Built for North America
DATASMART 2026 is a comprehensive North American life cycle inventory (LCI) database developed and maintained by Long Trail Sustainability (LTS) for SimaPro users. Designed specifically for practitioners working in the United States and Canada, DATASMART expands and enhances existing background databases through enriched USLCI+ content and hundreds of original, critically reviewed datasets.
As organizations face growing demand for transparent environmental reporting, product-level disclosures, and supply chain emissions data, DATASMART provides a more representative foundation for North American life cycle assessment than databases developed primarily around European production systems and energy markets.
The result is a database that more accurately reflects real-world North American production, energy systems, and supply chains, supporting more credible and defensible environmental analyses.
For more details, see the DATASMART LCI Package Manual and watch the DATASMART 2026 recorded webinar.
Why DATASMART Matters
Off-the-shelf global databases often rely on generic or European-centric assumptions that can introduce significant inaccuracies when applied to North American supply chains. As regulatory scrutiny increases, these discrepancies can affect carbon calculations, EPD outcomes, procurement decisions, and compliance reporting.
DATASMART 2026 was developed to close this gap.
By combining enhanced USLCI+ content with hundreds of original, critically reviewed datasets, DATASMART provides a more accurate representation of North American industrial operations, electricity grids, fuel systems, transportation networks, and manufacturing processes than conventional international databases.
The result is greater confidence in environmental claims, improved transparency, and stronger alignment with emerging North American compliance requirements.
Overview: What’s in the DATASMART LCI Package?
DATASMART consists of a wide range of materials and processes inclusive of U.S. natural gas from hydraulic fracturing, U.S. natural gas mix, geothermal electricity generation, textile production processes, waste treatment processes for white goods and electronics, Chinese based pulp and paper data, updated energy modelling and much more.
The USLCI+ database (with data from Q3 2024) contains “dummy processes” (i.e. an empty process; no environmental burdens) and recommends that these dummies be filled. Wherever possible, DATASMART replaces dummy processes in USLCI+ data with a close proxy. The result is a database that better represents U.S. operations. DATASMART can fill the requirements of Product Category Rules (PCRs) that require USLCI+ data with the dummy processes replaced with appropriate data.
Over 700 original datasets are included in DATASMART, covering such industries as textiles, packaging, bio-materials and dairy; all 50 U.S. states, 13 Canadian provinces and territories, and electricity mixes from nine U.S. NERC regions and 26 eGRID subregions have also been added. It also includes critically reviewed branded data.
The DATASMART LCI Package is developed and maintained by LTS with one update a year. It is sold as a package and is available to active SimaPro license holders.
What’s New in DATASMART 2026
DATASMART 2026 introduces more than 1,800 new processes and nearly 200 updated datasets across materials, energy systems, manufacturing activities, and waste management operations.
Key enhancements include:
- Expanded coverage of textiles, packaging, bio-based materials, dairy, electronics, pulp and paper, and waste treatment sectors
- Updated North American electricity modeling using 2023 U.S. EPA eGRID data and 2024 Statistics Canada data
- Electricity mixes for all 50 U.S. states, nine NERC regions, 26 eGRID subregions, and all Canadian provinces and territories
- Improved modeling of interprovincial and cross-border electricity trade
- Updated energy assumptions reflecting current North American fuel markets, including shale gas production and regional power generation mixes
- New molybdenum production datasets developed in collaboration with the International Molybdenum Association
- New datasets from an ISO-compliant comparative LCA examining paper patient information leaflets and digital e-leaflet alternatives
Why choose DATASMART
Designed for Regulatory and Reporting Confidence
DATASMART 2026 provides North American-specific life cycle inventory data that can help improve the quality, transparency, and regional relevance of analyses used to support:
- Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
- Product Category Rule (PCR) compliance
- Buy Clean and low-carbon procurement programs
- Product carbon footprint studies
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs
- ESG reporting and sustainability disclosures
- Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions assessments
- ISSB-aligned climate and sustainability reporting
- Supply chain decarbonization initiatives
By incorporating regionally representative data for materials, energy systems, transportation networks, and industrial processes, DATASMART helps practitioners develop analyses that more closely reflect North American operating conditions than generic global datasets.
The Most Complete Implementation of USLCI+
A major advancement in DATASMART 2026 is its enhanced implementation of the U.S. Life Cycle Inventory (USLCI+) database.
This approach enables practitioners to:
- Produce more reliable LCA results
- Improve data completeness and transparency
- Meet PCR requirements that specify the use of USLCI+ data with appropriate proxy replacements
- Reduce uncertainty in EPD and carbon footprint studies
For organizations seeking compliance-ready assessments, this enhanced USLCI+ implementation represents a significant advantage over standard database configurations.
Comprehensive North American Coverage
Coverage includes:
- All 50 U.S. states and all 13 Canadian provinces and territories
- Nine U.S. NERC electricity regions
- Twenty-six U.S. eGRID subregions
- U.S. natural gas from hydraulic fracturing
- Regional natural gas mixes
- Geothermal electricity generation
- Textile production processes
- Packaging materials
- Bio-materials
- Dairy production systems
- Electronics recycling and waste treatment
This breadth of regional and sector-specific data allows practitioners to model North American supply chains with a level of precision unavailable in most global databases.
Developed by LCA Experts
DATASMART is developed and maintained by Long Trail Sustainability (LTS), a recognized leader in life cycle assessment, EPD development, and sustainability consulting.
The database is updated annually to reflect evolving industries, emerging technologies, changing energy systems, and the latest available data sources. Each release is designed to provide practitioners with a transparent, robust, and continuously improving foundation for North American environmental modeling.
Available for SimaPro Users
DATASMART 2026 is available exclusively to active SimaPro license holders and includes the updated LTS impact assessment method featuring:
- ReCiPe 2016
- IPCC 2021 GWP 100a
- Cumulative Energy Demand
- AWARE Water Scarcity
Together, these tools provide a powerful and transparent platform for modeling environmental impacts across North American supply chains.
When compliance, credibility, and regional accuracy matter, DATASMART 2026 is the North American standard.
Citing the DATASMART LCI Package:
LTS. 2026. DATASMART LCI Package. https://longtrailsustainability.com/services/software/datasmart-life-cycle-inventory/ Accessed on [DATE].
