NREL and its partners created the U.S. Life-Cycle Inventory (LCI) Database to help life-cycle assessment (LCA) experts answer their questions about environmental impact. This database provides a cradle-to-grave accounting of the energy and material flows into and out of the environment that are associated with producing a material, component, or assembly. It's an online storeroom of data collected on commonly used materials, products, and processes.
The critically reviewed LCI data are consistent with a common research protocol and with international standards. The LCI data support efforts to develop product LCAs, support systems, and LCA tools.