Finding synergies between circularity and safe-and-sustainable-by-design approaches

Chemical pollution is driving major risks pushing society beyond six of the nine planetary boundaries, including the boundary for novel entities. A circular economy (CE) offers a pathway to counter the harmful "take-make-dispose" model by reducing resource use and waste. In parallel, the safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) framework embeds safety, functionality, and sustainability early in innovation while considering the entire product life cycle. This work explores how Dutch CE policy strategies and the SSbD framework can reinforce each other in creating safe and sustainable chemicals, materials, products, and processes. Four shared strategies illustrate their synergy: (1) narrowing the loop (designing with fewer raw materials), (2) substitution (designing with recycled or renewable materials), (3) slowing the loop (designing for extended lifespan), and (4) closing the loop (designing for end of life). Achieving safe and sustainable chemicals and products requires two parallel transitions: redesigning existing products for safe and sustainable recirculation and applying SSbD principles in the development of new safe, sustainable, and circular solutions.