iCLEANED is useful in data-scarce regions to plan sustainable, inclusive, and profitable livestock interventions. Its trade-off outputs guide decisions on resource use, sustainable practices, farm productivity, and ecosystem outcomes.

Over the past decade, iCLEANED (before, CLEANED) has been used in more than 34 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, reaching around 80 user organizations worldwide. Approximately 200 current and prospective users—including researchers, educators, policymakers, and industry stakeholders—have been trained directly or indirectly.
More than 20 assessments in 17 countries (including Colombia, Kenya, Tunisia, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Nepal, Uzbekistan, and Tanzania) have been documented and discussed with decision-makers at different levels. These assessments have helped strengthen environmental awareness and support more environmentally informed planning of livestock interventions.

How organizations are adapting iCLEANED to inform livestock decisions

• In Nicaragua, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) used iCLEANED to assess silvopastoral interventions on small- and medium-sized farms. 
• In Tunisia, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) applied the tool to analyze feed and forage options in intensive dairy systems. 
• In Nepal, Heifer International assessed greenhouse gas mitigation potential in goat farming to inform climate-smart investments. 
• In Uzbekistan, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) used the tool to evaluate improved feed and forage strategies for a livestock investment project.
• In Tanzania and Ethiopia, iCLEANED guided discussions on manure management and livestock population projections.

Across these contexts, iCLEANED has increased environmental awareness, promoted gender- and youth-sensitive interventions, and guided sustainable, inclusive, and profitable livestock development, while influencing policies and investment decisions at local and national levels.

By combining participatory assessment with biophysical modelling, iCLEANED enables users to compare scenarios, analyze trade-offs, and support evidence-based decision-making. The updated version also integrates socio-economic dimensions to help identify socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable livestock solutions.

The first versions of iCLEANED were developed in R and applied in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Burkina Faso. This was followed by a more flexible Excel version that users could download and adapt to their contexts.

Transformed to a web application

In 2024, the Excel tool was transformed into a web application, renamed iCLEANED, with R-based calculations embedded in the interface. 

The new version includes:

1. Region- and system-specific parameter databases.
2. Improved data visualization, user navigation aids, and brief interpretations of outputs. 
3. Detailed results can also be downloaded, including supporting documentation and environmental footprint benchmark tables for different regions.

It can now be applied at multiple scales, from individual farms to landscapes and agroecological zones, either by extrapolating farm-level footprints or directly assessing heterogeneous farming systems.

The web platform also makes it easier to link application programming interfaces (APIs) to the model. Recent efforts include connecting the greenhouse gas and land-use modules to dynamic models used in livestock master plans and investment frameworks.

These variations have also expanded the tool’s analytical capacity, enabling more complex scenarios and large-scale analyses, including assessments of thousands of farms processed through automated functions.