From Data Availability to Data Usability: How AI Is Transforming Chinese LCA Database

Main Presenter:    Johnson Gui 

Co-Authors:                                                  

Global life cycle assessment (LCA) practice increasingly relies on background data that can be accessed, interpreted, and connected across different regions and database systems. As China becomes deeply embedded in global supply chains, the demand for credible Chinese background data in global LCA models has grown rapidly. Although high-quality Chinese background datasets are emerging, their effective use still requires substantial expertise in data discovery, methodological interpretation, and cross-database alignment. Existing databases also exhibit heterogeneity in process coverage, metadata completeness, methodological assumptions, and impact assessment settings. Such heterogeneity makes it challenging to identify appropriate datasets, understand their methodological context, and align data from multiple sources within a single model, which limits the contribution of background databases to LCA-based decision support. To address these limitations, there is a need for approaches
that enhance the usability of Chinese LCA data and support interoperable information exchange.

This study presents an implemented AI-enabled LCA data infrastructure that aims to improve the usability, transparency, and interoperability of Chinese background data in global LCA practice. The approach combines expert knowledge, semantic representations of LCA datasets, and embeddings trained across several databases. The system operates not as a generative model that invents new values but as an intelligence layer grounded in verified LCA databases. Three main capabilities are demonstrated:
(1) Semantic retrieval across Chinese and international databases. Natural-language queries are mapped to process metadata and flow structures, enabling users to identify relevant Chinese datasets and compare them with corresponding entries in other databases.
(2) Expert-informed background data matching and analytical reasoning. Embeddings informed by expert rules, multi-database sources, and process semantics support the selection of suitable background datasets and produce recommendations that reflect expert judgment on technological relevance, representativeness, and methodological consistency. Each recommendation is traceable and linked to its underlying data sources.
(3) Cross-database comparison and methodological interpretation. Differences between Chinese datasets and international databases in product category, representativeness, and impact indicators such as GWP are identified and explained, facilitating understanding of methodological differences and supporting consistent integration within global LCA frameworks.

These capabilities demonstrate how an implemented and validated research approach can improve the usability of LCA background data across databases. By enhancing accessibility, methodological clarity, and cross-database interpretation, the approach supports more transparent and interoperable data use in global LCA and contributes to the broader goal of trustworthy data sharing and connectivity across the international LCA community.

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