The IEDC is a platform for a broad spectrum of socio-metabolic, built environment, industrial systems, and material cycle data.
The IEDC is built on a
general data model for socioeconomic metabolism, which covers table-based data of up to 12 index dimensions.
Objects and processes in a given system are quantified at different layers (items, mass, energy, monetary, …), either at scale or per unit.
The IEDC data model covers more than 35 specific data types in 8 data categories. Data from a broad array of sources, including more than 250 journal papers,
were formatted into the data model and then uploaded to the IEDC.
The scheme below shows the structure of the IEDC database. The data table is at the core of the IEDC. Here, each single number is recorded on a separate row,
with the required aspects (identifies) to locate the individual data point in the system definition (which material/commodity, process, time, etc.). The data points are grouped into datasets,
corresponding to their common source. E.g., the product lifetime data extracted from a certain publication or the steel production statistics from a certain year form their respective datasets.
The data points that belong to the same dataset share a common dataset ID, for which an entry in the IEDC dataset table (the catalogue of datasets) exists. Each dataset description
contains of a unique ID, a unique tuple (dataset_name, dataset_version), a description, the aspects required to locate the data in a system definition, and the metadata. For a better overview,
datasets can be grouped into data groups and further into projects. The IEDC Excel data templates have two sheets: The Cover sheet corresponds to the dataset description,
and the Data sheet corresponds to the data points for the data table.
A number of lookup tables for data types, layers, provenance, licenses, and units enables the systematic recording of these features. A number of constraints apply here, e.g.,
only units and data types that are defined in the lookup tables can be uploaded.
To place the data into their respective system definition, the IEDC departs from general system dimensions (space/region, time, material, product/commodity, process, scenario, …).
To describe each data point in these dimensions, different labels (‘Brazil’, ‘2024’, …) are used, and these labels are grouped into classifications.
The IEDC provides general classifications such as the ISO 3166 country codes or the HS commodity classification, IEDC-specific classification for materials or processes,
and custom classifications for specific datasets. Each dataset has specific aspects that describe how exactly the data points relate to the system dimensions.
E.g., for a flow, the ‘process’ system dimension is used for two aspects: ‘process of origin’ and ‘process of destination’.
Both these aspects can then use the same general classification for the ‘process’ dimension.
The scheme below shows the data workflow and the available infrastructure of the IEDC web application.
Links to the different features are provided further down, in the sections “sourcing data” and “finding data”.
We create regular backup copies of this database and archive them on Zenodo and with the International Society for Industrial Ecology.
The Sankey diagram feature is still under development.
The IEDC welcomes data submissions from the community!
Users can validate their own data against the IEDC data model and classifications. A workflow description for formatting data in IEDC templates,
validating them against the IEDC data model and classifications, and submitting them for upload is described in a video tutorial and (coming soon!) in the IEDC handbook.
This workflow will soon include the use of large language models to match a given list of labels for products, materials, etc. to those already defined in the different IEDC classifications.