RSC sustainability最新文献

{"title":"Ultrasonic decoating of solid oxide cell particles for raw material recycling","authors":"Carlo Kaiser and Urs Alexander Peuker","doi":"10.1039/D6SU00025H","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D6SU00025H","url":null,"abstract":"<p >With the expansion of hydrogen production capacities, solid oxide cells (SOCs) are becoming increasingly important. SOCs are multi-layer components which contain high concentrations of critical raw materials, including rare earth elements, making recycling crucial. Most published recycling approaches to date involve either manual labor or hydrometallurgical processes where harmful residues are produced. Ultrasonic decoating is a novel method that avoids these problems. A previous study showed that with ultrasonic decoating the perovskite layers on the air side of the SOCs can be selectively separated. However, this approach can be challenging due to the orientation dependence of the ultrasonic stress on the cells in combination with their mechanical fragility. To overcome this, this study investigates the ultrasonic decoating of SOC particles instead of whole cells. For this purpose, two cells with varying air sides are mechanically crushed and sieved, whereby the crushing behavior is investigated. The coarse particles are subsequently subjected to ultrasonic stress. Overall, the perovskites are selectively comminuted, enabling an initial concentrate to be obtained by crushing alone. Subsequent ultrasonic decoating improves the purity of both products, thereby increasing the recovery of the perovskites from the examined cells to 85% and 98%, respectively.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 5","pages":" 2277-2287"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/su/d6su00025h?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147924041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Green synthesis of EuCN S-scheme photocatalysts via Centella asiatica extract for enhanced MB photodegradation and H2O2 photoproduction: DFT investigation and mechanistic insights","authors":"Tran Dang Khoa, Nguyen Phi Hao, Le Thanh Hoang Duc, Pham Duc Nghi, Nguyen Hung Vu, Dang Thanh Cong Minh, Tran Nguyen Cam Nhung, Nguyen Minh Phi, Tran Thi Thu Hanh, Nguyen Minh Hung and Nguyen Huu Hieu","doi":"10.1039/D6SU00035E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D6SU00035E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Driven by the growing demand for sustainable solutions in environmental remediation and solar energy conversion, a green synthetic strategy was employed to prepare europium oxide (Eu<small>₂</small>O<small>₃</small>) using <em>Centella asiatica</em> extract, followed by integration with graphitic carbon nitride (CN) to fabricate EuCN composite photocatalysts. Characterization techniques including FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, EDX, UV-DRS, BET, TEM, SAED, and XPS confirmed the structure and properties. Optical and electrochemical features were further evaluated using PL, Mott–Schottky, <em>I</em>–<em>t</em>, and EIS analyses. The composition of the extract was confirmed by HPLC. The as-prepared EuCN composites demonstrated remarkable photocatalytic performance, achieving 93.82% degradation of methylene blue and 233.73 µM hydrogen peroxide generation under visible light irradiation. The effects of key operational parameters, including catalyst dosage, pH, and pollutant concentration, were examined to optimize the photocatalytic response. Mechanistic analysis combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that the enhanced photocatalytic activity is governed by an S-scheme charge-transfer pathway, supported by work function alignment and interfacial electronic structure regulation. The redox cycling between Eu<small>³⁺</small> and Eu<small>²⁺</small> associated with 4f orbital characteristics further contributes to charge separation and preservation of strong redox potentials. These results demonstrate the potential of EuCN composites for multifunctional applications in environmental purification and solar-to-chemical energy conversion.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 4","pages":" 1912-1932"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/su/d6su00035e?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"AI-based development of a portfolio of indicators for assessing environmental, social and economic impacts and technological functionality of chemicals and materials","authors":"Lisa Pizzol, Gloria Fortin, Arianna Livieri, Fabio Rosada, Sarah Devecchi, Elena Semenzin and Danail Hristozov","doi":"10.1039/D5SU00883B","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SU00883B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The European Commission's (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework (JRC-SSbD framework) has highlighted the importance of assessing safety and sustainability as early as possible in the innovation process and in a pragmatic way. This has created the need to operationalise the framework with cost-effective methods and tools for simplified sustainability assessment. The development of such approaches is not a straightforward task: it requires integration of diverse technical indicators for life cycle assessment of environmental, social and economic impacts. Despite intensive ongoing work in EU research and innovation projects, a comprehensive inventory of such indicators is not yet available. To address this gap, our study employed an AI (Artificial Intelligence)-driven knowledge extraction process to compile an extensive portfolio of 986 environmental, social, economic and functionality indicators grouped in 103 categories relevant for both chemicals and materials. The AI output required substantial human expert intervention, as the categorisation process proved inaccurate across several indicators. In addition, an approach for statistical data analysis was developed and applied to prioritise which indicators should be considered first in simplified sustainability assessments. We expect that this work will have important contribution towards the operationalisation of the JRC-SSbD framework and can help companies to anticipate which information they need to collect to assess the sustainability and functionality of their products, already in the early stages of product development. This can reduce the overall Research and Development and Innovation (R&amp;D&amp;I) costs of the European industries and increase their competitiveness in the transition to a greener economy.