Screening level approach to support companies in making safe and sustainable by design decisions at the early stages of innovation

The European Green Deal policy ambitions identify the transition to a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach to chemicals and materials. An approach to operationalize SSbD, addressing multi-component nanomaterials (MCNMs) , is presented and applied it to in two case studies. This approach enables assessment of safety and sustainability aspects at each stage of product development from a lifecycle perspective. This is achieved via a tiered approach that uses qualitative (Tier 1), semi-quantitative (Tier 2) and quantitative (Tier 3) assessment methods. The present work focuses on the Tier 1 (self-assessment) methodology evaluating the safety, functionality and sustainability in the early R&D stages of the lifecycle of chemicals and materials. The approach was tested using two real industrial case studies, namely nano-enabled PFAS (Polyfluoroalkyl substances)-free anti-sticking coating for bakery molds, and nano-drops of essential oil anchored to the surface of nano clays and encapsulated in a polymeric film. The results indicate that these innovative materials have a high probability to have better safety, functionality and sustainability performance compared to conventional benchmark materials.

PIZZOL Lisa;  LIVIERI Arianna;  SALIERI Beatrice;  FARCAL Lucian;  SOETEMAN-HERNÁNDEZ Lya;  RAUSCHER Hubert;  ZABEO Alex;  BLOSI Magda;  COSTA Anna Luisa;  PEIJNENBURG Willie;  STOYCHEVA Stella;  HUNT Neil;  LÓPEZ-TENDERO Mariajosé;  SALGADO Castor;  REINOSA Julian J.;  FERNANDEZ Jose F.;  HRISTOZOV Danail; 

2023-08-28

Elsevier Ltd.

JRC131445

2666-7894 (online),   

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666789423000260,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC131445,   

10.1016/j.cesys.2023.100132 (online),