Community News

Meet the team behind Beyond Benign’s 2023-24 Green Chemistry Connections webinar series: Graduate Student Liaisons Sara Catingan, Jasmine Hong, and Gagan Daliaho. Together, these McGill University Ph.D. students co-organized and led this season of Green Chemistry Connections with the guidance of faculty advisors Oyesolape Akinsipo of Tai Solarin University of Education and Cintia Milagre of São Paulo State University. 

We are proud of this student leadership, which brought together 235 unique attendees from 31 countries over the course of the season for sessions ranging from biobased materials to life cycle assessment to green chemistry in the pharmaceutical industry. Thank you to the student leaders, faculty advisors, speakers, and attendees who made this season possible and are furthering the green chemistry movement!

Sara Catingan’s research focuses on using plasmonic nanomaterials to harness light more efficiently in pharma-relevant photocatalytic reactions. Prior to her graduate studies, Sara completed a 12-month internship at Environment and Climate Change Canada, where she studied the levels of aquatic contaminants in communities across the country.

Gagan Daliaho’s research focus is on investigating and characterizing the formation of velvet worm’s adhesive and mechanically-activated slime and fibers for future bio-inspired designs for novel biodegradable polymer materials. At McGill University, Gagan actively participates in several campus organizations, including the McGill Institute of Advanced Materials (MIAM) student committee, The Chemistry Outreach Group, the Green Chemistry McGill student group, and McGill Scientista. 

Jasmine Hong’s research is centered around plastic waste, with a focus on artificially weathered microplastics and mechanocatalytic plastic recycling as an alternative to traditional chemical recycling. In addition to being a graduate student liaison, Jasmine is an executive member of Green Chemistry McGill, a student group that strives to spread awareness locally and implement actionable changes in line with green chemistry within the chemistry department at McGill.

In this conversation, the graduate student liaisons reflect on the series, its impact on the green chemistry community, and how they hope to continue fostering connections and sharing green chemistry resources. 

Beyond Benign’s monthly Green Chemistry Connections series brings the community together to share resources and network. ​​How have you seen the series contribute to fostering a community of green chemists and toxicologists?

Sara: While all the presentations from our speakers fall under the umbrella of green chemistry, we made a concerted effort to have a different theme for each month’s event. We wanted to highlight how green chemistry and sustainability are widely relevant to different types of people, professions, and fields. Naturally, this has brought together a diverse global community! We have featured a variety of undergraduate researchers, student leaders, professors, educators, government scientists, and industry professionals as speakers. Not only do the speakers share their expertise, but the breakout rooms we host after each presentation allow the speakers and audience to freely connect and exchange information and resources.

Gagan: Beyond Benign’s monthly Green Chemistry Connections series has been key in building a supportive community of green chemists and toxicologists. In the Green Chemistry Connections community, everyone is super supportive and always willing to offer help to others when they can. This year, we have seen many participants come to every event and interact with each other. By having some consistent participants, the community is able to form stronger connections and friendships over the course of the series. The series allows people from around the world to learn from each other’s experiences and work towards integrating more green chemistry into their local community with support from this global community!

Jasmine: Over the last year, it has been so fun to see an international community attend the Green Chemistry Connections events and embrace each and every one of our invited speakers. With the varied topics, we have been able to have been able to highlight excellent work from green chemistry experts in different disciplines from academia, education, and industry, as well as passionate student speakers. During the conversations, the participants are always eager to share their own experiences to help others in similar situations, building up each other with the tools they have. Green Chemistry Connections is a collaborative space, and it has been amazing to see the community grow over the past year. 

How has organizing and leading the 2023-24 Green Chemistry Connections series impacted your green chemistry journey? How has this experience influenced how you learn about or share green chemistry?  

