The main difference is that an inventory indicator is a direct measurement (the “what”), while an impact indicator is the potential environmental consequence of that measurement (the “so what?”).
Think of it like a doctor’s visit:
- Inventory: The nurse measures your temperature. The reading is 39°C. This is the raw data.
- Impact: The doctor diagnoses you with a fever, which indicates a potential infection. This is the consequence or meaning of the raw data.
Inventory Indicators: The “What”
An inventory indicator measures the direct, quantifiable resources used or emissions created during a product’s lifecycle. It’s like an itemized list of everything that went into or came out of the process.
It answers the question: “What, exactly, was used or emitted?“
At BCome, our key inventory indicator is:
- Water consumption: This tells you the exact volume (in liters) of fresh water used.
Impact Indicators: The “So what?”
An impact indicator takes the raw inventory data and translates it into a potential environmental effect. It analyzes the inventory data to determine how it might harm ecosystems, human health, or deplete resources.
It answers the crucial question: “So what is the environmental consequence of that?“
For example, our Water scarcity indicator doesn’t just look at the liters used; it analyzes that consumption in the context of the specific region’s water availability. Using 1,000 liters of water in a desert has a much higher impact than using the same amount in a rainforest.
At BCome, we calculate 16 impact indicators based on the PEFCR for Apparel & Footwear, grouped by area of concern:
- Climate: Global warming
- Water: Water scarcity
- Human Health: Ozone depletion · Human toxicity, cancer · Human toxicity, non-cancer · Particulate matter · Ionising radiation · Photochemical ozone formation
- Natural Resources: Resource use, fossils · Resource use, minerals and metals · Land use
- Ecosystems: Eutrophication, freshwater · Eutrophication, marine · Eutrophication, terrestrial · Acidification · Ecotoxicity, freshwater
Summary
You need both to get the full picture. The inventory indicator provides the essential raw data, and the 16 impact indicators translate that data into environmental consequences across climate, water, human health, natural resources, and ecosystems.