About Climate database

Boverket, the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, provides an open database for use in a climate declaration for new buildings. When a climate declaration is to be established, you can use generic climate data from Boverket’s climate database or specific climate data. The climate data for construction products in Boverket’s database is conservatively set, i.e. approximately 25 percent higher than the average to encourage the use of specific climate data. Climate data for energy and fuel must be obtained from Boverket’s climate database. These data are not conservatively set.  

Search the database

Boverkets climate database version 02.05.000 updated 25 January 2024.

Climate database

Generic climate data for construction products in Boverket’s climate database

Boverket’s climate database is an important tool to help developers comply with regulations on climate declarations, enabling high-quality climate calculations.  Boverket’s database provides data on the climate impact of construction products and represents Swedish conditions. The climate database is available in both Swedish and English. 

If generic climate data is used in the climate declaration, it must be based on data from Boverket’s climate database. 

Climate data for construction products is based on data from IVL, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute. The data from IVL is based on average values derived from Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and publicly available generic data sources for the construction product groups used in the Swedish market. Climate data is conservatively set, i.e. approximately 25 percent higher than the average value to encourage the use of construction products with lower climate impact. It should not be an advantage to use generic climate data instead of specific data for products that have high climate impact. Conservatively set climate data is also meant to encourage construction product manufacturers to provide product-specific climate data (EPDs). 

Boverket’s climate database is updated annually or when needed. Boverket determines whether new generic climate data should be added in the database according to the following principles: 

• The construction product is used frequently and in large quantities within the Swedish construction sector.
• The construction product constitutes more than one percent of the total climate impact from the erected building.
• Generic climate data for the construction product can be based on more than one Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) or a report where the EN 15804 standard has been applied. 

Climate data for energy and fuel in Boverket’s climate database

The climate database includes climate data for energy and fuel. These data are not conservatively set. 

Climate data for district heating is based on the calculations of a Swedish average by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), which in turn obtains statistics from the Swedish Energy Enterprises. The utilization of waste heat is considered not to cause any greenhouse gas emissions. 

Climate data for the Swedish electricity mix is based on data from IVL, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute. IVL has derived the values based on calculations that follow both the EN 15804 standard and the Swedish Energy Agency’s method for reporting the environmental impact from electricity production and the use of various fuels and other energy carriers. Exports and imports have been taken into consideration in the development of the climate data. For more information on the method, refer to the report by IVL, number C433, under related information.  

Climate data for fuels is based on data from IVL, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, which in turn bases its data on the Swedish Energy Agency’s information about the greenhouse gas emissions from fuel. Emissions from extraction, transportation, conversion, and combustion of fuels are included. This means that even biofuels cause a certain amount of emissions. For the calculation of emissions from gasoline and diesel, IVL uses the standard values for fossil fuels as determined by the reduction obligation in an additional directive to the Fuel Quality Directive 2015/652/EU. 

Specific climate data gives a more correct declaration

To get a climate declaration that corresponds to the building’s actual climate impact, it is recommended to use specific climate data for purchased construction products, provided that the manufacturer has issued an EPD for its products. Specific climate data for a construction product reflects its climate impact throughout the manufacturing process under particular production conditions. The calculated climate impact is generally lower when specific climate data is used.

In case of using specific climate data, it should be in the form of an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) that follows EN 15804 standard and is third-party verified or equivalent. 

The content of the climate database

Boverket’s climate database includes generic climate data for the following life cycle modules: 

• A1–A3 product stage (conservative values)
• A4 transport
• A5 construction waste (conservative values)
• energy and fuel with typical values (used in modules A4 transport and A5 energy)

These generic climate data are to be used for establishing climate declarations. 

The database also includes additional data as follows: 

• A1–A3 climate impact of construction products with typical values
• A1–A3 factor for conservative values
• A5 factor for construction waste
• technical service life
• conversion factors.

Climate data for module A5 for construction waste also includes emissions from transport. You can also find information about the factor used for the construction waste. 

The climate database also contains information about the conservative factor used to calculate the conservative value of climate data for construction products. It may be more relevant to use average values to compare materials and select those with lower climate impact.  Such values are also available in the climate database as typical values. Average values are based on EPDs for products used in Sweden; these are generally lower than the average for the product group in the Swedish market. This is clarified by the term ‘typical’. 

In addition, the climate database includes information about the technical service life and conversion factors used to convert from the unit in the climate database to the unit commonly used in resource inventories, usually density. 

Retrieve climate data from the climate database

Boverket provides access to the climate database via a web interface and an application programming interface API in Excel, JSON, and XML file formats. 

The web interface has a search function that makes it easy to find climate data. Climate data for a product group is available in a printable product data sheet. It is also possible to export all climate data or parts of it to an Excel file.

A file specification is available for software developers so that they can adapt their software.

The API for climate data is available under ‘Open data-climate database” (in Swedish) under related information below. 

Open data

Climate data from Boverket’s climate database can be printed out or retrieved in Excel format. It is possible to retrieve the entire content on the page with open data, see Related information. The available file formats are Excel, JSON, and XML. The database is available in Swedish and English, see related information. 

The database is developed in collaboration with several contributors

The database was developed by Boverket in collaboration with the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), and the Ministry of the Environment in Finland, as part of the Nordic countries’ efforts to reduce climate emissions from the built environment.