This reference document provides a structured overview of environmental impact indicators for software, adapted from the EN15804+A2 standard of the construction sector. It applies established LCA indicators to the software domain and serves as accompanying material to the Digital Environmental Footprint methodology.
This reference document provides a structured overview of environmental impact indicators for software, adapted from the EN15804+A2 standard of the construction sector for use in life cycle analyses of digital products.
IDED (formerly known as SDIA) created this document as supporting material for the Digital Environmental Footprint methodology. It applies established LCA indicators from the construction sector to the software domain.
The document includes:
Environmental impact indicators: Climate change, ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication, and other standard LCA categories applied to software.
Resource consumption indicators: Energy consumption, material usage, and water usage throughout the software life cycle.
Waste and output flows: Metrics for hazardous and non-hazardous waste, as well as material outputs of the underlying infrastructure.
EN15804+A2 alignment: Each indicator is aligned to the established construction sector standard — for cross-sector comparability and integration into existing reporting frameworks.
The complete list of indicators is available for download as a spreadsheet.