> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.cscale.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs.

# Reference Data

### Background LCIA Data

#### Building Material Emissions

C.Scale’s material database has been built from a collection of current North American Industry-Average EPDs. When no Industry-Average EPD is available, a generic material is developed based on either representative product EPDs or a published LCA dataset. C.Scale uses the following data sources for EPDs and LCIA data:

| Source | Resource |
| --- | --- |
| Building Transparency. EC3 (Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator). | [buildingtransparency.org](https://www.buildingtransparency.org/ec3-resources) |
| Ökobaudat (German Federal Ministry generic LCA database). | [oekobaudat.de/en.html](https://www.oekobaudat.de/en.html) |
| National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). (2025). US Life Cycle Inventory (USLCI) Database. Version 1.2025-06.0. | [https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/National\_Renewable\_Energy\_Laboratory/USLCI\_Database\_Public/datasets](https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/National_Renewable_Energy_Laboratory/USLCI_Database_Public/datasets) |
| National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). (2026) U.S. Electricity Baseline. Version 1.2026-6.0. | [https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/Federal\_LCA\_Commons/US\_electricity\_baseline/datasets](https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/Federal_LCA_Commons/US_electricity_baseline/datasets) |
| NIST. (2026) Construction Materials Database. Version 1.2026-07.0. | [https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/NIST/construction\_materials/datasets](https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/NIST/construction_materials/datasets) |
| Swiss Federal Office of the Environment. (2025). Database of the Swiss Federal Administration, BAFU:2025. | [https://nexus.openlca.org/database/BAFU](https://nexus.openlca.org/database/BAFU) |
| Circular Ecology. (2024) ICE Database (Inventory of Carbon and Energy). | [circularecology.com/embodied-carbon-footprint-database.html](https://circularecology.com/embodied-carbon-footprint-database.html) |
| Flux / Healthy Building Network / thinkstep / Google (2019). Quartz Database. |  |
| Carbon Conscience. (hardscape carbon intensities) | [carbon-conscience.web.app](https://carbon-conscience.web.app/) |
| de Wild-Scholten, M. (2013). Energy payback time and carbon footprint of commercial photovoltaic systems. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. | [doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.037](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.037) |

#### Transportation Emissions

| Source | Resource |
| --- | --- |
| Federal LCA Commons. (2025). US Life Cycle Inventory (USLCI). Transportation process datasets, June 2025 (version 1.2025-06.0). | [https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/National\_Renewable\_Energy\_Laboratory/USLCI\_Database\_Public/datasets](https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/National_Renewable_Energy_Laboratory/USLCI_Database_Public/datasets) |
| US Census Bureau. (2017). 2017 US Commodity Flow Survey Tables. | [https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2017/econ/cfs/aff-2017.html](https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2017/econ/cfs/aff-2017.html) |
| ASHRAE/ICC. Standard 240P (Public Review draft, 2025), Table 6.5.2.1 — default per-mode transport emission factors |  |

#### End-of-Life Emissions

End-of-Life values (C3/C4) from regionally appropriate industry-average EPDs are used in calculations when available and in accordance with a valid Product Category Rule (PCR). When not available emission factors have been sourced from the following datasets:

| Source | Resource |
| --- | --- |
| US Environmental Protection Agency. (2025). US Environmental Protection Agency/Construction and Demolition Debris (CDD) Management Dataset. | [https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/US\_Environmental\_Protection\_Agency/Construction\_and\_demolition\_2022\_update\_2/datasets](https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/US_Environmental_Protection_Agency/Construction_and_demolition_2022_update_2/datasets) |
| National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). (2025). US Life Cycle Inventory (USLCI) Database. Version 1.2025-06.0. | [https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/National\_Renewable\_Energy\_Laboratory/USLCI\_Database\_Public/datasets](https://www.lcacommons.gov/lca-collaboration/National_Renewable_Energy_Laboratory/USLCI_Database_Public/datasets) |
| Niblick, B., D. Hage, S. Cashman, J. Smith, P. Jain, A. Edelen, T. Townsend, and W. Ingwersen. (2021) “Life Cycle Inventories of End-of-Life Pathways of Construction and Demolition Materials.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-21/162, 2021. | [https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si\_public\_record\_Report.cfm?dirEntryId=354357](https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_Report.cfm?dirEntryId=354357) |
| Swiss Federal Office of the Environment. (2025). Database of the Swiss Federal Administration, BAFU:2025. | [https://nexus.openlca.org/database/BAFU](https://nexus.openlca.org/database/BAFU) |

#### Operational / Electricity Emissions

| Source | Resource |
| --- | --- |
| NREL. (2025) Cambium 2024 Dataset. . | [https://www.nlr.gov/analysis/cambium](https://www.nlr.gov/analysis/cambium) |
| C.Scale internal extrapolation algorithm used to project scenarios outbound from (2051–2110). |  |
| Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). (2026). Electricity Canada Provinces/Territories 2026 EN Annex 7 tables. | [data-donnees.ec.gc.ca](https://data-donnees.ec.gc.ca/data/substances/monitor/canada-s-official-greenhouse-gas-inventory/C-Tables-Electricity-Canada-Provinces-Territories/?lang=en) |
| European Environment Agency (EEA). (2026) Greenhouse gas emission intensity of electricity generation. | [eea.europa.eu](https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/greenhouse-gas-emission-intensity-of-1) |
| UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. (2024) Greenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2023. | [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greenhouse-gas-reporting-conversion-factors-2023](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greenhouse-gas-reporting-conversion-factors-2023) |