Sara: Organizing this Connections series has really encouraged me to look at green chemistry from different perspectives. As a graduate student, I find that it is very easy to get tunnel vision and only think about green chemistry with respect to my research. By organizing and leading this series, I have truly been able to appreciate the broader scope of green chemistry. Not only have I had the opportunity to discover and reach out to experts in the field with different backgrounds, but I have also been able to start important conversations outside of the chemistry and teaching community. Many of my close friends and loved ones are not scientists, engineers, or educators, so when I mention that I am organizing a green chemistry webinar series, they get curious and start asking me about it. Being able to bring green chemistry outside of chemistry has been an unexpected but incredibly rewarding experience.

Gagan: Organizing and leading the 2024 Green Chemistry Connections series has been beneficial for my green chemistry journey. It has provided me with the opportunity to connect with experts from around the world, exposing me to diverse forms of green chemistry and various initiatives aimed at public engagement and education. Seeking speakers for each monthly event has allowed me to engage with passionate individuals driving initiatives in community outreach, education, and research design for green chemistry. This experience has directly influenced my own research and experiment design, as well as my involvement in community outreach activities and undergraduate teaching lab modules. For outreach, I’ve learned to simplify explanations and tailor them to the audience’s age and education level, drawing inspiration from activities conducted by other institutions. In designing lab modules, I’ve discovered metrics that are easily calculable and useful for evaluating reactions, aiding students in determining the best reactions that adhere with green chemistry. Overall, organizing the series has enabled me to connect with leaders in green chemistry, learn from their approaches to teaching and research, and implement this knowledge to enhance outreach and education at my institution.

Jasmine: Through organizing the Green Chemistry Connections series, I have broadened my network and met many amazing people across disciplines. Organizing the connections has made me think differently about what green chemistry can be. It has given me a lot of inspiration for the work I do with science outreach to share green chemistry more with my local community. The connection in April highlighting the success of ACS Green Chemistry Student Chapter Award Winners inspired me to work more on incorporating green chemistry into my own science outreach. Green chemistry is a topic that can be accessible to audiences of all ages, and learning about how the different community members engage in this has been really inspiring and motivating for me to work harder at my own initiatives. 

Can you share a favorite moment or insight from one of this season’s webinars? Tell us about something that inspired you!

Sara: Our February event was a highlight for me. During the previous months of this Connections series, I met a lot of educators who were eager to incorporate green chemistry into their teaching but were not sure where to start. We were able to address this in our February event, which had the theme “At the Bench: Incorporating Green Chemistry into Lab Modules and Beyond.” We had lab coordinators and professors from different institutions share how they have integrated green chemistry into their undergraduate lab curricula and practices over the years. This was particularly inspiring for me since I never had the opportunity to learn about green chemistry during my own undergraduate studies. In fact, the first time I read the words “green chemistry” was when I was looking for PhD supervisors! It was empowering to see educators learn from each other and be excited about introducing green chemistry to the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Gagan: One memorable moment from this season’s webinars was Prof. Philip Jessop’s discussion on green chemistry teaching and metrics. As someone passionate about teaching green chemistry and public outreach, his insights were very valuable. Jessop was able to break down the complex topic of life cycle assessment (LCA) into a more manageable format for teaching. By doing so, the material would allow students to focus on identifying the least harmful possible options instead of being overwhelmed by doing a proper LCA. This resonated with me because it highlighted the significance of simplifying concepts, even if it means deviating from research standards. Understanding that simplicity fosters better understanding, I’ve adjusted our outreach activities at McGill to ensure clear explanations of green chemistry concepts, helping us be more effective in engaging our community and fostering a deeper appreciation for green chemistry principles.

Jasmine: In April’s session, we had talks from student leaders’ representatives from ACS Green Chemistry Student Chapter Award Winners, and I loved the passion the students had for sharing green chemistry and their commitment to outreach and science communication to benefit their communities. It really inspired me to work more on incorporating the green chemistry outreach that I do in the student group I work with at my school (Green Chem McGill – GCM) to develop new outreach activities.

Aside from that, my favorite moment happened in the first Connections event we formally organized for November 2023. The focus of this event was Life Cycle Assessment and Green Metrics. When we were selecting our themes for the series, I was especially drawn to this topic because I think teaching green metrics and other assessment methods is key to connecting the idea of greenness to real change, but these techniques can be hard to parse if you do not have experience in the field. It was an amazing opportunity to reach out to Prof. Phil Jessop and Dr. Taylor Uekert and to see both of their perspectives on this field and how it can be taught to students. 

