Written by Long Trail Sustainability, Senior Consultant, Shelly Severinghaus

The 2019 DATASMART update, released on June 28, 2019, includes 58 new processes and 105 updated processes^[1]. This includes new Canadian electricity mixes by province and territory, as well as the high, medium, and low voltage for each region. The U.S. electricity mixes by eGRID and by state were also updated to incorporate more recently published data. Two new waste scenarios for general waste and packaging waste were created based on the most recent publications from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The LTS Method was updated with three damage categories based on ReCiPe 2016, and is now called the LTS 2019 method, found in the Global Category. The 2019 update also includes more detailed documentation in the process comments. Finally, the update includes updated water flows in hydropower and nuclear energy production processes.

Written by Long Trail Sustainability, Senior Consultant, Shelly Severinghaus

Ecoinvent 3 is available in three system models in SimaPro and in market and transformation classifications. Depending on the goal and scope of your study, you may choose to use one system model versus another, and depending on your data availability you may use market or transformation data.

Written by Long Trail Sustainability, Senior Consultant, Shelly Severinghaus

Ever wonder what electricity mixes exist in SimaPro? Or what electricity type you should choose in SimaPro? We hope to demystify electricity in SimaPro in this post.

The electricity processes in the SimaPro database contain the fuel types to produce the electricity, the transmission network, loss due to going between the electricity types (e.g. from high to medium voltage), and direct emissions. Electricity grid mixes can be found under the Energy > Electricity Country mix category, and electricity production by specific fuel types can be found under the Energy > Electricity by fuel category.

Written by Long Trail Sustainability, Senior Consultant, Shelly Severinghaus

DATASMART LCI Package is a dataset we created for our North American SimaPro customers. This dataset was originally developed to create a North American focused dataset, based on a combination of US LCI v.1.60 and Ecoinvent v.2.2 data, modified specifically to be representative of U.S. operations. In an effort to continually provide more data, DATASMART has expanded to a larger dataset, covering more regions and industries, containing data developed by us and data submitted to us by companies and researchers. Submission into the database entails an extensive review of the data to ensure accuracy. This data includes data across many industries, including metals, agriculture, textiles, and more.

By Shelly Severinghaus, LTS Senior Consultant 

On September 24^th, the evening before the LCA XVIII Conference, North American SimaPro users gathered at the Fort Collins Marriot, in Fort Collins, CO.

New and familiar faces mingled in small groups, catching up with peers and commenting on the foliage, while brilliant golden aspen trees dotted the town. Jori Coustillas, SimaPro Product Owner at PRe Sustainability, and I, Shelly Severinghaus, Senior Consultant at LTS, fielded SimaPro and LCA questions, as folks shared their experiences with one another. Read more