Create safer, sustainable products with 'Safe and Sustainable by Design' (SSbD). Cut harmful substances from design. Start applying the SSbD framework now. Find out how ARCHE Consulting and Ecomatters can help you reach your sustainability goals with SSbD.
Safe and Sustainability by Design
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Future-proof product development with Safe and Sustainable by Design
Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) is a forward-thinking design framework that supports companies in reducing harmful substances from the earliest stages of product development. By embedding safety, sustainability, and life cycle thinking into innovation, SSbD helps future-proof products and reduce environmental and human health risks associated with materials and chemicals.
This structured yet flexible methodology ensures smarter decisions during the design process and aligns with EU regulatory initiatives, circular economy principles, and corporate sustainability goals.
How the SSbD framework works
SSbD is typically integrated into the stage-gated product development cycle, supporting innovation in two interconnected phases:
Innovation and (re)design phase
This phase applies principles from green chemistry, green engineering, and circular design. It emphasises:
Material efficiency
Avoidance of harmful substances, emissions, and exposures
Early consideration of product end-of-life options
Sustainable sourcing and production
Stepwise assessment phase
Each step supports a comprehensive evaluation of health, safety, and environmental impacts:
Step 1: Identify intrinsic hazards
Assess substances for (eco)toxicity, persistency, bioaccumulation and other hazard properties using available toxicity and ecotoxicity data or making use of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs).Step 2: Assess human health and safety during production and processing
Evaluate exposure potential and mitigation measures for occupational exposure in industrial settings.Step 3: Evaluate human and environmental aspects in the use-phase
Consider human health and environmental exposure during product use, including emissions and unintended releases.Step 4: Analyse environmental impacts across the life cycle
Perform a life cycle assessment (LCA) from raw material extraction to end-of-life to quantify overall sustainability performance.Step 5 (optional): Socio-economic impacts screening
Assess socio-economic impacts across the life cycle, use life cycle costing to quantify the environmental costs, and screen for dependence on critical raw materials.
Our expertise in SSbD implementation
The SSbD approach is flexible and scalable, making it suitable across a wide range of industries. It can be seamlessly integrated into your existing development processes and adapted to sector-specific requirements. In early stages of product development, a simplified SSbD screening focused on available or predicted information for key endpoints, may provide invaluable insights.
In collaboration with our partner Ecomatters, we offer practical, science-based support to help organisations apply the SSbD framework effectively.
Whether you’re working on a single product, an entire portfolio, or a strategic innovation roadmap, we support you with our expertise in chemical risk assessment and LCA to reach your specific goals.
Ready to apply SSbD?
Looking to embed SSbD into your product development or innovation strategy?
Contact our experts to explore how we can support your goals.
This framework was developed and is supported by the European Commission.
Interested in collaborating?
Check out the Horizon Europe 2026 + 2027 proposals focussing on SSbD and Chemical Risk Assessment, and find out how we can support your project proposal.
Contact our experts:
Sabine Navis
Senior Project Scientist
IBERA Diplomate
sabine.navis@arche-consulting.be
+32 16 28 49 05
Lígia da Silva Lima
Senior Project Scientist
LCA Specialist
ligia.lima@arche-consulting.be
+32 9 269 70 65