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

This version:
https://w3id.org/lcanet/core/2.2.0
Latest version:
https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#
Previous version:
2.1.0
Revision:
2.2.0
Issued on:
2026-05-20
Authors:
Fatima Danash, CEA List
Contributors:
Fabien Perdu
Saadia Dhouib
Jean-François Berrée
Emmanuelle Core
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-Core provides classes and properties that enable users to model the overall structure of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies. It defines central concepts such as LCA models, scope, life cycle stages, and interpretation, which organise and coordinate the LCAnet network. It imports and integrates the Activity, Actor, Property, Spatiotemporal, and Impact Assessment modules, providing explicit semantic links between them. This ensures a coherent representation of LCA knowledge across all modules and enables reasoning over the complete LCA workflow.

Namespace declarations

Table 1: Namespaces used in the document
act<https://w3id.org/lcanet/activity#>
actor<https://w3id.org/lcanet/actor#>
core<https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#>
dc<http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/>
dcterms<http://purl.org/dc/terms/>
dcterms1<http://purl.org/dc/dcterms/>
ia<https://w3id.org/lcanet/ia#>
owl<http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#>
prop<https://w3id.org/lcanet/property#>
qudt<http://qudt.org/schema/qudt#>
rdf<http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#>
rdfs<http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>
st<https://w3id.org/lcanet/st#>
swrla<http://swrl.stanford.edu/ontologies/3.3/swrla.owl#>
time<http://www.w3.org/2006/time#>
vann<http://purl.org/vocab/vann/>
xml<http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace>
xsd<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#>

LCAnet-Core: Overview back to ToC

This ontology has the following classes and properties.

Classes

Object Properties

Data Properties

Annotation Properties

LCAnet-Core: Description back to ToC

The Core module is the central module of the LCAnet ontology proposed by the SmartACV Carnot Project. It defines the basic elements of a LCA study based on ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 such as the goal, scope, etc. It also imports and links the other LCAnet ontology modules (Activity, Actor, Property, Spatiotemporal, and Impact Assessment) providing an integration layer between the modules. Thus, it serves as a semantic backbone for consistent modeling and reasoning over LCA knowledge.

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

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

Classes

Interpretationc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#Interpretation

The Interpretation class connects the LCA model to the Impact Assessment module, representing the analysis and interpretation of results to support decision-making, conclusions, and recommendations.
is in domain of
interpretation contains OIR op, interpretation defined by op
is in range of
lca model results in interpretation op
is disjoint with
LCA Model c, Life Cycle Stage c, Scope c

LCA Modelc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#LcaModel

The LCA model class represents a complete Life Cycle Assessment instance within the LCAnet ontology network. Its instance ID encapsulates all aspects of the LCA study, linking to scope, goal, life cycle stages, and interpretation results.
is in domain of
has Property op, lca Model Has Goal dp, lca Model Has Id dp, lca model concerns LC stage op, lca model has author op, lca model has scope op, lca model results in interpretation op
is disjoint with
Interpretation c, Life Cycle Stage c, Scope c, Lca Result c

Lca Resultc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/ia#LcaResult

is equivalent to
(Lca Result c and (has Flow Category op some Flow Tag c)) or (Lca Result c and (has I C op some Impact Category c))
is in domain of
has Flow Category op, impact Result Concerns Activity op, impact Result Concerns Flow op
is in range of
activity has Impact Result op, flow has Impact Result op
is disjoint with
LCA Model c, Life Cycle Stage c, Scope c

Life Cycle Stagec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#LifeCycleStage

The LifeCycle stage class enumerates the standard stages of a product or service life cycle, providing an exhaustive list of the five possible stages for classification and analysis within the LCA.
is in range of
activity belongs to LC stage op, lca model concerns LC stage op
is disjoint with
Interpretation c, LCA Model c, Scope c, Lca Result c