Now that the 2023-24 series is complete, how do you hope to continue fostering connections and sharing resources with peers interested in green chemistry and sustainable science?

Sara: Attending conferences and events focused on green chemistry and sustainability is a great way to continue fostering these connections and is something I am always excited about. Our series is called Green Chemistry Connections for a reason, and there are people who I met for the first time during these virtual Connections who I was later able to re-connect with in person at these events. Some events I am looking forward to this year are the University of Toronto Green Chemistry Initiative Symposium in May, the Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference in Atlanta in June, and the Green Chemistry Gordon Research Conference in Spain in late July.

Gagan: To continue fostering connections, I will be sharing and referring to all the resources that have been shared by the speakers throughout the series and referring my peers to them as well. Particularly I will highlight the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC), as it has been a valuable resource for me to design teaching and outreach activities as it offers a wide range of tools and information for both purposes. I’ll also encourage my peers to join the next Connections series, as it’s a great chance for us to keep learning about the new research, teaching, and outreach initiatives and allow us to connect with others passionate about green chemistry and sustainable science while continuing to build this wonderful community!

Jasmine: Moving forward, I hope to continue interacting with the wonderful people I met during the monthly Connections events, both in person and online. I am working to create a stronger local network in my home city, Montreal, to share resources with other students on ways to implement green chemistry and sustainable science at different institutions. Through my work with Beyond Benign, I have been able to connect with the Green Chemistry Initiative at the University of Toronto, and through collaboration with them, I’ve seen how invaluable connecting to others working towards similar goals is in terms of kick-starting change. Making connections between my global and local networks is a key part of my green chemistry journey. It allows for a sharing of resources that makes it easier for everyone to work towards a greener and more sustainable future in chemistry research, education, and outreach. 

How you can get involved:

• Explore the recordings from the 2023-24 Green Chemistry Connections series
• Connect with Sara Catingan, Jasmine Hong, and Gagan Daliaho in the GCTLC to keep up with their work
• Subscribe to Beyond Benign’s newsletter to get the latest green chemistry news and opportunities delivered to your inbox

Left to right: Dr. Loyd Bastin, Anthony Ruggiero, Adrienne Gordy, Ryan Schlosser, and Christina McCullough

“The one thing SURCA does for the students is that they become leaders when they leave here. When they go wherever they go, they become the green chemistry experts in their lab… They have it on their resumes, and so many others don’t. This experience allows them to become green chemistry leaders down the road.” – Dr. Loyd Bastin, Associate Dean of Science and SURCA Co-Organizer at Widener University.

On a cloudy and unseasonably cold afternoon in September 2023, I took a short Uber ride to Widener University, my alma mater, to find it abuzz with undergraduate students dressed in business-casual attire, nervously bustling around rows of posters. Friends and family filtered through, as well as the odd lay student trying to get dinner in the cafeteria– just out of reach on the other side of the crowd. 

It was the day of the SURCA Symposium, the culmination of months of extra-curricular summer research, where students presented and defended their projects to judges, friends, and family. It was the hardest part of the student research journey.

The Summer Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities program is an extra-curricular program offered in the summer semester, where undergraduate students design and execute research projects alongside a chosen faculty advisor. Offering discounted summer housing and stipends to qualifying students, this program is oriented toward individualized professional development. The program culminates in a symposium in mid-September, where students present and defend their projects to judges, friends, and family– with awards distributed for outstanding entries.

It’s no secret that Beyond Benign sees students as critically important members of the green chemistry movement– they are, essentially, why we do the work that we do. Through our higher ed program, our aim is to help foster the transformation from green chemistry students to green chemists.

This is exactly why we get starry-eyed when we hear about young scientists trailblazing research at our signing institutions. As a long-time participant in Widener’s undergraduate research program and a recent hire at Beyond Benign, this was a particularly starry-eyed moment for me. 

