The European Commission continues to advance one of the concepts set to transform the way products, materials and technologies are developed in Europe: Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD).
This approach, promoted under the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability within the European Green Deal, aims to integrate criteria for human health safety, environmental protection and sustainability across the entire life cycle of products from the earliest stages of innovation.
In this context, on 6 March 2026, the European Commission adopted the Revised Commission Recommendation on SSbD, the policy instrument that officially endorses the revised technical framework published by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in December 2025. This milestone concludes a revision process launched after two years of application of the original 2022 framework and incorporates experience gathered from pilot projects, stakeholder consultations and methodological work carried out during this period.
In addition, the second version of the Methodological Guidance is expected to be published in April 2026, providing updated practical guidance for researchers, companies and innovators.
The objective is clear: to move towards an innovation model that not only delivers cutting-edge technological solutions, but does so by anticipating risks to human health, the environment and society throughout the entire product life cycle.
From political concept to methodological tool
The SSbD approach was created with a clear ambition: to anticipate risks and minimise impacts before products reach the market. Instead of evaluating safety or sustainability once a technology has already been developed, the aim is to integrate these considerations from the design phase.
The revised framework maintains the iterative and adaptable structure that characterised the original version, but introduces significant changes in its architecture. The former safety assessment steps (Steps 1–3) are now integrated into a single life-cycle safety assessment, covering both the intrinsic hazards of materials and the risks associated with their production, use and end-of-life.
Environmental sustainability assessment, based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies, remains a central pillar of the framework.
One of the most relevant developments in the revised framework is the greater structural importance of the socio-economic dimension, which in the 2022 version was considered an optional step. In the 2025 revision, social and economic aspects — including tools such as Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) — are more systematically integrated into the evaluation process. This reflects the recognition that the safety and technical sustainability of an innovation cannot be separated from its social and economic viability.
The methodology is designed to be applied progressively and flexibly, allowing researchers and companies to integrate these dimensions as the development of a technology progresses and more scientific information becomes available.
A key approach for European innovation
The SSbD framework is becoming a central element of the European strategy to promote advanced materials, sustainable chemistry and the green industrial transition.
Its application is not mandatory, but it is increasingly considered a strategic tool for guiding innovation towards solutions that are safe and sustainable from the outset.
In practice, this means rethinking how new technologies are developed:
- integrating sustainability criteria from the earliest research stages,
- considering the entire life cycle of materials and products,
- and fostering collaboration between scientific disciplines, regulators and industry.
In many Horizon Europe calls, particularly in areas related to advanced materials, sustainable chemistry and the bioeconomy, the SSbD approach is gaining importance as a framework to demonstrate the impact and sustainability of technological solutions.
Next steps: towards a new methodological version
The SSbD framework continues to evolve. Following the publication of the revised technical framework in December 2025 and the adoption of the Revised Commission Recommendation on 6 March 2026, the next milestone will be the publication of Methodological Guidance Version 2, expected in April 2026.
This new version will update and expand the existing methodological guidance, improving its applicability across different sectors and innovation contexts by strengthening aspects such as:
- the definition of operational assessment criteria,
- the integration of safety, sustainability and circularity,
- and the application of the approach across different industrial sectors.
A paradigm shift in European innovation
Beyond its technical dimension, the concept of Safe and Sustainable by Design reflects a profound shift in European innovation policy: moving from managing risks after the fact to designing technologies that are safe and sustainable from the outset.
For researchers, companies and consortia participating in European projects, understanding this approach will become increasingly relevant. Not only because it responds to regulatory and environmental objectives, but also because it defines the type of innovation Europe aims to promote in the coming years.
Integrating the social dimension into SSbD
Although much of the debate around Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) has traditionally focused on technical and environmental aspects, it is becoming increasingly clear that social and economic dimensions are essential for innovation to translate into real societal impact.
Factors such as social acceptance, effects on employment and value chains, equity, and the public perception of new technologies can determine the success or failure of a technological solution.
In this context, tools such as Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) are gaining importance within the SSbD framework, as they allow the evaluation of social impacts throughout the entire life cycle of products and emerging technologies.
To further develop this dimension, Kveloce organised the international workshop “Social LCA within the SSbD framework”, bringing together European experts to discuss how social aspects can be more effectively integrated into the Safe and Sustainable by Design approach.
The conclusions of this meeting are presented in the report “Social LCA within the SSbD Workshop Summary Report”, published on Zenodo. The report identifies key methodological challenges and opportunities for strengthening the social dimension within SSbD.
Among the recommendations are:
- improving integration between environmental, social and economic assessments,
- developing social indicators applicable in early research and innovation stages,
- and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration between scientists, technologists and social science experts.
The Safe and Sustainable by Design approach is also a strategic R&D line of work for Kveloce, which participates in several European projects focused on developing methodologies and tools to integrate safety, sustainability and social acceptance criteria into the design of new technologies.
In this context, the publication of the JRC methodological guidance represents an important step towards consolidating SSbD as a reference framework for responsible innovation in Europe. Initiatives such as the international workshop organised by Kveloce on Social LCA within the SSbD framework also highlight the growing importance of structurally incorporating the social dimension into technology design.
Because in a context where Europe is committed to responsible innovation, integrating safety, sustainability and social acceptance from the very beginning is not just a methodological issue: it is a condition for ensuring that the technologies of the future generate real value for society.
