Launch of the CEN Workshop BIO-SUSHY

Often referred to as “forever chemicals” per- and polyfluorinated alkyl (PFAS) substances are detrimental to our environment and to our health. They are nevertheless widely used across various industries for products due to their high stability and water and oil-repellent properties. The BIO-SUSHY projects seeks to tackle this reliance on PFAS substances through the creation of alternative coatings. If safe, durable, and innovative solutions can be found, the textile, food packaging and cosmetic industries could be transformed for the better.

The BIO-SUSHY consortium involves 15 partners across Europe who seek to replace PFAS coatings with bio-based alternatives. The Horizon Europe project is in line with the EU’s chemical strategy for sustainability which supports the creation of safer and more durable coatings for products.

Standardization plays a key role in this transformation towards a circular and toxic-free economy. The development of standardization deliverables in this area will facilitate market acceptance across Europe by providing concrete methodologies for the application, performance, and environmental safety of the new coatings.

The proposed CEN Workshop will concentrate on the application of power coatings and the performance of new bio-based functional coatings. It will examine how the innovative surface treatments of the BIO-SUSHY project meet industrial requirements and consumer expectations. There will be a particular focus on developing reliable and reproducible evaluation methods capable of generating comparable results which will be of benefit to a wide range of stakeholders, researchers and testing laboratories.

Three areas will be focused on and will result in three separate CEN Workshop Agreements:

1. Guidelines for the Application of Sustainable Dry Thermoplastic Powder Coatings in Packaging
2. Evaluation of Product-Surface Functional Interaction and Flow in glass containers
3. Assessment of Coating Resilience, Stability, and Putative toxicity through Accelerated Ageing

Taken together, these CWAs will provide a coherent technical framework which encompasses the lifecycle of coated packaging materials. The Workshop will interact with CEN Technical Committees active in the areas of Packaging, Cosmetics, Paints and Plastics, and will develop its deliverables in the context of key European regulations and policies. In this way, this Workshop will deliver essential pre-normative work intended to support future standardization initiatives and aid in Europe’s transition towards safer and more sustainable materials.

The kick-off meeting for the Workshop is planned to take place remotely on 7 September 2026 from 10.00 am. to 12.00 pm. (CEST) (details in agenda document below).

All interested parties are invited to submit comments on the draft Project Plan using the commenting form below, to the Workshop secretary (UNE) Javier Idiago López (fidiago@une.org) by August 12^th, 2026.

For more technical details, please refer to the draft Project Plan, which contains all relevant information. Comments or observations can be submitted via the dedicated commenting form below.

Download the documents:

• Workshop description and draft Project Plan
• Agenda of the kick-off meeting
• Registration form to the kick-off meeting
• Commenting form