Scopec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#Scope

The Scope class captures the boundaries and context of an LCA study, including spatial and temporal aspects, functional unit, system boundaries, and assumptions, and a reference flow. Each element is represented via data properties connecting the Scope class to its corresponding values.
is in domain of
Scope Has System Boundary dp, scope Has Assumption dp, scope Has Functional Unit dp, scope defined by op, scope has reference flow op, scope has spatial scale op, scope has temporal scale op
is in range of
lca model has scope op, methodology assesses topic op
is disjoint with
Interpretation c, LCA Model c, Life Cycle Stage c, Lca Result c

Object Properties

activity belongs to LC stageop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#activityBelongsToLCstage

has domain
Activity c
has range
Life Cycle Stage c

activity has Impact Resultop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#activityHasImpactResult

has domain
Activity c
has range
Lca Result c
is inverse of
impact Result Concerns Activity op

flow has Impact Resultop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#flowHasImpactResult

has domain
Flow c
has range
Lca Result c
is inverse of
impact Result Concerns Flow op

has Flow Categoryop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#hasFlowCategory

has domain
Lca Result c or Overall Impact Result c
has range
Flow Tag c

has Propertyop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#hasProperty

has domain
Activity c or Flow c or Agent c or LCA Model c
has range
Property c

has Spatial Aspectop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#hasSpatialAspect

has domain
Activity c
has range
Location c

has Temporal Aspectop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#hasTemporalAspect

has domain
Activity c
has range
Temporal Entity c

impact Result Concerns Activityop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#impactResultConcernsActivity

has domain
Lca Result c
has range
Activity c
is inverse of
activity has Impact Result op

impact Result Concerns Flowop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#impactResultConcernsFlow

has domain
Lca Result c
has range
Flow c
is inverse of
flow has Impact Result op

interpretation contains OIRop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#interpretationContainsOIR

has domain
Interpretation c
has range
Overall Impact Result c

interpretation defined byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#interpretationDefinedBy

has domain
Interpretation c
has range
Agent c

lca model concerns LC stageop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#lcaModelConcernsLCStage

has domain
LCA Model c
has range
Life Cycle Stage c

lca model has authorop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#lcaModelHasAuthor

has domain
LCA Model c
has range
Agent c

lca model has scopeop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#lcaModeHasScope

has domain
LCA Model c
has range
Scope c

lca model results in interpretationop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#lcaModelResultsInInterpretation

has domain
LCA Model c
has range
Interpretation c

methodology assesses topicop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#methodologyAssessesTopic

has domain
Method c or Methodology c
has range
Scope c

realized byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#realizedBy

has domain
Activity c
has range
Agent c
is inverse of
realizes activity op

realizes activityop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#realizesActivity

has domain
Agent c
has range
Activity c
is inverse of
realized by op

scope defined byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#scopeDefinedBy

has domain
Scope c
has range
Agent c

scope has reference flowop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#scopeHasReferenceFlow

has domain
Scope c
has range
Product Flow c

scope has spatial scaleop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#scopeHasSpatialScale

has domain
Scope c
has range
Spatial Scale c

scope has temporal scaleop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#scopeHasTemporalScale

has domain
Scope c
has range
Temporal Entity c

used byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#usedBy

has domain
Flow c
has range
Agent c

Data Properties

lca Model Has Goaldp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#lcaModelHasGoal

The lcaModelHasGoal data property represents the objective of the LCA study, defined as a textual description that specifies the intended purpose and use of the LCA results.
has domain
LCA Model c
has range
string

lca Model Has Iddp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#lcaModelHasId

has domain
LCA Model c
has range
string

scope Has Assumptiondp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#scopeHasAssumption

has domain
Scope c
has range
string

scope Has Functional Unitdp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#scopeHasFunctionalUnit

has domain
Scope c
has range
string

Scope Has System Boundarydp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: https://w3id.org/lcanet/core#scopeHasSystemBoundary

has domain
Scope c
has range
string

Annotation Properties

contributorap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

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

creatorap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

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

descriptionap back to ToC or Annotation Property ToC

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

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

Legend back to ToC

c: Classes
op: Object Properties
dp: Data 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.