The US Fusion Program has long recognized that the safety and environmental (S&E) potential of fusion can be attained by prudent materials selection, judicious design choices and integration of safety requirements into the design of the facility. To achieve this goal, S&E research is focused on understanding the behaviour of the largest sources of radioactive and hazardous materials in a fusion facility, understanding how energy sources in a fusion facility could mobilize those materials, developing integrated state-of-the-art S&E computer codes and risk tools for safety assessment and evaluating S&E issues associated with current fusion designs. In this paper, recent accomplishments are reviewed and future directions outlined.