Our Co-Founder and Executive Director Dr. Amy Cannon has been invited by the North Carolina State University for a Seminar to the Chemistry Department on January 27th @ 3:40 PM (EST). The title of her talk will be Green chemistry education: An upstream approach to addressing sustainable development goals. This event is open to the public and more information can be found here.

If you are interested in having a member of the Beyond Benign team present about Green Chemistry to your chemistry institution, feel free to reach out to us at info@beyondbenign.org.

Abstract:

The field of chemistry, providing the molecular building blocks of materials and products used throughout society, has a critical and foundational role in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals outlined by the United Nations. Green chemistry provides chemists with principles and a framework to design chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate hazards and impacts. Chemists, with green chemistry skills, have made significant positive impacts on society through the design of sustainable chemistry technologies. For example, the use of biobased solvents can result in a 97% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in an industrial setting, while break-through green chemistry technologies can reduce the inherent Global Warming Potential of a chemical products, enabling chemists to take the urgent action needed to address climate change (U.N. SDG #13). Unfortunately, our current global education systems do not properly prepare most scientists to select and design sustainable chemicals, processes, materials and products. Green chemistry education addresses sustainability at the earliest stages of the value chain, maximizing impacts. Undergraduate and graduate level training is an essential stage in the training of scientists and professionals that are prepared with the skills to address hazards and mitigate impacts at the design stage of a product lifecycle.