RT Journal Article
T1 A composite indicator for evaluating safety and sustainability by design and circularity in emerging technologies
A1 Arias Calvo, Ana
A1 Cinelli, Marco
A1 Moreira Vilar, María Teresa
A1 Cucurachi, Stefano
K1 Sustainability
K1 Circular economy
K1 Safe and sustainable by design
K1 Composite indicator
K1 Multicriteria assessment
K1 Life Cycle Assessment
AB 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.
PB Elsevier
SN 2352-5509
YR 2024
FD 2024-11
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/38223
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/38223
LA eng
NO Arias, A., Cinelli, M., Moreira, M. T., & Cucurachi, S. (2024). A composite indicator for evaluating safety and sustainability by design and circularity in emerging technologies. Sustainable Production And Consumption, 51, 385-403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2024.09.027
NO This research has been funded by the European Union Project INSIGHT (Integrated Models for the Development and Assessment of High Impact Chemicals and Materials) SSbD (GA101137742). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. A. Arias thanks the Galician Government for financial support (Grant reference ED481B-2023-072). A. Arias and MT Moreira authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC ED431C 2017/29) and to the Cross-disciplinary Research in Environmental Technologies (CRETUS Research Center, ED431C-2021/37)
DS Minerva
RD 27 abr 2026