Emergy Conversion Factors Derived from the EPA EmCF Life Cycle Assessment Database Using a Biosphere Dynamic Empower (BDE) Baseline

This dataset provides emergy conversion factors derived from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s EmCF Database for Life Cycle Assessment (“emcf-database-for-lca_508-compliant”). The original EMCF database was developed at the Center for Environmental Policy, University of Florida, under contract to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and contains life cycle inventory and characterization data for environmental flows, minerals, fossil fuels in the ground, and biome-specific soils and organic matter representing resources in their pre-extraction and pre-refinement states. In this derivative dataset, the original EPA data have been systematically recalculated into emergy-based conversion factors using a Biosphere Dynamic Empower (BDE) baseline of 40.0 × 10²⁴ sej yr⁻¹. The dataset serves as the primary emergy foundation for a companion Unit Emergy Value (UEV) database that supports the analyses presented in Emergy: The Coupling of Human and Natural Systems. It is intended for research, education, and methodological transparency and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.