Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design Framework: (Re-)Designing the Advanced Materials Lifecycle

In the last few years, the materials research community has shown increased interest in Advanced Materials (AdMas) that are specifically designed to substitute the traditionally used materials, not only with a view to their sustainability, sourcing criticality, or scarcity, but also to maintaining or even enhancing their functionality and performance. The use of AdMas is particularly researched in sectors where the environmental impact of the traditional materials is substantial, in terms of waste production or resource consumption. Due to their novelty and potentially unpredictable impacts, and to add further value to their application, there is an increasing interest in the safety and sustainability of AdMas. In this context, a new 5-step Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) framework was developed by the European Union, to support the (re-)design and development of novel materials. A guideline is presented for enforcing the (re-)design phase of the framework with paradigms to guide stakeholders and practically add value to the materials’ industry. The present manuscript analyzes the advances and challenges of the SSbD framework, showcasing its applicability and limitations and the added value compared to traditionally used assessment methodologies, to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the methodology and add value to the materials’ industry concerning safety and sustainability.