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Safe-and-sustainable-by-design: State of the art approaches and lessons learned from value chain perspectives

  • Christina Apel
  • , Klaus Kümmerer
  • , Akshat Sudheshwar
  • , Bernd Nowack
  • , Claudia Som
  • , Catherine Colin
  • , Lutz Walter
  • , Johan Breukelaar
  • , Marcel Meeus
  • , Beatriz Ildefonso
  • , Dmitri Petrovykh
  • , Chaima Elyahmadi
  • , Elina Huttunen-Saarivirta
  • , Ann Dierckx
  • , Anne Chloé Devic
  • , Eva Valsami-Jones
  • , Maurice Brennan
  • , Cris Rocca
  • , Johanna Scheper
  • , Emma Strömberg
  • Lya G. Soeteman-Hernández*
*Corresponding author for this work
  • Leuphana University of Lüneburg
  • Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA)
  • International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL)
  • University of Birmingham
  • IVL Swedish Environmental Research institute
  • National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM)
  • Industrial Technical Centre for Plastics and Composites (IPC)
  • European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing
  • European Federation for Construction Chemicals (EFCC)
  • Energy Materials Industrial Research Initiative (EMIRI)
  • European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA)
  • International Fragrance Association (IFRA)
  • European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC)
  • BioNanoNet Association (BNN)

Research output: Contribution to journalReview Articlepeer-review

Abstract

Safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) is central in the European Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, yet a common understanding of what SSbD is in concept and in practice is still needed. A comparison of current SSbD descriptions and approaches was made and lessons learned were derived from value chain discussions (packaging, textile, construction, automotive, energy materials, electronics, and fragrances value chains) to help provide input on how to implement SSbD in practice. Five important building blocks were identified: design, data, risk and sustainability governance, competencies, and social and corporate strategic needs. Other lessons learned include the identification of the biggest safety and sustainability challenges in a lifecycle-thinking approach towards the development of purpose-driven innovations, and connecting trans-disciplinary experts to the innovation process, already from the early phases. A clear understanding of what SSbD is and how to implement the SSbD framework is needed with clear procedures and incentives to support the industrial sector, especially SMEs.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100876
JournalCurrent Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry
Volume45
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2024
MoE publication typeA2 Review article in a scientific journal

Funding

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Lya G. Soeteman-Hernandez reports financial support was provided by European Commission. A co-author Prof. Dr. Klaus Kümmerer is an editor in Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. IRISS receives funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement no 101058245. UK participants in Project IRISS are supported by UKRI grant 10038816. CH participants in Project IRISS receive funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  2. SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
    SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
  3. SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals
    SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals

Keywords

  • By-design
  • Innovation process
  • Lifecycle
  • Safety and sustainability
  • SSbD concept
  • Value chain perspective

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