Recommendations and Research Gaps to Improve the Function of the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) concept: SETAC – EC Consultation series 2023-24

Background: This document is a summary of key conceptual and practical opportunities to improve the utility, comprehensiveness and validity of Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) assessments, along with the resulting research gaps, which were identified based on the outcomes of a series of online and in-person consultations with the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) scientific community, undertaken in 2023 and 2024. The focus is on further development of SSbD-methods for the chemical sector, expanding on ongoing work in the European Union carried out over the past 2 years. Detailed descriptions of the process and findings underpinning this document can be found in the detailed consultation reports^[1]. Priority research gaps were extracted from the consultations’ results and combined into a limited set of priority considerations and recommendations, seeking to improve the principles and practices of SSbD approaches.