AutoLCA: an automatic LCA using xlsx spreadsheets and R Scripts

Author: Dr Martí Rufí-Salís (ORCID: 0000-0003-3696-1033)

AutoLCA is an open-source tool to perform Life Cycle Impact Assessments through the use of an R script (AutoLCA.R) and an Excel template File (AutoLCA_EXCEL.xlsx).

To run the tool you will need the following softwares: Rstudio (+ R programming language) and an spreadsheet software that creates xlsx files.

An advanced level with R programming language is not needed, but familiarity with it is preferable, for example to select in the script which impact categories to highlight.

Download R: https://cran.r-project.org

Download R Studio: https://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/ - the Desktop version is free and works with AutoLCA

Specific instructions for the excel and the R Script are included in each respective file.

Advantages of using AutoLCA:

(1) Free to use and constantly improving based on users feedback.

(2) No need to go back to the LCA software when due to the iterative nature of LCA you need to change a specific process or quantity.

(3) Automatic export of results in a new XLSX file.

(4) Automatic export of impact graphs in jpeg format

(5) High level of modularity: the user can modify the script to accomplish parallel tasks, change the impact categories to highlight, change the graphs parameters, etc.