The Activity module of the Life Cycle Assessment Network Ontology (LCAnet).
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The Activity module of the Life Cycle Assessment Network Ontology (LCAnet).

This version:
https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity/2.2.0
Latest version:
https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#
Previous version:
2.1.0
Revision:
2.2.0
Issued on:
2026-05-20
Authors:
Fatima Danash
Publisher:
https://www.cea.fr
Download serialization:
JSON-LD RDF/XML N-Triples TTL
License:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Visualization:
Visualize with WebVowl
Cite as:
Danash, F., et al. (2026). LCAnet: A Modular Ontology Network for Life Cycle Assessment (Version 2.2.0).
Ontology Specification Draft

Abstract

LCAnet is a modular ontology network for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) designed to provide a unified semantic framework for representing LCA systems. It is composed of six interoperable modules covering key aspects of LCA modeling: the Core module, Activity module, Actor module, Property module, Spatiotemporal module, and Impact Assessment module. The Core module serves as the central backbone of the network by importing the other modules and establishing explicit semantic links across all components, enabling consistent representation and reasoning over LCA data.

Introduction back to ToC

LCAnet-Activity provides classes and properties that enable users to model activities and flows in Life Cycle Assessment systems. It represents activities, product flows, and environmental exchanges across life cycle stages. The module captures the operational dimension of LCA systems and is integrated with other LCAnet modules through the Core ontology, which links activities to actors, properties, and impact assessment results.

Namespace declarations

Table 1: Namespaces used in the document
act<https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#>
dc<http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/>
dcterms<http://purl.org/dc/terms/>
owl<http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#>
rdf<http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#>
rdfs<http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>
swrl<http://www.w3.org/2003/11/swrl#>
swrla<http://swrl.stanford.edu/ontologies/3.3/swrla.owl#>
swrlb<http://www.w3.org/2003/11/swrlb#>
vann<http://purl.org/vocab/vann/>
xml<http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace>
xsd<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#>

LCAnet-Activity: Overview back to ToC

This ontology has the following classes and properties.

Classes

Object Properties

Annotation Properties

SWRL Rules

LCAnet-Activity: Description back to ToC

The Activity module is part of the LCAnet ontology proposed by the SmartACV Carnot Project. It provides a formal representation of activities and their associated flows, enabling the modeling of activity/flow diagrams within the LCA realization of a product or service.

Cross-reference for LCAnet-Activity classes, object properties and data properties back to ToC

This section provides details for each class and property defined by LCAnet-Activity.

Classes

Activityc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#Activity

Represents a process or operation within the LCA system that consumes and/or produces flows.
has sub-classes
Composed Activity c
is in domain of
has Activity Tag op, has Input Flow op, has Input Product op, has Output Flow op, has Output Product op, is End Activity Of op, is Part Of Activity op, is Start Activity Of op
is in range of
has Activity Part op, has End Activity op, has Start Activity op, is Input Flow Of op, is Input Product Of op, is Output Flow Of op, is Output Product Of op
is disjoint with
Flow c

Activity Tagc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#ActivityTag

A tag for an activity as a way of classification
is in range of
has Activity Tag op

Biospherec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#Biosphere

Represents the natural environment external to the technosphere, including air, water, and soil compartments. It is the domain in which elementary flows originate or terminate, such as natural resource extraction and emissions.
has super-classes
Environmental Type c
is disjoint with
Technosphere c

Composed Activityc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#ComposedActivity

An activity that is made up of multiple sub-activities, which together represent a higher-level process.
has super-classes
Activity c
has sub-classes
Sequenced Activity c
is in domain of
has Activity Part op
is in range of
is Part Of Activity op

Elementary Flowc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#ElementaryFlow

A flow that connects an activity directly with the natural environment i.e. has a biosphere boundary.
is equivalent to
Flow c and (has Environmental Type op some Biosphere c)
has super-classes
Flow c
has sub-classes
Emission Flow c, Resource Flow c
is disjoint with
Intermediate Flow c

Emission Flowc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#EmissionFlow

Represents an elementary flow corresponding to a substance or energy released from the technosphere into the biosphere. It includes emissions to environmental compartments such as air, water, and soil.
is equivalent to
Elementary Flow c and (is Output Flow Of op some Activity c)
has super-classes
Elementary Flow c
is disjoint with
Resource Flow c

Environmental Typec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#EnvironemntalType

A classification of the environment into biosphere or technosphere, used to distinguish whether flows cross system boundaries or remain within the human-made system.
has sub-classes
Biosphere c, Technosphere c
is in range of
has Environmental Type op

Flowc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#Flow

Represents the transfer of materials, energy, or resources between activities or between an activity and the environment.
has super-classes
has sub-classes
Elementary Flow c, Intermediate Flow c
is in domain of
connected op, has Environmental Type op, has Flow Tag op, is Input Flow Of op, is Output Flow Of op
is in range of
connected op, has Input Flow op, has Output Flow op
is disjoint with
Activity c

