From Concept to Component: A New Qualitative Approach to Early-Stage Sustainability Assessment of Bio-Based Material Innovations

In the context of the European Green Deal, the development of sustainable and circular material solutions requires assessment approaches that can support decision-making at early stages of innovation. However, conventional sustainability assessment methods such as Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Costing, and Social Life Cycle Assessment are often difficult to apply at low technology readiness levels due to limited data availability and high uncertainty. To address this gap, this study introduces the Qualitative Sustainability Assessment Tool (QualSAT), a novel adaptation of a well-documented qualitative sustainability assessment tool from the land remediation sector for the holistic assessment of bio-based material innovations. QualSAT integrates environmental, economic, and social sustainability dimensions with structured stakeholder involvement, providing a practical decision-support framework for early-stage product development. A case study comparatively evaluated an automotive interior component made of fibre-reinforced composite material, with fibre reinforcement options of nettle, hemp, kenaf, and glass, using the newly developed method. The results show that QualSAT is a promising tool within a specific decision-making context. As an essential part of the method, the expert interviews introduced a wide variety of perspectives and enhanced the transparency, robustness, and credibility of the anticipatory assessment process. QualSAT addresses several limitations of conventional assessment approaches regarding their applicability to early-stage decisions, including data availability, time intensity, and upscaling difficulties. By enabling transparent and holistic sustainability assessments under these conditions, QualSAT complements established quantitative approaches and provides a novel framework for integrating sustainability considerations into early-stage material innovation and circular economy decision-making.