General information
The Life Cycle Impact gives an indication of the overall environmental impact a car generates over its entire life span (200.000km). The lower the Life Cycle Impact, the less environmental impact is generated. We therefore apply a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) approach, and the method is based on the European recognized Product Environmental Footprint (PEF).
To calculate the Life Cycle Impact, we consider the emissions that take place during:
- the production and assembly of the car (body, interior, engine parts, battery, etc.), incl. the recycled content of materials.
- the use of the car (exhaust emissions). Non-exhaust emissions, such as break or tire wear, are not included.
- the production and distribution of the fuel (oil refining, electricity production, etc.).
We then map the contribution of these emissions to the following PEF impact categories:
- Climate change
- Human toxicity (non-cancer), Photochemical ozone formation, and Particulate matter emissions. On the website, these are bundled under the heading “Human Health”.
- Acidification, Ecotoxicity (freshwater) & Eutrophication (terrestrial and marine). On the website, these are bundled under the heading ‘Ecosystems’.
On the site, you can find and compare the Life Cycle Impact of different cars. Both new and old vehicles are included in the database. The search section contains filters to facilitate your research. You can also look up the Life Cycle Impact of your specific car using the chassis number, or calculate the Life Cycle Impact yourself. The relevant information can be found on the vehicle's certificate of conformity.
For cars that can be fully or partially charged from the grid, you can also check the effect of charging at home on your own solar panels or with a green electricity contract.
In addition, the website features a data visualization tool that allows you to compile your own statistics and graphs on the Belgian vehicle fleet and yearly registrations.
As VITO is completely dependent on data obtained from third parties to calculate the Life Cycle Impact of the various vehicles available on the Belgian market, VITO cannot guarantee that the displayed Life Cycle Impact of a vehicle is the correct one.
There are several control mechanisms built in, but they do not provide absolute certainty. To be sure about your car's Life Cycle Impact, you need to calculate it yourself using the calculator tool and based on data from the car's Certificate of Conformity.
The answer to this question is 'yes'. Unlike the Ecoscore, which uses a well-to-wheel approach, the Life Cycle Impact also includes the production of the vehicle (including the battery) and the use of recycled materials. This means that the calculation of the Life Cycle Impact takes into account:
- (exhaust) emissions during the use of the vehicle,
- emissions associated with the production and distribution of the fuel (such as electricity production in the case of electric vehicles, or oil refining in the case of petrol and diesel vehicles), and
- emissions released during the production of the vehicle (including the battery).
The easiest way, is to use the calculation module. Select the fuel type and enter the requested information. You can find this on the vehicle's Certificate of Conformity. For electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, you will also need the ‘gross’ battery capacity (not the ‘usable’!). Please make sure you enter the information in the correct units in the calculation module!
The main difference lies in the LCA approach: whereas Ecoscore is limited to a Well-to-Wheel approach, Life Cycle Impact applies a more comprehensive LCA. This means that Life Cycle Impact takes into account not only emissions during driving and those associated with fuel production, but also the production and assembly of the car (including all components, such as the battery), whereas Ecoscore does not. In other words, the Life Cycle Impact gives you a more complete picture of the real environmental impact of a car then the Ecoscore does.
There is also a difference in the interpretation of the ‘score’ or ‘impact’. The Ecoscore is rescaled to a score from 0 to 100, with a higher score being better than a lower one. The Life Cycle Impact is not rescaled, and in this case a lower impact is better than a higher one. The minimum value is theoretically 0, which would correspond to a car with no environmental impact, which does not yet exist. On the other hand, there is no upper limit. In 2025, the minimum Life Cycle Impact for new cars appears to be around 100, and the maximum around 700.
CO2 emissions are always mentioned on new cars. You will also find it in advertisements. Some manufacturers advertise 'very environmentally friendly cars' that emit little CO2. But CO2 emissions say nothing about the other emissions, just think of the particulate matter or NOx emissions of diesel cars.
CO2 emissions also say nothing about the emissions associated with fuel production and distribution. Just think of electric cars with supposedly zero CO2 emissions from the exhaust pipe, but this ignores the fact that the electricity also has to be generated.
A car with low CO2 emissions is therefore not necessarily an environmentally friendly vehicle. In addition to CO2, the Life Cycle Impact also takes into account other emissions, and not only from the exhaust pipe but also during the production and distribution of the fuel, and during the production of the car itself (including any batteries).
In other words, the Life Cycle Impact gives you a more complete picture of the real environmental impact of a car then the CO2 emissions do.
CO2 emissions also say nothing about the emissions associated with fuel production and distribution. Just think of electric cars with supposedly zero CO2 emissions from the exhaust pipe, but this ignores the fact that the electricity also has to be generated.
A car with low CO2 emissions is therefore not necessarily an environmentally friendly vehicle. In addition to CO2, the Life Cycle Impact also takes into account other emissions, and not only from the exhaust pipe but also during the production and distribution of the fuel, and during the production of the car itself (including any batteries).
In other words, the Life Cycle Impact gives you a more complete picture of the real environmental impact of a car then the CO2 emissions do.
