | no | permanent crop, irrigated |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/permanent crop/irrigated/extensive | no | permanent crop, irrigated, extensive |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/permanent crop/irrigated/intensive | no | permanent crop, irrigated, intensive |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/permanent crop/non-irrigated | no | permanent crop, non-irrigated |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/permanent crop/non-irrigated/extensive | no | permanent crop, non-irrigated, extensive |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/permanent crop/non-irrigated/intensive | no | permanent crop, non-irrigated, intensive |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/rural | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/urban | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/cropland fallow (non-use) | no | cropland fallow (non-use) |
resource/ground/human-dominated/agricultural/field margin or hedgerow | no | field margin/hedgerow |
resource/ground/human-dominated/commercial | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/commercial/rural | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/commercial/urban | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/construction site | no | construction site |
resource/ground/human-dominated/dump site | no | dump site |
resource/ground/human-dominated/dump site/inert material landfill | no | dump site, inert material landfill |
resource/ground/human-dominated/dump site/residual material landfill | no | dump site, residual material landfill |
resource/ground/human-dominated/dump site/sanitary landfill | no | dump site, sanitary landfill |
resource/ground/human-dominated/dump site/slag compartment | no | dump site, slag compartment |
resource/ground/human-dominated/industrial | yes | industrial area |
resource/ground/human-dominated/industrial/rural | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/industrial/urban | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/mineral extraction site | no | mineral extraction site |
resource/ground/human-dominated/residential | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/residential/rural | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/residential/urban | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/rural | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/traffic area | no |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/traffic area/rail network | no | traffic area, rail network |
resource/ground/human-dominated/traffic area/rail or road embankment | no | traffic area, rail/road embankment |
resource/ground/human-dominated/traffic area/road network | no | traffic area, road network |
resource/ground/human-dominated/urban | yes |
|
resource/ground/human-dominated/urban or industrial fallow (non-use) | no | urban/industrial fallow (non-use) |
resource/ground/human-dominated/urban/continuously built | no | urban, continuously built |
resource/ground/human-dominated/urban/discontinuously built | no | urban, discontinuously built |
resource/ground/human-dominated/urban/green area | no | urban, green area |
resource/ground/terrestrial | no | unspecified, natural (non-use) |
resource/ground/terrestrial/barren land | yes | bare area (non-use) |
resource/ground/terrestrial/forest | yes | forest, unspecified |
resource/ground/terrestrial/forest/extensive | no | forest, extensive |
resource/ground/terrestrial/forest/intensive | no | forest, intensive |
resource/ground/terrestrial/forest/primary (non-use) | no | forest, primary (non-use) |
resource/ground/terrestrial/forest/secondary (non-use) | no | forest, secondary (non-use) |
resource/ground/terrestrial/grassland | yes |
|
resource/ground/terrestrial/grassland/livestock grazing | no | grassland, natural, for livestock grazing |
resource/ground/terrestrial/grassland/natural (non-use) | no | grassland, natural (non-use) |
resource/ground/terrestrial/shrubland | yes | shrub land, sclerophyllous |
resource/ground/terrestrial/snow and ice | yes | snow and ice (non-use) |
resource/ground/terrestrial/wetland | yes |
|
resource/ground/terrestrial/wetland/coastal (non-use) | no | wetland, coastal (non-use) |
resource/ground/terrestrial/wetland/inland (non-use) | no | wetland, inland (non-use) |
resource/water | yes |
|
resource/water/brackish water body | yes |
|
resource/water/brackish water body/lake | yes |
|
resource/water/brackish water body/lake/rural | yes |
|
resource/water/brackish water body/lake/urban | yes |
|
resource/water/fresh water body | yes | inland waterbody, unspecified |
resource/water/fresh water body/lake | yes |
|
resource/water/fresh water body/lake/rural | yes | lake, natural (non-use) |
resource/water/fresh water body/lake/urban | yes | lake, artificial |
resource/water/fresh water body/river | yes |
|
resource/water/fresh water body/river/rural | yes | river, natural (non-use) |
resource/water/fresh water body/river/urban | yes | river, artificial |
resource/water/saline water body | yes |
|
resource/water/saline water body/ocean | yes |
|
resource/water/saline water body/ocean/seabed | no | seabed, unspecified |
resource/water/saline water body/ocean/seabed/drilling and mining | no | seabed, drilling and mining |
resource/water/saline water body/ocean/seabed/infrastructure | no | seabed, infrastructure |
resource/water/saline water body/ocean/seabed/natural (non-use) | no | seabed, natural (non-use) |
Fossil, biogenic, and land-use carbon exchanges
Introduced 2023-10-04
When modeling greenhouse gas emissions, it is common to distinguish the origin of carbon — whether it comes from fossil sources, biogenic sources, or land-use changes. Even ISO 14067 requires this separation to ensure transparent accounting of carbon flows.
