The Australian Life Cycle Inventory database initiative (AusLCI) was launched at the National LCA conference in November 2006. The conference provided an ideal venue to promote the project and engage industry representatives in regards to its further development, and since the launch, strong interest has been expressed by industry stakeholders to join the project.

The development of an Australian life cycle inventory is not new; there has been substantial inventory development in Australia by different companies, universities and research groups. What is new about this initiative is an explicit public focus for the data, and the planned engagement of industry through the inventory and protocol development process.

The AusLCI initiative is being undertaken jointly by the Australian LCA Society (ALCAS) and CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, in partnership with a range of other research institutions, government departments and industry participants.

As the project now enters its design and operational stage an AusLCI Interim Steering Committee has been formed to establish a basic organisational framework and a series of sub-committees to run the project and allow a broad group of practitioners, government and industry stakeholders to be involved in the project. The next twelve months will require a number of key activities to be completed before AusLCI goes live and becomes fully operational. This includes development and agreement on data guidelines and technical specifications, engaging stakeholders including data users and data providers and development of a business model for the long term and sustained operation of AusLCI.

Ultimately, it is envisaged that an appropriately convened and constituted organisation will manage AusLCI, operating a transparent business process and reporting to a Board. The nature and form of this organisation and business plan will be the focus of activities over the next 12 months, along side the technical development of the database itself.

Process and Progress

The first stage of the process is the completion of the draft data guidelines. Even before these guidelines are finalised however it is possible for industries to begin their own inventory development on the basis that the changes to the final form should not effect the data collection. Industry involvement and engagement though is extremely valuable at this early stage of the process.

Due to capacity restraints in Australia, and a need to develop confidence in the inventory collection and documentation process, data development will be staged. An initial trial will target common datasets for electricity and transport.
Much of this early development will be with in-kind support of industries and research agencies, ahead of funding being secured for the project to expand to other materials and processes. It is expected that all other key materials and processes required for the database will be identified as part the process and industry support, both financial and in terms of cooperation, will be secured for a majority of the important material sectors. For important sectors which are not in a position to cooperate with the project, data will be developed from published environmental information from that sector, from technical models of the processes and from overseas data sources where no other data is available.

Data from the AusLCI project will be published at the end of the trial process, and then progressively as data modules are completed.

AusLCI Delivery Structures

The overall strategic leadership and management of the AusLCI initiative will be undertaken by the AusLCI Interim Steering Committee, supported by an AusLCI Secretariat. The Secretariat will be the primary centre for operations, following directions from the Interim Steering Committee, including being the first and primary point of contact for enquiries or information requests about AusLCI, managing budget and financial matters, coordinating information and committee activities, and assisting in organising external events, among others.

Convened by, and reporting to, the Interim Steering Committee will be the AusLCI Technical Development Sub- committees. These sub-committees Committees will be responsible for all specific technical development issues. The committees proposed or currently established include:

• Data guidelines
• Allocation
• Quality assurance and documentation
• Inventory review
• Database and user interface
• Impact assessment

Participation in any of the committees is voluntary and new members are most welcome to nominate (if you are interested e-mail This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it )

The proposed AusLCI operational structure is shown below. For details on terms of reference and the planned developments and expected deliverables, please contact: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Website: http://www.alcas.asn.au/alcas2/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=3&Itemid=10