Electronic Product Dataset Project

Statement of Work & Project Statement

Statement of Work (Version 1.0; March 6, 2025)
Project Statement (Version 1.0; March 6, 2025)

Background

Providing high-quality, consistent, and standardized eco-impact data is important for the industry. This data is primarily used to demonstrate reduction of the industry’s carbon footprint and to meet legal and market requirements, but it also allows the market to compare the carbon impacts associated with information and communication technology (ICT) products. Reliable eco-impact data is also a critical tool in assessing changes in technology, process and/or product designs.

An agreed-upon methodology for data structure, collection and the establishment of one or more databases for data to be available to industry would:

Reduce overall data collection costs (both time and money)
Establish a system that would provide more accurate and timely data that could be verified more effectively
Allow for the use of any LCA tool
Enable meaningful comparisons between technology, process, component and product alternatives in terms of ecological impact

Purpose of Project

This project is designed to improve and expand eco-impact datasets for materials, components and structures (e.g., PCBs) used in electronics products. The resulting datasets will be usable by any life cycle assessment (LCA) tool or practitioner in order to assess environmental impact over a product’s life cycle.

The focus will be the gathering primary data (either composition or PCF per part) as well as processing-associated data (either at a part/component level or at the industry level) to enable industry-wide LCA/eco-impact assessments of components and products.

The input datasets developed will be relevant to INEMI’s Eco-Impact Estimator (EIE) tool and the electronics industry. However, as many more front-end tools are available today than when the EIE) tool was first started, the project will be focused primarily on the improvement and expansion of datasets that could be utilized by any LCA tool, including the existing iNEMI Eco-Impact Estimator.

Outcome of Project

Establish an agreed-upon framework for data collection by the ICT industry
Enable an initial database (or set of databases) with collected data usable by the industry now
Provide a framework for ongoing data updates / verification
Demonstrate the usefulness of datasets with the INEMI EIE tool and other LCA tools