Variable tracks environmental impacts using the EN 15804+A2 standard, which defines a comprehensive set of indicators beyond just carbon emissions. These indicators provide a complete picture of a product’s environmental profile.
GWP-fossil: Variable’s default indicator
Variable’s default headline indicator is GWP-fossil - Global Warming Potential from fossil-fuel-derived emissions, measured over a 100-year time horizon and expressed in kilograms of CO2 equivalent (kg CO2e).
EN 15804+A2 splits GWP100 into four climate-change categories. Variable defaults to GWP-fossil so biogenic uptake/release and land-use-change effects don’t mask the fossil-fuel signal - you can set any other indicator as the Selected indicator in the modeling screen for side-by-side comparison.
Core environmental indicators
These 13 indicators cover the fundamental environmental impact categories:
Resource use indicators
These 10 indicators track energy and material consumption:
The PERM/PENRM indicators track energy content in materials (like the energy stored in plastics or wood). Variable applies special rules to track this energy as it enters and exits the product system. See Life-cycle stages explained for details on material energy accounting. Waste indicators
Biogenic carbon indicators
These indicators track the carbon content stored in products and packaging:
BCCP and BCCAP represent carbon storage, not emissions. They only apply to the A1-A3 (product stage). A material line counts toward BCCP when its material group is Product, toward BCCAP when it is Packaging, and toward neither when it is Other (ancillary). A line with no group takes its stage’s default: Product at A1, Other (ancillary) at A2 and Packaging at A3. Waste, process, energy and transport lines count toward neither, whatever group they store, because their matter does not become part of the product.
Output flow indicators
These indicators track materials and energy leaving the product system:
Additional indicators
Seven additional indicators for human and ecosystem toxicity:
