A composite indicator for evaluating safety and sustainability by design and circularity in emerging technologies

Abstract

The application of the Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) framework to emerging technologies (i.e. chemicals, bio-based products and other related materials manufacturing processes) faces significant challenges due to the limited data availability of these processes and because their level of optimization and implementation is less developed compared to traditional production models. However, the transition to the circular economy must be based on safer, more efficient and sustainable production models. In this research article, a robust methodology that accurately assesses the sustainable and circular potential of these processes is developed. This methodology proposes a new composite indicator (CI-SSbDC) based on the European Commission SSbD (EC-SSbD) framework guidelines. CI-SSbDC assesses safety, sustainability and circularity, and can be applied to bio-based and fossil-based products and technologies. The CI-SSbDC indicator ranges from 0.01 to 1, where “0.01” indicates the least promising option and “1” the most promising one. To examine how different levels of compensation influence the composite indicator value, several aggregation methods were used, including additive, geometric and harmonic means. The composite indicator was applied to three production variants for the same product, to demonstrate its effectiveness and potential, including also sensitivity analysis to test the influence of the assumptions made in the methodology. Despite the ongoing development of the EC-SSbD framework, the proposed composite indicator serves as a practical initial approach to put it into practice, integrating the critical circularity pillar essential for the bioeconomy and aligning with waste management strategies and life cycle analysis methodologies. Also, it could serve as a first guide to highlight where to focus efforts on for an effective implementation of SSbD and circularity frameworks.