A system dataset is an Activity dataset that presents the aggregated Elementary exchanges and Impacts of a complete Product system for one specific product output from an activity.
Whilst an activity dataset typically contains data on the direct exchanges of a single unit process or activity, a system dataset goes further by accumulating and aggregating the environmental exchanges and impacts across the entire product system. This aggregation traces all upstream and downstream activities connected to the product throughout its life cycle, from raw material extraction through production, use, and end-of-life treatment.
The system dataset serves as a comprehensive environmental profile for a specific product, consolidating all elementary exchanges between the product system and the natural, social, or economic environment. These elementary exchanges include unprocessed inputs from nature such as mineral resources and water, as well as emissions to air, water, and soil. By aggregating these exchanges across all unit processes in the product system, the system dataset provides a complete inventory of environmental interactions attributable to the product.
In addition to elementary exchanges, system datasets also present the aggregated impacts. These impacts represent the potential environmental consequences of the product system, typically expressed through various impact category indicators such as climate change potential, acidification, eutrophication, and resource depletion. The impact assessment transforms the elementary exchange data into meaningful indicators that reflect the environmental burdens associated with delivering one unit of the specific product output.
System datasets are particularly valuable in LCA practice because they provide ready-to-use environmental profiles for products that can be directly compared or integrated into larger system models. Rather than requiring practitioners to model entire product systems from scratch, system datasets offer pre-calculated life cycle results that streamline the assessment process whilst maintaining comprehensive coverage of environmental exchanges and impacts.