A vehicle that is placed on the market must meet certain conditions. For example, Europe imposes certain restrictions on emissions of NOx, CO, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter (from the exhaust). These standards are becoming increasingly stringent and are being raised each time. Since 2015, for example, the Euro 6 standard, which is stricter than all previous standards, has applied to all passenger cars.
However, this Euro standard does not provide a complete picture of how environmentally friendly your car is. For example, CO2 emissions are not taken into account, nor are the emissions released during the production and distribution of fuel, or during the production of the car (including any batteries).
There is also an important difference between the restrictions that apply to gasoline cars and those that apply to diesel cars. For example, a Euro 4 diesel car is certainly not as environmentally friendly as a Euro 4 gasoline car. Even within the same fuel type and the same standard, there can still be significant differences in emissions. For example, a Euro 4 diesel with a particulate filter emits more than 90% less particulate matter than a Euro 4 diesel without a particulate filter.
The Life Cycle Impact takes into account the individual emissions of each car and also considers CO2 emissions, emissions released during the production and distribution of fuel, and those released during the production of the car itself (including any batteries).
In other words, the Life Cycle Impact gives you a more complete picture of the real environmental impact of a car then the Euro stage does.
However, this Euro standard does not provide a complete picture of how environmentally friendly your car is. For example, CO2 emissions are not taken into account, nor are the emissions released during the production and distribution of fuel, or during the production of the car (including any batteries).
There is also an important difference between the restrictions that apply to gasoline cars and those that apply to diesel cars. For example, a Euro 4 diesel car is certainly not as environmentally friendly as a Euro 4 gasoline car. Even within the same fuel type and the same standard, there can still be significant differences in emissions. For example, a Euro 4 diesel with a particulate filter emits more than 90% less particulate matter than a Euro 4 diesel without a particulate filter.
The Life Cycle Impact takes into account the individual emissions of each car and also considers CO2 emissions, emissions released during the production and distribution of fuel, and those released during the production of the car itself (including any batteries).
In other words, the Life Cycle Impact gives you a more complete picture of the real environmental impact of a car then the Euro stage does.
Diesel:
1 liter of diesel weighs 835 grammes. Diesel consist for 86,2% of carbon, or 720 grammes of carbon per liter diesel. In order to combust this carbon to CO2, 1920 grammes of oxygen is needed. The sum is then 720 + 1920 = 2640 grammes of CO2/liter diesel.
An average consumption of 5 liters/100 km then corresponds to 5 l x 2640 g/l / 100 (per km) = 132 g CO2/km.
Petrol:
1 liter of petrol weighs 750 grammes. Petrol consists for 87% of carbon, or 652 grammes of carbon per liter of petrol. In order to combust this carbon to CO2, 1740 grammes of oxygen is needed. The sum is then 652 + 1740 = 2392 grammes of CO2/liter of petrol.
An average consumption of 5 liters/100 km then corresponds to 5 l x 2392 g/l / 100 (per km) = 120 g CO2/km.
LPG:
1 liter of LPG weighs 550 grammes. LPG consists for 82,5% of carbon, or 454 grammes of carbon per liter of LPG. In order to combust this carbon to CO2, 1211 grammes of oxygen is needed. The sum is then 454 + 1211 = 1665 grammes of CO2/liter of LPG.
An average consumption of 5 liters / 100 km then corresponds to 5 l x 1665 g/l / 100 (per km) = 83 g of CO2/km.
CNG:
CNG is a gaseous fuel (natural gas), stored under high pressure. Consequently, the consumption can be expressed in Nm3/100km, but also in kg/100km. Nm3 stands for a cubic meter under normal conditions (1 atm and 0 ┬░ C). Consumption of natural gas vehicles is, however, most often expressed in kg/100km.
Different types of natural gas are available in Belgium, roughly divided into two categories: low and high calorific gas (L- and H-gas). CO2 emissions differ between both categories, and strongly depends on the composition and origin of the gas. The calculations below are therefore merely indicative. The public CNG stations in Belgium mainly offer low calorific gas. You will see that the CO2 emissions per kg of H-gas is higher than that of L-gas. H-gas, however, contains more energy, so you will need less kg of gas per 100 km, which ensures that, at least in theory, the average CO2 emissions from CNG vehicles is independent of the gas type used.
Low-calorific:
1 kg of L-gas consists for 61,4% of carbon, or 614 grammes of carbon per kg of L-gas. In order to combust this carbon to CO2, 1638 grammes of oxygen is needed. The sum is then 614 + 1638 = 2252 grammes of CO2/kg of L-gas.
An average consumption of 5 kg / 100 km then corresponds to 5 kg x 2252 g/kg = 113 g CO2/km.
High-calorific:
1 kg of H-gas consists for 72,7% of carbon, or 727 grammes of carbon per kg of H-gas. In order to combust this carbon to CO2, 1939 grammes of oxygen is needed. The sum is then 727 + 1939 = 2666 grammes of CO2/kg of H-gas.
An average consumption of 4,2 kg / 100 km then corresponds to 4,2 kg x 2666 g/kg = 112 g of CO2/km.