Flow Tagc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#FlowTag

A tag for a flow as a way of classification
is in range of
has Flow Tag op

Intermediate Flowc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#IntermediateFlow

A flow that connects two activities within the technosphere, serving as an input to one activity and an output from another, or is wasted as waste.
is equivalent to
Flow c and (has Environmental Type op some Technosphere c)
has super-classes
Flow c
has sub-classes
Product Flow c, Waste Flow c
is disjoint with
Elementary Flow c

Product Flowc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#ProductFlow

Represents an intermediate flow within the technosphere corresponding to a product, service, or energy carrier with an associated economic value. Such flows are exchanged between activities as intended inputs or outputs within the life cycle system.
is equivalent to
Intermediate Flow c and ((is Input Product Of op some Activity c) or (is Output Product Of op some Activity c))
has super-classes
Intermediate Flow c
is in domain of
is Input Product Of op, is Output Product Of op
is in range of
has Input Product op, has Output Product op

Resource Flowc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#ResourceFlow

Represents an elementary flow corresponding to a substance or energy extracted from the biosphere into the technosphere. It includes natural resources such as minerals, biomass, water, and energy carriers.
is equivalent to
Elementary Flow c and (is Input Flow Of op some Activity c)
has super-classes
Elementary Flow c
is disjoint with
Emission Flow c

Sequenced Activityc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#SequencedActivity

A composed activity in which the constituent sub-activities follow a specific temporal or logical sequence.
has super-classes
Composed Activity c
is in domain of
has End Activity op, has Start Activity op
is in range of
is End Activity Of op, is Start Activity Of op

Technospherec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#Technosphere

Represents the system of human activities and industrial processes within the life cycle of a product or service. It encompasses all transformations and exchanges of intermediate flows occurring within the economic system.
has super-classes
Environmental Type c
is disjoint with
Biosphere c

Waste Flowc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#WasteFlow

Represents an intermediate flow within the technosphere corresponding to materials or substances that are discarded by an activity and require further treatment, recovery, or disposal. These flows are typically characterized by the absence of positive economic value for the producing activity.
has super-classes
Intermediate Flow c

Object Properties

connectedop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#connected

relates two flows together

has characteristics: symmetric

has domain
Flow c
has range
Flow c

has Activity Partop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#hasActivityPart

relates a composed activity to its composed part activity
has sub-properties
has End Activity op, has Start Activity op
has domain
Composed Activity c
has range
Activity c
is inverse of
is Part Of Activity op

has Activity Tagop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#hasActivityTag

relates an activity to its tag

has characteristics: asymmetric, irreflexive

has domain
Activity c
has range
Activity Tag c

has End Activityop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#hasEndActivity

relates a sequenced activity to its end activity

has characteristics: asymmetric, irreflexive

has super-properties
has Activity Part op
has domain
Sequenced Activity c
has range
Activity c
is inverse of
is End Activity Of op

has Environmental Typeop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#hasEnvironmentalType

relates a flow to its environmental type
has domain
Flow c
has range
Environmental Type c

has Flow Tagop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#hasFlowTag

relates a flow to its tag
has domain
Flow c
has range
Flow Tag c

has Input Flowop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#hasInputFlow

relates an activity to its input flow
has sub-properties
has Input Product op
has domain
Activity c
has range
Flow c
is inverse of
is Input Flow Of op

has Input Productop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#hasInputProduct

relates an activity to its input product flow
has super-properties
has Input Flow op
has domain
Activity c
has range
Product Flow c
is inverse of
is Input Product Of op

has Output Flowop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#hasOutputFlow

relates an activity to its output flow
has sub-properties
has Output Product op
has domain
Activity c
has range
Flow c
is inverse of
is Output Flow Of op

has Output Productop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#hasOutputProduct

relates an activity to its output product flow
has super-properties
has Output Flow op
has domain
Activity c
has range
Product Flow c
is inverse of
is Output Product Of op

has Start Activityop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#hasStartActivity

relates a sequenced activity to its start activity

has characteristics: asymmetric, irreflexive

has super-properties
has Activity Part op
has domain
Sequenced Activity c
has range
Activity c
is inverse of
is Start Activity Of op

is End Activity Ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#isEndActivityOf

relates a start activity to the activity it is part of as a sequence
has super-properties
is Part Of Activity op
has domain
Activity c
has range
Sequenced Activity c
is inverse of
has End Activity op

is Input Flow Ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#isInputFlowOf

relates a flow to the activity it is inputted to
has sub-properties
is Input Product Of op
has domain
Flow c
has range
Activity c
is inverse of
has Input Flow op

is Input Product Ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#isInputProductOf

