Towards safe and sustainable innovation in nanotechnology: State -of -play for smart nanomaterials

The European Green Deal, the European Commission?s new Action Plan for a Circular Economy, the new Eu-ropean Industrial Strategy and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability launched in October 2020 are ambitious plans to achieve a sustainable, fair and inclusive European Union?s economy. In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030, these policies require that any new material or product should be not only functional and cost-effective but also safe and sustainable to ensure compliance with regulation and acceptance by consumers. Nanotechnology is one of the technologies that could enable such a green growth. This paper focuses on advanced nanomaterials that actively respond to external stimuli, also known as ?smart nano -materials?, and which are already on the market or in the research and development phase for non-medical applications such as in agriculture, food, food packaging and cosmetics. A review shows that smart nano -materials and enabled products may present new challenges for safety and sustainability assessment due to their complexity and dynamic behaviour. Moreover, existing regulatory frameworks, in particular in the European Union, are probably not fully prepared to address them. What is missing today is a systematic and comprehensive approach that allows for considering sustainability aspects hand in hand with safety considerations very early on at the material design stage. We call on innovators, scientists and authorities to further develop and promote the ?Safe-and Sustainable-by-Design? concept in nanotechnology and propose some initiatives to go into this direction.

Automated summary

The European Green Deal and other related policies aim to promote a sustainable, fair, and inclusive EU economy, requiring new materials and products to be safe and sustainable in addition to being functional and cost-effective. Smart nanomaterials, which actively respond to external stimuli, may bring new challenges in safety and sustainability assessment when applied in agriculture, food, and cosmetics industries.