Published June 3, 2026 | Version v1
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Characterisation Factors for Planetary-Boundary-Based Absolute Environmental Sustainability Assessment

Authors/Creators

  • 1. ROR icon RWTH Aachen University
  • 2. ROR icon Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • 3. ROR icon ETH Zurich

Description

Characterisation Factors for Planetary-Boundary-Based Absolute Environmental Sustainability Assessment.

This dataset provides characterisation factors for the 2684 elementary flows within standard and prospective ecoinvent v3.10.1 databases, enabling the assessment of the elementary flows’ environmental burden across all global planetary boundary categories except novel entities. 

Contents: Dataset.
License: CC-BY 4.0.
Authors: Jan Marcus Hartmann, David Yang Shu, André Bardow, Niklas von der Assen.
Citation: Please cite this dataset as:

Hartmann J.M., Shu D.Y., et al. (2025). Characterisation Factors for Planetary-Boundary-Based Absolute Environmental Sustainability Assessment. Zenodo. 10.5281/zenodo.20523866.

Notes: A related publication will be linked once available.

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Additional details

Related works

Is supplement to
Software: 10.5281/zenodo.17523540 (DOI)

References

  • Steffen, W. et al. Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science 347, 1259855 (2015).
  • Bachmann, M. et al. Towards circular plastics within planetary boundaries. Nat. Sustain. 6, 599–610 (2023).
  • Wernet, G. et al. The ecoinvent database version 3 (part I): overview and methodology. Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 21, 1218–1230 (2016).
  • Ryberg, M. W., Owsianiak, M., Richardson, K. & Hauschild, M. Z. Development of a life-cycle impact assessment methodology linked to the Planetary Boundaries framework. Ecol. Indic. 88, 250–262 (2018).
  • Doka, G. Combining Life Cycle Inventory Results with Planetary Boundaries: The Planetary Boundary Allowance Impact Assessment Method Update PBA'06. http://www.doka.ch/DokaPBA06Method.pdf (2016).
  • Sacchi, R. et al. PRospective EnvironMental Impact asSEment (premise): A streamlined approach to producing databases for prospective life cycle assessment using integrated assessment models. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 160, 112311 (2022).
  • Galán-Martín, Á. et al. Sustainability footprints of a renewable carbon transition for the petrochemical sector within planetary boundaries. One Earth 4, 565–583 (2021).
  • Hanafiah, M. M., Hendriks, A. J. & Huijbregts, M. A. J. Comparing the ecological footprint with the biodiversity footprint of products. J. Clean. Prod. 37, 107–114 (2012).
  • An, M. et al. Rapid increase in dichloromethane emissions from China inferred through atmospheric observations. Nat. Commun. 12, 7279 (2021).
  • D'Angelo, S. C. et al. Planetary Boundaries Analysis of Low-Carbon Ammonia Production Routes. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 9, 9740–9749 (2021).
  • Ryberg, M. W., Owsianiak, M., Richardson, K. & Hauschild, M. Z. Development of a life-cycle impact assessment methodology linked to the Planetary Boundaries framework. Ecol. Indic. 88, 250–262 (2018).