The Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) concept was developed by the European Commission as part of the European Green Deal and the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. Its purpose is to guide the design and development of new substances, materials, and products so that they are safe for human health, environmentally responsible, and economically viable throughout their entire life cycle.
Rather than a simple post-design evaluation, SSbD is a methodological framework that integrates safety and sustainability from the early phases of research and innovation. The approach begins with a scoping analysis aimed at defining design objectives followed by a multi-dimensional assessment structured around three main pillars:
- Holistic Safety Assessment
This dimension consolidates the analysis of intrinsic hazards (toxicity, physico-chemical properties) with exposure risk assessment. It covers the safety of operators during manufacturing processes as well as end-users. It also takes into account the risks to ecosystems throughout the life cycle, from production to use, and through to disposal or recycling. Risk analysis is based on exposure banding, complemented by modeling approaches, on-site sampling campaigns, and the validation of measurement data.
- Environmental Sustainability Assessment – Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
It measures the overall environmental footprint from resource extraction to end-of-life, identifying points of improvement, and favoring more sustainable solutions.
- Socio-economic Sustainability and Competitiveness
This dimension analyzes economic viability, social impacts (job creation, social acceptance, benefits to local communities, market implications), and industrial competitiveness. It integrates aspects such as supply chain resilience (including the identification of Critical Raw Materials), skills development, and social equity to ensure that innovation supports long-term societal benefits.
Through its tiered approach, the SSbD framework allows Certech to refine assessments as a project’s Technology Readiness Level (TRL) increases, thereby reducing uncertainties and continuously optimizing solutions. Thanks to the expertise acquired in the field of environment and safety, Certech integrates the SSbD approach into R&D projects, whether for new materials, innovative processes, or industrial solutions.
