A comprehensive database
IDEA v2 comprehensively covers almost all business activities in Japan and includes more than 3800 processes based on the Japan Standard Commodity Classification. That means if you adopt IDEA v2 as your background database and search for a dataset, you will always find the process you are looking for.
Cross-platform
IDEA v2 is provided as an Excel file that aggregates all the upstream processes. It is also provided as a group of interlinked unit processes implemented to be used on major LCA software such as SimaPro and Open LCA. Other software and file formats are being developed as well.
Minor adjustments are in progress as of September 2016.
A Japanese Database
IDEA v2 is developed by JEMAI and AIST which are both top organizations that have lead LCA movements in Japan. IDEA is a Japanese database that mainly uses national statistics as its data source and aims to model the environmental impacts of all Japanese businesses comprehensively with a high resolution. The former version of IDEA v1.1 was used as the background database to generate the GHG emission factors for the national Carbon Footprint Trial project. It was also used in the Japanese LCA software MiLCA that has been widely used in Japan by many users.
Wide variety of environmental substances
The former versions of IDEA supported impact areas such as climate change, acidification, ozone depletion, urban air pollution, mineral and fossil resources. Since version 2, water resources and land use were added and IDEA now covers a wider range of environmental impact areas used in LCA.
