Its mission is to make scientific knowledge and environmental data on digital components transparent, reusable, and sustainably available, helping experts, public authorities, and other stakeholders make informed decisions across the digital value chain. The initiative supports more robust life cycle assessments (LCA), meaningful comparisons, and consistent choices in areas such as design, investment, and policy.

naKnow’s open knowledge base documents manufacturing processes, value chains, and environmental assumptions for selected components, including silicon wafers and derived products such as CPUs, GPUs, RAM, and SSDs; printed circuit boards; displays; hard disk drives; and optical components. Its outputs include expert-validated life cycle inventory data and open datasets designed for reuse in line with European practices. The work draws on scientific and technical literature, process and value-chain modelling, and laboratory analyses, with uncertainties and limitations documented. naKnow also aims to fill data gaps around critical elements used in semiconductor manufacturing.