BMWSB / BBSR have been involved internationally for many years in order to broaden the scope of sustainable building and the use of building LCA and to harmonize processes. One achievement of this effort is the establishment of the ILCD + EPD data format and the initiation of a database node based on it, in which EPD datasets can be searched for in several databases at the same time.
International data search in the InData node
The InData node enables international access to further life cycle assessment data for the building LCA. Five players in the InData network have already established publicly available databases based on the ILCD + EPD data format developed by the BBSR. These databases are linked to one another via a common search function on the InData website. From there, all InData-compliant datasets in the connected databases can be searched at the same time. The data always remains with the respective provider, i.e. with the selection of a certain dataset you get directly to the connected database.
Note on the use of data sets from the international search: InData-compliant data sets meet basic formal requirements with regard to data consistency, such as conformity with EN 15804 and external verification. The modeling of the data sets follows different standards such as different versions of EN 15804 or the use of different background databases.
Conformity rules
The data shared on the InData website must meet all requirements of the InData conformity rules. The data providers confirm conformity with the InData definitions and requirements via the "Self-Declaration for Data Providers within InData data network".
The InData conformity rules are part of the ÖKOBAUDAT rules. For the inclusion of data sets in ÖKOBAUDAT, the provisions of the Principles and the technical / formal rules according to the ÖKOBAUDAT Manual also apply.
This means: ÖKOBAUDAT data sets are InData-compliant if they follow the recommendation that the data fields "Name" and "Technical purpose of product or process" are also available in English. Conversely, InData-compliant data sets are not necessarily ÖKOBAUDAT-compliant. To ensure data consistency, only ÖKOBAUDAT data sets are to be used in the BNB system. Data set owners or programme operators who want to make data sets available for the BNB system must submit to the ÖKOBAUDAT admission procedure.
International data search - a development of the BBS
The search function is based on the developments for the ÖKOBAUDAT data search. It was further developed and tested within the framework of research projects of the BBSR. The BBSR made these developments available to the InData network in order to implement the international data network.