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 4","pages":" 1717-1730"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/su/d5su00883b?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alkaline mineral residues from pulp mills as a sustainable and economical alternative to lime fertilizers","authors":"Ethan Woods, Andrew Trlica, Perry Berlin, Sean Bloszies, Alex Woodley, Rachel Cook and William Joe Sagues","doi":"10.1039/D5SU00814J","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SU00814J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Lime is typically comprised of calcium carbonate (CaCO<small>₃</small>) or calcium magnesium carbonate (CaMg(CO<small>₃</small>)<small>₂</small>) and is needed to maintain a proper pH in agriculture and forestry soils, but it represents a major cost to growers and results in significant greenhouse gas emissions due to the mining, crushing, and transport required. There is a need to identify existing sources of alkaline mineral wastes and assess their potential as sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to lime. Dregs and grits (DGs) are highly alkaline mineral residues from biomass pulp mills that form during the recovery of pulping chemicals and are mostly comprised of CaCO<small>₃</small>. For the first time, we assess the efficacy of industrially sourced DGs on 22 acidic soils across the Southeastern United States that are currently used in either agriculture or forestry operations. The application of DGs was found on average to result in the same soil pH response as calcite over multiple soil incubations (0 day to 120 days). An analysis of the carbon content of the soils after the incubation revealed that soils incubated with DGs experienced a statistically significant increase in soil carbon relative to control soils and those incubated with CaCO<small>₃</small>. The generation and application of DGs emits 0.35 tonnes of CO<small>₂</small> for every tonne of DGs, which compares favorably to the 0.86 tonnes of CO<small>₂</small> for every tonne of agricultural lime generated and $85 per tonne lime reported in the literature. DGs prove to be a sustainable and economical substitute for agricultural lime in the acidic soils of the Southeastern United States.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 5","pages":" 2308-2320"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/su/d5su00814j?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147924043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Emerging and persistent challenges of transitioning to solid-state electrolytes for hydrogen production from water splitting","authors":"Adrian P. Dowling, Ioana M. Popa, Yagya N. Regmi and Leila Negahdar","doi":"10.1039/D5SU00689A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SU00689A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >One of the biggest challenges we are faced with in the 21st century is closing the anthropogenic carbon cycle and shifting away from a fossil-fuel dependent society. Hydrogen, one of the alternative fuels, is seeing unprecedented investment and deployment. However, obtaining cost competitive green hydrogen at industrial scale remains a challenge. Optimizing water electrolysis is, in this context, an increasingly important research area. Currently, a major portion of electrolytic green hydrogen is generated by aqueous alkaline electrolytes, but their limitation to relatively low current densities, low operating pressures and the corrosion of metallic components over prolonged use, as well as other fluctuating parameters, raise the price of hydrogen to an uncompetitive level. Water electrolysers using solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) have been gaining more interest in recent years in an attempt to accelerate cost competitive electrolytic green hydrogen production at scale. Despite many advantages, SSE-based electrolysers are still facing limitations such as sub-optimal ionic conductivity, inefficient electrode/electrolyte interface and short operating lifetimes. In this review, we aim to offer an overview of both the current state-of-the-art SSE technologies, as well as the most recent material designs addressing these limitations. We outline advancements made in the field of electrolysis technologies which we believe could serve as inspiration for the further improvement of SSEs in water electrolysis. Lastly, we summarize the remaining open questions and emerging trends, hoping that further research will use the improvements made in various fields to improve the efficiency of SSEs in water electrolysis.