Making safety and sustainability part of the development and design process
New chemicals and materials need to do more than perform well. They also need to be safe and sustainable, meet evolving regulatory requirements and remain economically viable. Yet at an early stage of development, it is often not clear how a material performs against all these criteria, even though this is when key design decisions are made.
With Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD), VITO helps companies and research partners consider these aspects early in the development and design process. Potential risks and issues can then be identified sooner, providing a stronger basis for decisions about further development.
What is Safe and Sustainable by Design?
Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) is a European framework for integrating safety and sustainability from the outset when developing chemicals and materials, redesigning or improving existing ones, comparing alternatives or supporting substitution decisions.
An SSbD assessment requires a multidisciplinary approach, bringing together expertise in areas such as human health and environmental safety, life cycle assessment, economics, circularity and technical performance.
The assessment evolves as the development progresses. An initial screening can quickly identify potential risks and areas of concern, followed by more detailed testing and analysis at a later stage. This gives you the information you need at the right time to continue development, adjust the design or take a different direction.
How can VITO help?
VITO translates the European SSbD framework into practical support for R&D and industrial innovation.
For companies
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Compare alternatives to currently used substances (e.g., fossil-based substances or hazardous substances) without losing sight of the required performance of the intended application
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Screen promising candidates for safety, sustainability and feasibility during early-phase product development
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Support decisions on further development, scale-up or market introduction
For research partners
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Integrate SSbD into research proposals or projects
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Provide expertise on safety and sustainability or technical performance
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Validate laboratory concepts under industrially relevant conditions
Make informed choices with the right expertise
VITO combines expertise in safety, environmental impact, technical performance and socio-economic feasibility. This gives you the information you need throughout the development process to compare alternatives, adjust your approach and make informed decisions about further development.
Safety and regulatory readiness
VITO identifies potential hazards and risks early in the development process. Depending on the project, VITO combines existing data, computational models and targeted testing and analysis, including:
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In vitro (eco)toxicity testing and other New Approach Methodologies (NAMs)
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QSAR models and structural alerts
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Read-across
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Human and Environmental exposure modelling
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Weight-of-evidence assessment
Environmental impact across the life cycle
By means of a life cycle assessment (LCA), VITO assesses the environmental impacts of chemicals, materials, products or processes throughout their life cycle, including contributions to climate change, resource and water use and toxicity-related impacts. The LCA helps identify environmental hotspots, compare alternatives and reveal potential trade-offs between impact categories or life cycle stages.
Depending on the scope of the assessment, the LCA can offer:
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An initial screening assessment,
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A detailed assessment, including prospective LCA, and
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A scenario analysis, including circular solutions and end-of-life scenarios
Socio-economic feasibility and value chain risks
VITO combines different types of analysis to assess socio-economic feasibility and potential risks across the value chain:
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Techno-economic analysis (TEA) or societal life cycle costing: cost drivers, process assumptions and scale-up potential; sensitivity to technical and economic parameters such as raw material and energy use and prices; and comparison with existing alternatives
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Social life cycle assessment (S-LCA): social risks and benefits across the value chain, including supply chain mapping
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Criticality and supply risks: risks related to the availability and supply of raw materials across the value chain
Technical performance
VITO tests materials, coatings, composites, additives and formulations for properties relevant to their intended application, including:
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Mechanical, thermal and chemical properties
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Durability and resistance
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Processability
From assessment to development and scale-up
VITO not only assesses chemicals and materials, but can also develop, test and scale up new alternatives. Its expertise includes biobased chemicals and materials, plastic recycling and circular polymer design.
Biobased chemicals and materials
VITO converts renewable feedstocks and industrial biobased side streams into functional chemicals and materials. Its expertise includes:
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Feedstock characterisation
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Dissolution, depolymerisation, fractionation and chemical modification
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Development of polymers, resins and additives
Infrastructure such as PILLAR II, LignoValue, biorefinery toolbox, bioreactors and fermentors enables processes to be scaled up from the laboratory to representative pilot scale.
Plastic recycling and circular polymer design
For complex plastic waste, VITO develops and assesses physical and chemical recycling technologies, including:
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Solvent-based dissolution of plastics
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Selective separation of material streams
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Catalytic depolymerisation
VITO also develops polymers, additives and thermosets with recyclability considered from the design stage. This enables high-quality materials to be recovered and reduces the need for virgin fossil-based resources.
Contact us
Working on new chemicals or materials, redesign or substitution and looking to integrate safety and sustainability from the outset? Discuss your project with our experts.
