Chemicals and materials: release of the Commission recommendation on revising the SSbD framework

A Commission recommendation regarding the revision of the European assessment framework for “safe and sustainable by design” (SSbD) chemicals and materials, for R&I activities in the practice of researchers and innovators, is published in the Official Journal of the EU, on 10/03/2026.

According to the Commission, the SSbD Framework aims to become an European reference for an innovation process in pursuit of the clean industrial transition, in parallel promoting greater Union competitiveness, which should also be promoted at the international level".

The framework :
• "promotes the use of sustainable resources and feedstock ;
• aims to minimise the impact of the production and use of chemicals and materials, throughout their life cycle with respect to the climate, the environment, and their effects on human health ;
• also supports the substitution of substances of concern by finding safer and more sustainable alternatives and should accordingly guide public and private R&I investments".

The recommendation invites the different stakeholders to use the SSbD Framework "in projects funded…