Recent works have highlighted the interconnected impacts of stratospheric ozone depletion, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and climate change on various sectors, including water quality, agriculture,... Show moreRecent works have highlighted the interconnected impacts of stratospheric ozone depletion, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and climate change on various sectors, including water quality, agriculture, human health, and biodiversity. Increased UV-B exposure has diverse environmental impacts, including potential benefits like enhanced plant resistance and reduced vitamin D deficiency. However, the quantification of these effects remains incomplete. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) serves to quantify the environmental impacts of product systems. This article revisits challenges related to ozone depletion in LCA by reviewing 15 Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods. It is shown that the currently available LCA ozone depletion practices are outdated. The combined effects of outdated background databases and incomplete impact assessment methods must be further investigated. Collaboration with atmospheric scientists and expansion of substances covered by characterization models are required. The study emphasizes the need to address interlinkages between impact categories and recommends climate scenario-dependent characterization for robust decision-making in an uncertain world. Show less
The European Green Deal policy ambitions set out in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Zero Pollution Action Plan identify the transition to a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD)... Show moreThe European Green Deal policy ambitions set out in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Zero Pollution Action Plan identify the transition to a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach to chemicals and materials. The H2020 SUNSHINE project has developed an approach to operationalize SSbD, specifically addressing multi-component nanomaterials (MCNMs), and applied it to two case studies. This approach enables assessment of safety and sustainability aspects at each stage of product development from a lifecycle perspective. This is achieved via a tiered approach that uses qualitative (Tier 1), semi-quantitative (Tier 2) and quantitative (Tier 3) assessment methods. The present work focuses on the Tier 1 (self-assessment) methodology designed to evaluate the safety, functionality and sustainability in the early R&D stages of the lifecycle of chemicals and materials. This approach was developed to be implementable by industries in a straightforward manner as often there is lack of time and/or expertise to engage in resource-intensive safety and sustainability evaluations. The approach was tested using two real industrial case studies, namely nano-enabled PFAS (Polyfluoroalkyl substances)-free anti-sticking coating for bakery molds, and nano-drops of essential oil anchored to the surface of nano clays and encapsulated in a polymeric film. The results indicate that these innovative materials have a high probability to have better safety, functionality and sustainability performance compared to conventional benchmark materials. Show less
