ecoinvent v3.12: what's new, and how clca exposes the cut-off / consequential / APOS variants

ecoinvent v3.12 was released in September 2025 and contains over 21,000 activity records. More than 1,200 datasets were added or updated relative to the previous release. clca integrates with this version — no separate installation, license is managed inside the platform.

The three system models

ecoinvent ships the same data in three system models — results sometimes differ by 30%+:

• Cut-off (allocation cut-off by classification): Recycled material is delivered to its second user free of historical burden. The default for EN 15804+A2 EPDs.
• APOS (allocation at the point of substitution): Recycling burden and benefit are shared between producer and recycler.
• Consequential: Marginal-change modelling — "if this production grows by 1 ton, how does the market respond?". Used for scenario analysis.

Which model when?

• EN 15804+A2 EPD — cut-off (mandatory default)
• Academic thesis or scientific publication — APOS (more transparent allocation)
• Market-effect scenarios, "how does a 1 GW wind investment shift emissions?" — consequential
• Analysing environmental improvement priorities — APOS or consequential

Turkey-relevant updates

v3.12 updated the Turkish grid mix (TR mix) to reflect the rising share of renewables. TR-geography datasets expanded for cement and iron/steel. This brings higher accuracy to Turkish-market EPDs. clca's automatic electricity module picks TR mix, EU mix, IEA regional or a user-defined renewable mix based on your product's production geography — no manual emission-factor entry.

Custom activity creation: extend ecoinvent with local data

ecoinvent is the world's broadest database but does not contain your supplier's actual data. clca's custom activity creation starts from an ecoinvent activity and lets you update at the parameter level. Your supplier's renewable-electricity share, on-site fuel use, real wastewater treatment rate — all go into the model. The user-defined set is shared within the organisation and the source is logged.

ecoinvent access on clca

On clca, ecoinvent v3.12 ships pre-licensed; no separate installation. The smart-mapping suggestion finds the best activity in under a second based on product name + geography + technology. Switching between the three system models is a single dropdown. ecoinvent updates (e.g. when v3.13 ships) propagate automatically; legacy projects stay locked to their original version.