Strategies to accelerate green chemistry in the chemical industry

Two years ago, the green chemistry and Commerce Council (GC3) established its mission to mainstream green chemistry, at which point all chemistry - including chemical and engineering research, education and policy - was considered "green.".

It set out to answer the following questions:

How can we turn all chemistry into green chemistry?

What are the current barriers and drivers?

What kind of partnership need to be established, what kind of policies should be implemented, what kind of investment should be made to meet the needs of education?

What role should GC3 play?

Ninety percent of the finished products are to some extent related to the chemical industry. However, despite the environmental, public health and economic benefits of green chemistry, it is still a small part of the chemical industry.

To understand why this is happening and how to accelerate green chemistry, GC3 conducted a literature review; surveyed members; collected opinions at the annual innovator Roundtable; and sponsored original published research on barriers to adoption, presenting business cases and possible metrics to measure success. In April 2015, an article by greenbiz described some of the findings of this process.

GC3 recently released its mainstream green chemistry agenda, presenting the rationale for green chemistry, describing barriers and drivers, and identifying the strategies and actions needed to bring green chemistry standards into practice.

The purpose of the agenda is to identify, in the short term:

Scale innovation of green chemistry.

Improve the importance of green chemistry in education and research.

Develop smart policies to support green chemistry markets, research and innovation.

The agenda provides information and direction for all the drivers of green chemistry: business leaders working in their companies and supply chains; educators and researchers training the future workforce; advocates for educating the public about toxic hazards; and decision makers who can create an environment for green chemistry innovation.

Definition of green chemistry

It is designed and used throughout the life cycle; it is designed and used in a chemical way.

Green chemistry is based on traditional chemistry and engineering, and uses 12 basic principles to guide the molecular design of sustainable chemical products and processes. Adherence to these principles can prevent pollution and waste, leading to the synthesis of chemicals in a less hazardous and more efficient manner, promoting the use of renewable raw materials, and leading to the design of safer chemicals.

Green chemistry integrates every element of business, from product design to raw material selection, from manufacturing to finished products, including the way companies manage their businesses and participate in the entire supply chain of their customers.

The practice of green chemistry is mainly at the level of chemical discovery, development and formulation. Product developers, manufacturers, brands and retailers play an important role in the implementation process. They do this by changing design specifications, purchasing materials and products that incorporate green chemistry practices, changing production practices to replace or reduce the use of hazardous chemicals, and developing and implementing policies to limit the chemical products of concern in the products they purchase, manufacture or sell.

Article source: https://article-realm.com/article/Finance/8991-Strategies-to-accelerate-green-chemistry-in-the-chemical-industry.html