The SPOLD Data Exchange Software was developed to support the exchange of life cycle inventory (LCI) data in the SPOLD data format. In a 2000 description of the SPOLD Information System, Bo P. Weidema presents the software as a practical tool for data users who need to read SPOLD files. It was offered free of charge, while some dedicated LCA applications also supported the format.
The software’s stated functions included creating, editing, viewing, importing and exporting datasets. These functions helped users handle inventory information in a shared electronic format, making it easier to move data between organisations and software environments. A common exchange format can reduce the effort needed to convert information when datasets are prepared for sharing or publication, and can make it more flexible to work with different data providers and LCA tools.
Weidema also describes a web-server administration function connected with the SPOLD Information System. Data suppliers could use it to manage datasets stored on their local servers and keep those datasets consistent with searchable information in the system’s Internet directory. Access could be limited by dataset or group, and a template could specify which fields were publicly available and which remained restricted. Dataset-specific access texts could explain the conditions for obtaining passwords.
The SPOLD Data Exchange Software was a data-handling and exchange tool; the cited description does not present it as software for calculating life cycle impacts or combining inventories into a complete product system. Its role was to help users and suppliers prepare, inspect and exchange structured LCI datasets. The SPOLD Information System was released in January 2000 and presented at the 3rd SETAC World Congress in Brighton in May 2000. These features should therefore be understood in their historical context: they describe an early effort to make LCI data easier to discover, manage and share across different users.