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 5","pages":" 2078-2098"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/su/d5su00689a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147923986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Green synthesis of a water-stable thiol-decorated Zr-MOF for selective heavy metal removal","authors":"Hager G. Abdel-Mohey, Worood A. El-Mehalmey, Mohamed A. Seleem, Abdelrahman S. Mayhoub, Hany I. Mohmed, Wagdy I. El-Dougdoug, Ahmad Baraka and Mohamed H. Alkordi","doi":"10.1039/D5SU00859J","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SU00859J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >A green, water-based synthesis of thiol-decorated, Zr-carboxylate metal–organic framework is reported. A mixture of capping and bridging, thiol containing, organic linker approach utilizing mercaptoacetic acid (MA) and mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA) resulted in an open Zr-based MOF with thiol-decorated cages (Zr-MSA-MA MOF). Tailoring the nanospace within the micropores of water-synthesized and water-stable MSA-MOF led to several desirable attributes including: (i) chemical stability in aqueous media due to strong –CO<small>₂</small>–Zr(<small>IV</small>) linkage, (ii) tight pore system leading to optimized electronic interactions with guest ions, and (iii) thiol-functionalized cages that affect selective capture of soft metal ions. The Zr-MSA-MA MOF demonstrated exceptionally high capacity for Cd (370.4 (±35.5) mg g<small>⁻¹</small>, 3.29 mmol g<small>⁻¹</small>) and Pb (500 (±16.8) mg g<small>⁻¹</small>, 2.41 mmol g<small>⁻¹</small>). It also exhibited remarkable stability indicated by its ability to regenerate and reuse the MSA-MOF for 10 consecutive cycles with nearly 95% retention of initial activity towards heavy metal removal. Moreover, the thiol-decorated MOF demonstrated high selectivity for Pb and Cd in the presence of competing Cu, Zn, Ni, Mn, Fe, and Co ions. These findings highlight the potential of Zr-MSA-MA MOF as a highly efficient, selective, and regenerable sorbent for heavy metal remediation.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 5","pages":" 2264-2276"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/su/d5su00859j?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147924040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Constructing a covalently Si–O–C bonded diatomite-derived SiO2@C anode for high-capacity lithium-ion batteries","authors":"Qiaofu Zheng, Licheng Wei, Lifeng Zhou, Guannan Peng, Dalei Sun and Yimin Chao","doi":"10.1039/D6SU00026F","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D6SU00026F","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Silica-based materials, serving as one type of prospective electrode for advanced high-energy density LIBs (lithium-ion batteries), are encountering critical obstacles in commercialization, including inherently poor conductivity, volume expansion and particle pulverization. Herein, a ball-milled diatomite combined with glucose-derived carbon (DTm@GC) has been synthesized as an anode for LIBs by constructing a dense carbon network on the diatomite-derived SiO<small>₂</small> through Si–O–C covalent bonding. The strong and dense Si–O–C covalent bond between the carbon network and diatomite accelerates migration of Li<small>⁺</small> and alleviates volume variation during lithiation/de-lithiation. The results show that the DTm@GC anode delivers a superior discharge specific capacity of 781 mA h g<small>⁻¹</small> after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g<small>⁻¹</small>, along with approximately 100% capacity retention. Furthermore, the synthesized anode can maintain a stable specific capacity of 613.79 mA h g<small>⁻¹</small> after 200 cycles at 0.5 A g<small>⁻¹</small>, and 456.68 mA h g<small>⁻¹</small> over 1000 consecutive cycles at 1 A g<small>⁻¹</small>. The outstanding electrochemical performance of DTm@GC with a strong covalent Si–O–C bond provides a valuable avenue for fabricating low-cost, high-performance SiO<small>₂</small>-based anodes for high-capacity LIBs.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 4","pages":" 1975-1985"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/su/d6su00026f?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A case study in green chemistry higher education and sustainable innovation in Colombia","authors":"Claudia Herrera-Herrera, Beatriz Ferreira-Tilano and Fabio Fuentes-Gandara","doi":"10.1039/D5SU00965K","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SU00965K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Green chemistry has emerged as a key driver of sustainable innovation by redesigning chemical products and processes to reduce environmental and human health impacts while supporting economic development. Education plays a central role in enabling this transition by equipping future professionals with system thinking, problem-solving skills, and sustainability-oriented competencies aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In Latin America, however, the implementation of green chemistry remains uneven, with research largely concentrated in a few countries and predominantly focused on technical outcomes, while integrated educational and institutional approaches remain scarce. This article presents a longitudinal, qualitative case study documenting the systematic integration of green chemistry into higher education at the Universidad de la Costa in Colombia from 2015 to 2025. The study examines an educational model linking the problem-based pedagogical strategy in undergraduate chemistry laboratories with a green chemistry research seedbed composed of teachers and environmental engineering students conducting applied research to address local environmental challenges. Data were collected from institutional records, student projects, academic outputs, innovation outcomes, and participation in scientific and policy-oriented activities. The results show that approximately 4000 engineering students from the Department of Civil and Environmental were exposed to green chemistry concept through basic chemistry courses offered by the Department of Natural and Exact Sciences. Approximately 200 of these students engaged more deeply through seedbed research. This process generated measurable educational and innovative outcomes, including applied research projects, meritorious recognitions, a national patent, peer-reviewed publications, and direct contributions to regional sustainability initiatives such as decarbonization programs. The initiative also fostered institutional transformation through the revision of laboratory practices, alignment with international organizations such as Beyond Benign, and strengthened links between education, policy, and practice. From a Latin American perspective, this case illustrates how context-specific, university-based initiatives can contribute to global sustainability agendas by promoting quality education (SDG 4), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), clean water solutions (SDG 6), sustainable innovation (SDG 9), and multi-stakeholder partnerships (SDG 17). The findings highlight green chemistry education as a scalable, policy-relevant pathway for empowering higher education institutions in the Global South to act as catalysts for sustainable development.