EXIOBASE: Environmentally Extended Supply-Use Table (MR-SUT) and Input-Output Table (MR-IOT)
Mapping the Global Economy for Carbon Emissions Tracking
EXIOBASE is a global database linking industries and products to emissions and resources. First published in 2012, it currently uses a 163-industry and 200-product classification scheme. It is widely used by carbon accounting SaaS platforms for consumption-based footprints, corporate Scope 3 screening, and spend-based emission factors.
Metadata
| Publisher type | Supernational |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Jurisdictions | Global |
Introduction
EXIOBASE is a global database linking the economy to environmental pressures via multi-regional supply–use and input–output tables. It assembles national accounts, emissions, resource use, and trade into a consistent framework, making it possible to trace impacts along supply chains, from raw materials to final consumption.
EXIOBASE classifies the economy in two simple ways: by who makes things (163 “industry” categories) and by what things are made (200 “product” categories). These two lists form rectangular Supply-Use tables with the 200 industries arranged in a column and products in a row. The industry list broadly follows European/UN activity standards (NACE/ISIC) with a few modifications and extra detail in areas like energy, agriculture, and waste, while the product list aligns with the EU’s CPA product classification. EXIOBASE keeps the codes consistent across countries so results are comparable.
EXIOBASE provides a flat classification of industries and products. This means they are listed at a single level, rather than being arranged into multiple levels of aggregation as in some other industrial classification systems. In the current version of EXIOBASE, each product and industry is identified with two codes: one that reflects its position in the list (prefixed with letter p for products or i for industries) and another shorthand label (prefixed with letter C for products and A for industries). For example, the product Precious metals is coded as p27.41, C_PREM, while the corresponding industry Precious metals production is coded as i27.41, A_PREM.
Versions
EXIOBASE 3: Products (Current)
EXIOBASE 3 Products was published in 2018. It lists 200 products.
Changes between EXIOBASE 2 and EXIOBASE 3
While both EXIOBASE 2 and EXIOBASE 3 have 200 products, the names of some products were modified. For example, Food waste to incineration (p90.1.a) in EXIOBASE 2 was modified to Food waste for treatment: incineration in EXIOBASE 3 just as Paper and wood to composting (p90.3.b) was modified to Paper and wood waste for treatment: composting and land application.
Resources
EXIOBASE 3 Products (excel) - Appendix to Stadler et al 2018.
EXIOBASE 2: Products (Legacy)
EXIOBASE 2 Product was published in 2014. It lists 200 products.
Changes between EXIOBASE 1 and EXIOBASE 2
Relative to EXIOBASE 1's 129 products, EXIOBASE 2 classifies 200 products. Additional product detail targets environmentally critical domains. Energy-related products were refined, adding more granular carrier types and electricity products. Further disaggregation introduced waste and recycling categories so material balances could be traced across product flows. For EXIOBASE users, expanding the classification from 129 to 200 product groups helps reduce aggregation error and enables more precise tracing of embodied materials, energy, water, and emissions.
Resources
EXIOBASE 1 Products (Legacy)
EXIOBASE 1 Products was published in 2012, originally as the EXIOPOL database. It lists 129 Products. It was built on the EU’s NACE classifications. It covers a wide range of products, from agricultural products to metals, energy and pollutants.
Resources
The EXIOPOL product classification is provided in the following academic publications: Appendix C of Wood et al (2014) or Appendix 2 of Bouwmeester & Oosterhaven (2013).
EXIOBASE 3: Industry (Current)
EXIOBASE 3 Industry was first published in 2018. It lists 163 industries.
Changes Between EXIOBASE 2 and EXIOBASE 3
EXIOBASE 3 retains 163 industries (same as EXIOBASE 2) and keeps the classification broadly aligned with NACE Rev.1.1. Changes versus EXIOBASE 2 are mainly refinements, particularly in energy, agriculture, and waste, plus some naming/label tweaks while preserving code continuity for time-series work.
Resources
EXIOBASE 3 Industry (excel) - Appendix to Stadler et al 2018.
EXIOBASE 2: Industry (Legacy)
EXIOBASE 2 Industry was first published in 2014. It lists 163 industries.
Changes Between EXIOBASE 1 and EXIOBASE 2
EXIOBASE 2 expanded the industry list to 163 industries, an increase from EXIOBASE 1’s 129 sectors. This jump substantially increased sectoral resolution, allowing finer tracking of emissions and resource flows across supply chains. The 163-industry structure became the foundation carried forward into EXIOBASE 3.
Resources
EXIOBASE 1: Industry (Legacy)
The first EXIOBASE release (developed under EXIOPOL) defined 129 industries/sectors per country, drawing on the EU’s NACE Rev.1.1 classification.
Resources
The EXIOPOL industry classification is provided in the following academic publications: Appendix C of Wood et al (2014) or Appendix 2 of Bouwmeester & Oosterhaven (2013).
Where is it used?
Assigning emission factors (Climatiq): For example, Climatiq, the carbon accounting engine, maps EXIOBASE product/industry codes to spend-based CO₂e factors for carbon accounting via API and data explorer.
Corporate Scope 3, spend-based inventories: Companies and consultancies pair procurement spend with EXIOBASE sector factors (often via tools like openLCA and several other SaaS platforms) to screen purchased goods/services and other categories
National/EU consumption-footprint indicators: The European Commission’s JRC has used EXIOBASE 3 to quantify the environmental impacts embodied in EU consumption (“Consumption Footprint”) and related macro-scale assessments.
Research on consumption-based accounts (CBAs): Academia uses EXIOBASE classifications in EE-MRIO studies to produce carbon/water/material footprints and compare results across MRIO systems.
Resources
EXIOBASE official site: Overview of scope, versions (v1–v3), classification (163 industries × 200 products), and links to data & docs.
EXIOBASE 3 release paper: Definitive technical description, construction choices, and time-series features for v3.
EXIOBASE complete dataset on Zenodo: Citable dataset records with version notes and access to tables.