There is an ongoing discussion in FEDEFL in regards to how to account for such flows. Earthster introduced exchange names to track each one of those types of flows, for the main greenhouse gases. This was based on available data from databases and impact assessment methods.
The added exchange names are presented below:
Table 2: Biogenic and land use exchanges and their counterparts in Ecoinvent and ICLD
Exchange name in Earthster | Ecoinvent | ILCD |
Carbon dioxide, biogenic | Carbon dioxide, non-fossil | Carbon dioxide (biogenic) |
Carbon dioxide, land use | Carbon dioxide, from soil or biomass stock | Carbon dioxide (land use change) |
Carbon monoxide, biogenic | Carbon monoxide, non-fossil | Carbon dioxide (biogenic) |
Carbon monoxide, land use | Carbon monoxide, from soil or biomass stock | Carbon monoxide (land use change) |
Methane, biogenic | Methane, non-fossil | Methane (biogenic) |
Methane, land use | Methane, from soil or biomass stock | Methane (land use change) |
Methane, fossil | Methane | Methane |
Other flows
In addition to the above, the following exchange names were also added to Earthster as an extension to Earthster:
Table 5: Other exchange names added to Earthster, which do not yet exist in FEDEFL.
Exchange name | Class | Unit | Date added |
1,3-Cyclohexanedione, 2-[2-chloro-4-(methylsulfonyl)benzoyl]- | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
3-Hexyne-2,5-diol, 2,5-dimethyl- | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Amine oxides | Group | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Ammonium sulfate | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Butene | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Coal, anthracite | Geological | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Coal, bituminous | Geological | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Coal, lignite | Geological | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Coal, sub-bituminous | Geological | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Crude oil | Geological | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Curium alpha | Chemicals | kBq | 2025-11-09 |
Cypermethrin | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Dibutyltin | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Dimethyldichlorosilane | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Fluquinconazole | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Glufosinate | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Hydrocarbons, aliphatic, alkanes, cyclic | Group | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Hydrocarbons, aliphatic, alkanes, unspecified | Group | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Hydrocarbons, aliphatic, unsaturated | Group | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Iron(III) | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Natural gas | Geological | m3 | 2025-11-09 |
Nitrogen, bound, organic | Group | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Nitrogen, bound, unspecified | Group | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Peat | Geological | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Penflufen | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Phenyltin | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Phosphonic acid, monoethyl ester | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Phosphorus oxychloride | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Phosphorus pentachloride | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Phosphorus trichloride | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Plutonium alpha | Chemicals | kBq | 2025-11-09 |
Pydiflumetofen | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Quizalofop-P | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Radioactive species, alpha emitters | Group | kBq | 2025-11-09 |
Radioactive species, other beta emitters | Group | kBq | 2025-11-09 |
Sodium methoxide | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Spiroxamine | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Tribenuron | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Triethylammonium | Chemicals | kg | 2025-11-09 |
Uranium alpha | Chemicals | kBq | 2025-11-09 |
Aluminium sulfate | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Amisulbrom | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Bixafen | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Dichloroethylene | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Disodium phosphate | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Fenoxaprop-P | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Fenpyrazamine | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Flupyrsulfuron-methyl sodium | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Haloxyfop-P | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Iprovalicarb | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Isophoronenitrile | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Phenyl isocyanate | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Proquinazid | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Sodium dihydrogen phosphate | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Tritosulfuron | Chemicals | kg | 2024-12-04 |
Fungicides | Group | kg | 2024-11-28 |
Insecticides | Group | kg | 2024-11-28 |
Non-methane volatile organic compounds | Group | kg | 2024-11-28 |
Oils, unspecified | Group | kg | 2024-11-28 |
Paraffins | Groups | kg | 2024-11-28 |
Uranium-238 | Chemicals | kBq | 2024-11-28 |
Change log and justifications of state
Until 2025-11-09
Up until this point we followed FEDEFL methodology strictly in regards to long-term flows. FEDEFL applies a conservative approach by treating long-term emissions as normal emissions. As a result, Earthster reported order-of-magnitude higher impacts than references (ecoinvent) for the EF inorganic toxicity categories, and on average about a 5% higher impact for EF Particulate matter.
Due to the absence of an exchange to track non-renewable flows of biomass (such as wood harvested from tropical forests), these were converted to normal biomass in Earthster. This affected the CED Non-renewable, biomass category in Earthster. FEDEFL accepted our suggestion for a new exchange for tracking non-renewable biomass, so it was added retroactively to older databases.
Other small extensions to the flow list (in process of committing them back to FEDEFL).
Until 2025-06-10
Volume occupied exchanges were added, to create a comprehensive view of land-related changes.
Until 2024-12-04
Small extensions of exchanges were added to align with ecoinvent 3.11
Until 2024-11-28
Land transformation flows were added. Small extensions of exchanges were added like Fungicides, Insecticides
Until 2023-10-04
Biogenic and land use carbon exchanges were added.