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 5","pages":" 2134-2146"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/su/d5su00965k?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147923990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The plastics problem: a qualitative life cycle analysis case study for green and sustainable chemistry education","authors":"Hunter McFall-Boegeman, Mengqi Zhang, Melanie M. Cooper and Elizabeth L. Day","doi":"10.1039/D6SU00001K","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D6SU00001K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >In academic and industrial chemistry societies, long-standing professional interests in sustainability education are joined by emergent efforts to incorporate green chemistry, such as those outlined by professional societies' guidelines for degree programs. The new benchmarks indicate minimum expectations as a motivator for departments, educators, and curriculum designers to increase students' participation in the skillsets that comprise green and sustainable practices in chemistry. The road to meeting the challenge of education for sustainable development will be eased by examples of how to actively engage post-secondary students at various scales of instruction in the types of performances that underpin green chemistry and sustainability. This article outlines a multi-week case study from a large-enrollment organic chemistry laboratory course at a large midwestern research intensive university in the United States. In small groups, students are expected to engage in various scientific and engineering practices to (1) construct explanations of the chemistry of polymerization, (2) identify problems with respect to different shareholders, and (3) evaluate different solutions at different points in the life cycle as a “qualitative” life cycle analysis. Embedded in this evaluation are several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to guide the analysis. This approach culminates in students using their evidence-based argument to make a decision and propose specific legislation.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 5","pages":" 2147-2155"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/su/d6su00001k?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147923991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Industrial operationalisation of safe-and-sustainable-by-design from business case to launch","authors":"Ayse Ay, Roberto Chinchilla, Tobias Moss, Joséphine Munsch, Catherine Colin, Carla Caldeira, Pierre-Emmanuel Dufils, Timo Melchin, Eva Hahn and Wendel Wohlleben","doi":"10.1039/D5SU00666J","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SU00666J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The chemical industry stands at a pivotal crossroads in the global transition towards sustainability. While chemical industry creates essential innovations, it has high environmental impact, and must reimagine its operations, products, and value chains to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving regulatory and societal landscape. The safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) framework, especially in its latest revision, nudges chemical industry towards the embedding of sustainability and safety in innovation processes and facilitate having bridges between safety and sustainability experts. The SSbD approach supports the deployment of EU policies such as the Competitive Compass, The Green Deal and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. While JRC has coined the term “SSbD framework”, the underlying principles are not new—the framework adds more rigor to practices that industry has long implemented through PSA and other risk-based methodologies. Yet, translating these principles into consistent practice across the sector remains a challenge. The practical implementation of SSbD principles remains uneven, with significant variation in how companies cover and operationalise SSbD principles. Here, we compare industrial practices across the chemical sector, including specialty chemicals, consumer products, and materials manufacturing, focusing on their internal guidelines and reporting structures to assess how SSbD approach is integrated, aligned with, or differs from these practices. These industrial practices offer valuable lessons in integrating sustainability into business strategy, managing trade-offs, and aligning current or future market and regulatory expectations. At the same time, we identify key gaps in existing SSbD approach, including the inconclusive integration of social dimensions, and a lack of practical tools for early-stage decision-making. We argue that a highly iterative, industry-informed SSbD guidance—grounded in real-world constraints and opportunities—is essential to accelerate adoption and impact of the revised SSbD framework. By bridging policy ambition and industrial reality, this article contributes to the ongoing developments in SSbD implementation in research and development processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 4","pages":" 1792-1807"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/su/d5su00666j?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}