Long Trail Sustainability (LTS) is excited to announce the release of DATASMART 2026, the newest version of the DATASMART life cycle assessment (LCA) database package for SimaPro. This annual update introduces more than 1,800 new processes and nearly 200 updated datasets, expanding coverage across a wide range of materials, energy systems, and industrial activities.
As with previous releases, DATASMART 2026 includes custom datasets developed by LTS for key sectors such as textiles, packaging, bio-based materials, dairy, electronics, pulp and paper, and waste treatment. These additions help practitioners model modern supply chains with datasets that better reflect real-world North American production systems.
Watch the DATASMART 2026 Webinar
Improved USLCI+ Implementation
A core feature of DATASMART 2026 is its enhanced implementation of the U.S. Life Cycle Inventory (USLCI+) library. While the USLCI+ database represents a major improvement over earlier USLCI releases, it includes hundreds of placeholder (“dummy”) processes without environmental burdens.
DATASMART addresses this limitation by replacing most dummy processes with proxy datasets drawn from the DATASMART library, allowing users to generate complete and meaningful LCA results. This enhancement is particularly valuable for projects that must comply with Product Category Rules (PCRs) requiring the use of USLCI+ data while avoiding incomplete background systems.
Updated Electricity and Energy Modeling
Energy modeling continues to be one of the major strengths of DATASMART. In the 2026 release, electricity mix processes have been comprehensively updated using the most recent publicly available data, including 2023 U.S. EPA eGRID data and 2024 Statistics Canada data.
DATASMART 2026 includes electricity mixes for:
- All nine U.S. NERC regions
- 26 eGRID subregions
- All 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia
- The U.S. national average
- All Canadian provinces and territories
- The Canadian national average
Canadian electricity modeling has also been improved to reflect interprovincial and cross-border electricity trade, rather than assuming that all electricity consumed within a province is generated locally.
Underlying U.S. and Canadian energy mixes have also been updated to reflect current market conditions, including the rapid growth of shale gas. Natural gas is modeled as 78% shale gas for both countries based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In addition, updated natural gas power plant efficiencies and revised regional coal generation mixes improve the accuracy of electricity-related impacts across the entire database.
New and Updated Sector Datasets
In addition to major energy updates, DATASMART 2026 includes several notable new and updated datasets.
These include updated molybdenum production processes from the International Molybdenum Association, based on a 2024 ISO-compliant life cycle assessment using 2023 data, as well as a new molybdenum concentrate dataset.
The database also incorporates three new processes from an ISO-compliant comparative LCA conducted by LTS examining paper patient information leaflets and their digital equivalents (e-leaflets) viewed on smartphones. These datasets are modeled using U.S.-specific electricity and transportation assumptions.
Available for SimaPro Users
DATASMART 2026 is distributed exclusively as a package for SimaPro license holders and is updated annually by LTS. The package also includes the updated LTS impact assessment method, featuring current versions of ReCiPe 2016, IPCC 2021 GWP 100a, Cumulative Energy Demand, and the AWARE water scarcity method.
With expanded datasets, improved energy modeling, and enhanced USLCI+ integration, DATASMART 2026 provides LCA practitioners with a robust, transparent, and practical database for modeling North American supply chains and meeting evolving regulatory and reporting requirements.
