Greening Chemistry

Why is Green Chemistry so important?

Green Chemistry is an innovative scientific movement aimed at replacing toxic chemicals with safe materials. It provides an overarching set of principles for chemists and others to develop products, processes and services that curb pollution, waste, and energy consumption.

Although Green Chemistry has been around for over a decade, as fuel prices rise, it is generating more interest from industries in search of sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products and work processes that use a lot of energy.

Green Chemistry was officially launched in 1998, when the Green Chemistry Institute of the American Chemical Society published the “Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry.” These principles outline methods for designing energy-efficient processes for creating non-polluting products.

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not have exact data, it estimates that industries that participated in the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge have saved millions of dollars in resources, waste and cleanup expenses. These companies have also eliminated what is estimated to be billions of pounds of toxic waste and saved billions of gallons of water each year, while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gases.

Although Green Chemistry is now widely heralded as essential both for public health and business competitiveness, academic institutions and businesses still have not widely adopted these practices.

For more information on Green Chemistry:

Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health
MNCEH is a collaboration of individuals and organizations, including the Ecology Center, which works together on commonly identified policy priorities to protect children's health in Michigan. The information above is from the MNCEH website.

Green Chemistry Institute
The Green Chemistry Institute is a project of the American Chemical Society.

The EPA's Green Chemistry site
This EPA site provides basic information about Green Chemistry.

Proposed federal Green Chemistry legislation
H.R. 1215 has been passed by the House of Representatives and has been indroducted by the Senate as S. 1270. Both bills propose to implement a Green Chemistry Research and Development program.

Green Chemistry and Consumer Network:
Check out this website for some excellent resources and newsletters on how Green Chemistry is being used in the manufacture of safer products.

California Green Chemistry Report:
California should take the lead in establishing a comprehensive policy for chemical production and use or face a growing set of health and environmental problems and risk being left behind by the global economy, according to a new paper. The paper was commissioned by the Cal. Senate Environmental Quality Committee and the Cal. Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. The focus of that report is on the need for Green Chemistry to ensure California's continued economic competitiveness. An announcement about the report is available here.