The contribution will introduce the policy background, including the European Green Dealand the EU’s chemicals strategy for sustainability, for thedevelopment of the ‘safe and sustainable by design’ (SSbD) Framework for chemicals and materials by the JRC, which ledto a European Commission Recommendation[1] adopted in December 2022. The presentation will then give an overview of the SSbD Framework’ structure, explain the different steps ofthe framework which encompass both safety and sustainability assessment and provides deeper insights into its scientific and technical background[2]. It will also present some of the challenges encountered in thedefinition of SSbD criteria and evaluation of chemicalsaccording to the SSbD Framework. The presentation will finish with the EC Recommendation and an outlook on the next steps for the implementation and improvement of the SSbD Framework.
[1] Commission Recommendation (EU) 2022/2510 of 8.12.2022 establishing a European assessment framework for ‘safe and sustainable by design’ chemicals and materials, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32022H2510.
[2] Carla Caldeira, Lucian R.Farcal, Irantzu Garmendia Aguirre, Lucia Mancini, Davide Tosches, Antonio Amelio, Kirsten Rasmussen, Hubert Rauscher, Juan Riego Sintes, Serenella Sala, Safe and sustainable by design chemicals and materials: framework for the definition of criteria and evaluation procedure for chemicals and materials, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/487955.
Irantzu Garmendia Aguirre, MSc,is project officer at the European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Centre (JRC). She is an Organic Chemist by training with postgraduates in Occupational Health and Safety, Chemical processes engineering and sustainable development and Toxicology. She has dedicated more than 15 years of her professional experience to the field of regulatory affairs and product stewardship. At the JRC she is the SSbD project responsible in the Technologies for Health Unit.
