From 17–21 May 2026, the city of Maastricht (The Netherlands) hosted the annual meeting of SETAC Europe, one of the leading international scientific forums dedicated to environmental sciences, sustainability assessment and environmental management.
Founded in 1979, the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) promotes interdisciplinary collaboration among academia, industry and governmental institutions to advance environmental quality through science. Through its annual meetings, SETAC brings together researchers and professionals from around the world to share cutting-edge scientific developments related to environmental assessment, toxicology, chemistry, risk assessment and sustainability.
Within the conference programme, a specific thematic track was dedicated to “Life Cycle Assessment and Footprinting”, covering a broad range of topics related to environmental sustainability assessment methodologies and applications. Among these sessions, particular attention was given to the role of LCA in food systems, agriculture and the bioeconomy through the session “Embracing outliers within the emerging nexus of agriculture, food systems, and the bioeconomy”.
In this context, the SMART4SEA project was presented through the poster entitled “Towards a Transparent and Sustainable Atlantic Fisheries Sector: The SMART4SEA Approach”. The poster introduced the project objectives, methodology and expected results, highlighting SMART4SEA’s ambition to improve environmental traceability, transparency and sustainability across Atlantic seafood value chains through the integration of digital technologies, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and stakeholder engagement.
The participation in SETAC Europe 2026 provided an excellent opportunity to disseminate SMART4SEA among the international LCA and sustainability assessment community, while reinforcing links between environmental footprinting methodologies and the current challenges faced by the Atlantic seafood sector.
