European Commission published a recommendation on establishing a European assessment framework for ‘safe and sustainable by design’ chemicals and materials, in December 8th, 2022. In this document, establishing a European framework for ‘safe and sustainable by design’ chemicals and materials for Research and Innovation (R&I) activities is proposed. The envisaged framework consists of methods for assessing the safety and sustainability aspects of a chemical or material. The results obtained from applying the framework will make it possible to define ‘safe and sustainable by design’ criteria, including scoring systems and thresholds developed based on the results obtained. The purpose of the Recommendation is to launch the testing of the assessment framework and get feedback to be able to improve relevance, reliability and operability. The Recommendation is addressed to Member States, industry, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), academia and research and technology organisations (RTOs) that contribute to, or work on the development of chemicals and materials. It invites them to use the framework in their R&I programmes and activities related to chemicals or materials.

The whole document of EC Recommendation can be found here.

SusChem published a statement expressing its appreciation for the structured approach taken by the Commission towards this complex topic. Suschem assess that the published Recommendation will propose a good basis and deliver improved instruments for shaping other crucial initiatives and projects that SusChem supports, such as the Transition Pathway for the Chemical Industry (to be published), the Advanced Materials Initiative 2030 and IRISS – International ecosystem for accelerating the transition to Safe and sustainable by design materials, products and processes.

The whole SusChem statement document can be found here.