  The sustainable development of next-generation device technology is paramount
in the face of climate change and the looming energy crisis. Tremendous efforts
have been made in the discovery and design of nanomaterials that achieve
device-level sustainability, where high performance and low operational energy
cost are prioritized. However, many of such materials are composed of elements
that are under threat of depletion and pose elevated risks to the environment.
The role of material-level sustainability in computational screening efforts
remains an open question thus far. Here we develop a general van der Waals
materials screening framework imbued with sustainability-motivated search
criteria. Using ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) materials as a backdrop -- an emerging
materials class with great prospects in dielectric, power electronics, and
ultraviolet device applications, we demonstrate how this screening framework
results in 25 sustainable UWBG layered materials comprising only of low-risks
elements. Our findings constitute a critical first-step towards reinventing a
more sustainable electronics landscape beyond silicon, with the framework
established in this work serving as a harbinger of sustainable 2D materials
discovery.
