Distributed knowledge
Sustainability intelligence requires knowledge that is both broad and deep. We are creating the tools that allow collaboration across industries while protecting the privacy of your data.
Traditional life cycle assessment software tools lock users into rigid databases and static results.
From our early work with the State of California, we saw a need for a better way to manage LCA results—one that would escape the cycle of exporting data from proprietary tools, reworking it in Excel, and formatting static reports that were outdated before they were sent. We set out to build a system that lets practitioners focus on understanding and describing the product they’re studying, instead of wrestling with database compatibility and document production.
The result is a platform for building and sharing flexible, data-agnostic models that dynamically aggregate results from any source. Built for transparency and collaboration, it lets teams explore assumptions and share insight—turning LCA from a black box into a living analytical framework.
Antelope Software
We designed the Antelope LCA software framework from the ground up to radically change the way LCA computation is performed. The task of performing LCA is divided up into smaller problems, each of which can be managed independently.
Antelope is based on the common node+edge network architecture. This provides full flexibility, easy translation to other frameworks, and data independence.
Take a look at qdb, the new Antelope Quantity Database, which allows you to compare substances and LCIA methods at a glance. Search and view flowables, contexts, and quantities from over 500 LCIA methods. Export results to Excel, JSON, or CSV.
These five core modules provide the machinery to building, update, and use your LCA model:
Index - access our extensive catalog to find data resources that you need, evaluate fitness for purpose, and compare across scopes
Exchange - our exchange database or “xdb” stores individual inputs and outputs that make up the core content of life cycle inventory databases
Background - Exchange data and index information are applied to construct an inventory matrix, which is sorted using a uniquely powerful graph ordering method to reveal the structure of the data
Quantity - our quantity database or “qdb” defines flows – their properties, characteristics, and environmental impacts, on a regionalized basis
Foreground - spin up a private “oryx” server to build and run your models by marshaling information from the other interfaces
Open source and available
Our software is designed to be used in and from the cloud, but an open-source version called antelope.py is available to be run from your local python console. Open and access datasets using ecospold v1 or v2, OpenLCA JSON-LD, ILCD, and SimaPro csv formats.
Install antelope_core from the python package index and perform fully-featured LCA analysis in seconds.
