+3 votes
1.1k views
Hi everyone,

Currently, we can only export the contribution tree for one impact category at a time from the contribution tree tab, which requires repeating the process for each category. I’d like to know if there’s a way to export LCIA results for all impact categories from the contribution tree tab in a single step.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Fernando (EcoEd)
in openLCA by (510 points)

3 Answers

+1 vote
ago by (180 points)
Hi everyone.

I'd like to revisit this crucial question (especially for design offices specializing in eco-design that want to migrate from Sima Pro to OpenLCA): how can I easily export a matrix with:

- in rows: the calculated impacts (e.g., climate change, eutrophication, etc.)

- in columns: the processes entered and used in the modeling (e.g., xx kW of electricity, xx km of transport, xx kg of PVC, etc.)?

Visualizing this matrix is ​​essential because it allows for the rapid identification of the most impactful processes for each impact category.

What is the fastest way to obtain this visualization?

Many thanks for your feedback.
ago by (145k points)
feedback: I would use the impact analysis in openLCA to spot the most infuential processes per impact category. This is as detailed as users need, and can be copied and pasted to excel e.g.. The contribution tree only shows one branch in an LCA network, on purpose, at a time. Check the handbook, here: https://greendelta.github.io/openLCA2-manual/res_analysis/res_impact_analysis.html
ago by (180 points)
Thank you very much for your quick response (I hadn't thought of copy/pasting instead of exporting to Excel).
What's important for us (an eco-design consulting firm) is to quickly visualize the impact of a process across all environmental impact categories.
For example, if I use 5 processes to "manufacture a water bottle" (e.g., HDPE, PET, transportation, electricity, and water), ideally I'd have a matrix with the impact categories (e.g., in rows) and the 5 processes I've entered (e.g., in columns) to quickly identify the contribution of each process.

This type of display is offered by Simapro by default.

What's confusing about the process display in the "impact analysis" tab is that it shows "intermediate" processes that weren't directly used by the user. Instead of simply showing the impacts of the entered processes ("HDPE, PET, transport, electricity, and water"), we also see dozens of intermediate processes that confuse the results: biogas, lignite, waste, soy, palm fruit, wood, etc.

We then have to manually regroup the processes, which is very time-consuming and couldn't be done anymore

Since "if you can do more, you can do less," I'd like to reiterate my question: isn't there a way to directly extract a matrix with the environmental impacts for each process used (by the user, not by the entire database)?
A huge thank you if you have any suggestions.
Laurent
ago by (145k points)
thank you - can you post a picture of what you mean maybe? Edit your question to do so. Of course, in a unit process life cycle, you have also other processes contributing than the ones "used" (entered) by the user. Maybe you are looking for the Sankey diagram? I am not aware how SimaPro does that for a process across all impact categories.
0 votes
by (1.1k points)
great point. i comment only in order to follow any answer
0 votes
by (7.3k points)
Hi Fernando,

There is no way to do it at the moment.

If this is something that you really need, you can email us.

Regards,

François
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