#### Refrigerants & Non-CO₂ Characterization

| Source | Resource |
| --- | --- |
| CIBSE. (2021). TM65: An internationally-applicable methodology for the calculation of embodied carbon in building services engineering. | [cibse.org](https://www.cibse.org/knowledge-research/knowledge-resources/engineering-guidance/cibse-technical-memoranda-tm/tm65-an-internationally-applicable-methodology-for-the-calculation-of-embodied-carbon-in-building-services-engineering/) |
| IPCC. (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis — AR6 Working Group I (source of GWP100 characterization factors). | [ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1](https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/) |

#### Carbon Storage & Sequestration Factors

| Source | Resource |
| --- | --- |
| ACLCA (2019). Guidance to Calculating Non-LCIA Inventory Metrics in Accordance with ISO 21930:2017. | [lcacenter.org/products/iso-21930-guidance](https://lcacenter.org/products/iso-21930-guidance) |
| CEN (2014). EN-16449 — Wood and wood-based products: calculation of biogenic carbon content and conversion to CO₂. |  |
| Hoxha, E., Passer, A., Saade, M.R.M., Trigaux, D., Shuttleworth, A., Pittau, F., Allacker, K., & Habert, G. (2020). Biogenic carbon in buildings: a critical overview of LCA methods. Buildings and Cities, 1(1), 504–524. | [doi.org/10.5334/bc.46](https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.46) |
| Carbon Conscience. | [carbon-conscience.web.app](https://carbon-conscience.web.app/) |
| Pathfinder. | [climatepositivedesign.com](https://climatepositivedesign.com/) |
| McPherson, E.G. & Simpson, J.R. (1999). Carbon dioxide reduction through urban forestry. USDA Forest Service. | [fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/6779](https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/6779) |
| Ingram, D.L., Hall, C.R., & Knight, J. (2016). Carbon footprint and variable costs of production components for a container-grown evergreen shrub using life cycle assessment: An east coast US model. HortScience, 51(8), 989–994. | [doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.51.8.989](http://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.51.8.989) |
| Gu, C., Crane, J., Hornberger, G., & Carrico, A. (2015). The effects of household management practices on the global warming potential of urban lawns. Science of the Total Environment. | [ sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479715000092](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479715000092) |
| Jones, K. (2010). Landscaping Carbon Footprint \[PDF]. University of Florida IFAS. | [buildgreen.ifas.ufl.edu](https://buildgreen.ifas.ufl.edu/ppt/Handout_Landscaping_Carbon_Footprint.pdf) |
| FAO. Global Soil Organic Carbon Map (GSOCmap). | [fao.org](https://www.fao.org/soils-portal/data-hub/soil-maps-and-databases/global-soil-organic-carbon-map-gsocmap/en/) |

### Material Quantity &  Energy Use Estimates

#### Material Quantity Estimates

| Source | Resource |
| --- | --- |
| Price & Myers. Climate Action Dataset. | [pricemyers.com/climate-action](https://www.pricemyers.com/climate-action) |
| MIT Building Technology Program / ETH Zurich Circular Engineering for Architecture Lab. deQo — Database of Embodied Quantity Outputs. | [carbondeqo.com](https://www.carbondeqo.com/) |
| RASMI (2024). Harmonized building material intensity database. Scientific Data. | [nature.com/articles/s41597-024-03190-7](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-024-03190-7) |
| Payette. (2021). Kaleidoscope Embodied Carbon Design Tool. (Reference cladding and roofing assemblies with typical quantity take-offs) | [payette.com/kaleidoscope](https://www.payette.com/kaleidoscope/) |
| Carbon Leadership Forum (2018). Interior Fit-Out (TI) Study and MEP Study. | [carbonleadershipforum.org/office-buildings-lca](https://carbonleadershipforum.org/office-buildings-lca/) |
| C.Scale internal structural-quantity assumptions — internal, info on request. |  |

#### Refrigerant & Equipment Quantities

| Source | Resource |
| --- | --- |
| Rodriguez, B. (2019). Embodied Carbon of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigerants (HVAC+R) Systems \[dissertation]. University of Washington. | [digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/44736](https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/44736) |

#### Baseline Energy Use & On-Site Generation Estimates

| Source | Resource |
| --- | --- |
| Architecture 2030. Zero Tool. . (References CBECS 2003 / RECS 2003 baselines) | [zerotool.org/zerotool](https://zerotool.org/zerotool/) |
| NREL. PVWatts Calculator, Version 8. . (solar resource and PV array generation estimates) | [pvwatts.nrel.gov/version\_8.php](https://pvwatts.nrel.gov/version_8.php) |