relates a product flow to the activity it is inputted to
has super-properties
is Input Flow Of op
has domain
Product Flow c
has range
Activity c
is inverse of
has Input Product op

is Output Flow Ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#isOutputFlowOf

relates a flow to the activity it is outputted from
has sub-properties
is Output Product Of op
has domain
Flow c
has range
Activity c
is inverse of
has Output Flow op

is Output Product Ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#isOutputProductOf

relates a product flow to the activity it is outputted from
has super-properties
is Output Flow Of op
has domain
Product Flow c
has range
Activity c
is inverse of
has Output Product op

is Part Of Activityop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#isPartOfActivity

relates an activity to the activity it is part of
has sub-properties
is End Activity Of op, is Start Activity Of op
has domain
Activity c
has range
Composed Activity c
is inverse of
has Activity Part op

is Start Activity Ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#isStartActivityOf

relates an end activity to the activity it is part of as a sequence
has super-properties
is Part Of Activity op
has domain
Activity c
has range
Sequenced Activity c
is inverse of
has Start Activity op

Annotation Properties

creatorap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator

dateap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/date

descriptionap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/description

descriptionap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/description

Exchange Percentageap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#Exchange_Percentage

has range
decimal

is Rule Enabledap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://swrl.stanford.edu/ontologies/3.3/swrla.owl#isRuleEnabled

issuedap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/issued

licenseap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/license

preferred Namespace Prefixap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/vocab/vann/preferredNamespacePrefix

preferred Namespace Uriap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/vocab/vann/preferredNamespaceUri

publisherap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/publisher

titleap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/title

SWRL rules

Rule #4back to ToC or SWRL ToC

has Input Flow op(?x,?f) -> Flow c(?f)

Rule #5back to ToC or SWRL ToC

has Output Flow op(?x,?f) -> Flow c(?f)

Input flows of a sequenced activityback to ToC or SWRL ToC

for any flow type: emission (resources) or intermediate flows

Flow c(?f) , Sequenced Activity c(?a) , has Activity Part op(?a,?b) , is Input Flow Of op(?f,?b) , Activity c(?b) -> is Input Flow Of op(?f,?a)

Input Flows of Composed Activityback to ToC or SWRL ToC

for any flow type: elementary (resources) or intermediate flows

Composed Activity c(?a) , Flow c(?f) , has Activity Part op(?a,?b) , is Input Flow Of op(?f,?b) , Activity c(?b) -> is Input Flow Of op(?f,?a)

Input Product Flow of a composed activityback to ToC or SWRL ToC



Composed Activity c(?a) , Flow c(?f) , has Activity Part op(?a,?b) , is Input Product Of op(?f,?b) , Activity c(?b) -> is Input Product Of op(?f,?a)

Input Product flow of a sequenced activityback to ToC or SWRL ToC



Flow c(?f) , Sequenced Activity c(?a) , is Input Product Of op(?f,?b) , Activity c(?b) , has Start Activity op(?a,?b) -> is Input Product Of op(?f,?a)

Output flows of a composed activityback to ToC or SWRL ToC

for any flow type: elementary (emissions) or intermediate flows

Composed Activity c(?a) , Flow c(?f) , has Activity Part op(?a,?b) , is Output Flow Of op(?f,?b) , Activity c(?b) -> is Output Flow Of op(?f,?a)

Output flows of a sequenced activityback to ToC or SWRL ToC

for any flow type: elementary (emissions) or intermediate flows

Flow c(?f) , Sequenced Activity c(?a) , has Activity Part op(?a,?b) , is Output Flow Of op(?f,?b) , Activity c(?b) -> is Output Flow Of op(?f,?a)

Output Product flow of a composed activityback to ToC or SWRL ToC



Composed Activity c(?a) , Flow c(?f) , has Activity Part op(?a,?b) , is Output Product Of op(?f,?b) , Activity c(?b) -> is Output Product Of op(?f,?a)

Output Product flow of a sequenced activityback to ToC or SWRL ToC



has End Activity op(?a,?b) , Flow c(?f) , Sequenced Activity c(?a) , is Output Product Of op(?f,?b) , Activity c(?b) -> is Output Product Of op(?f,?a)

Transitivity of has_Partback to ToC or SWRL ToC

The obligation of writing it as a rule comes from the fact that asserting Tans(has_Part_Activity) makes the property non-simple yileding in several estrictions on its usage, including cardinality restrictions which appears in the Composed_Activity class.

has Activity Part op(?,?) , has Activity Part op(?,?) -> has Activity Part op(?,?)

Legend back to ToC

c: Classes
op: Object Properties

References back to ToC

Add your references here. It is recommended to have them as a list.
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Acknowledgments back to ToC

The authors would like to thank Silvio Peroni for developing LODE, a Live OWL Documentation Environment, which is used for representing the Cross Referencing Section of this document and Daniel Garijo for developing Widoco, the program used to create the template used in this documentation.