A handful of posters in session one caught my eye– they had cute little bright green stickers proclaiming: green chemistry! Widener, whose chemistry department celebrates 10-years in the Green Chemistry Commitment in 2024, boasts a steady presence of green chemistry student research in this otherwise interdisciplinary program.

Curious about the stickers,  I slipped through the crowd to find Angie Corbo and Loyd Bastin, SURCA’s long-time co-organizers between sessions. It was a big symposium, the biggest in the program’s history, with the number of projects soaring upwards of 60. It was slow slipping.

When we regrouped in a nearby empty classroom, Dr. Corbo (Chair of Communications) and Dr. Bastin (Associate Dean of Science) agreed that symposium day was the highlight of their work in the program “as soon as we’re done talking and you hear the chatter– it’s just the happiest moment, it’s so great,” Corbo shares. 

To Bastin, who oversaw Widener’s signing of the green chemistry commitment in 2014, there is something incredible about witnessing students transform through the Summer. This individual growth, Bastin expands, is what makes Widener alumni such powerful green chemistry advocates post-graduation. “Wherever life takes them,” he says, “they become the ‘green chemistry person’ in their lab.” 

While he would humbly disagree, Loyd is the locus of student research and green chemistry at Widener University– and is responsible for successfully bringing the institution into the fold of the GCC in 2014. Regardless of his influence, he would agree that this move was incredibly important for the institution– a university located within an environmental justice community, the City of Chester, Pennsylvania.

In the years since, the SURCA program has seen a near-constant presence of green chemistry projects from year to year. And 2023 was no different. “We have green chemistry projects every single year,” Loyd says, running down a list of  faculty advisors who have supported them. He adds, “we’re all doing different things– and I think that’s what it allows the students to do the most– to apply those green chemistry theories to a real world problem.” Of the students I spoke to, the unanimous consensus was this: independent research had inspired them toward a career, and deep ethical dedication to, green chemistry.

It’s time to face the obvious, yes, I am biased. Several of these students were my good friends from undergrad. That being said, I think you’ll agree that their work in green chemistry and green chemical engineering is impressive, inspiring even.

John Samohod, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Class of 2025 | A Greener Approach to Cinnamate Esters

Tell me about what this experience, and green chemistry, mean to you.

I absolutely am hooked on green chemistry, because I am an environmentalist at heart, and if I can make these drugs that help a lot of people while not harming the environment– that’s just something really close to me morally, and close to my heart. 

So, I want to continue this specific research as well as branch out more in green chemistry via SURCA again– it really provided a step ladder for me to climb. Having all the mentorship, and the peer support at these events, has been super integral for me.

Adrienne Gordy, Chemical Engineering Class of 2024 | Discovery of pH Point of Zero Charge (P2C) of Activated Carbon with Basic and Acidic Solutions

What got you interested in green chemistry engineering? Do you see yourself pursuing a career in the field?

So, originally, I was a civil engineering major… What kicked that off [sic] was Flint Michigan– I heard about that and said I was like, I want to be a civil engineer. I didn’t know anything about activated carbon until I did this experiment, so it’s good to know that… I know how to clean some water! 

Anthony Ruggiero, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Class of 2025 | The greener o-methylation of vanillin

How do you think SURCA has influenced you as a future chemist– in terms of your knowledge of green chemistry?

This research has increased my alertness to where green chemistry can be utilized, or more so what industries it should be implemented in. 

If you’re looking at the medication you are taking to treat your Alzheimer’s, and you realize there’s a chance you could contract cancer from it… now that seems pretty counterintuitive in my opinion.

Christina McCullough, Chemical Engineering Class of 2024 | Conversion of Styrofoam to Activated Carbon– Winner, best in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Do you think you will carry what you learned about green chemistry into your future career?

My daughter actually got me into recycling, she graduated with a degree in environmental science– so I kind of absorbed a lot of her passion. So this study to convert styrofoam to a useable product was fascinating to me, and that we were successful was a bonus.  

Ryan Schlosser, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Class of 2025 | Development of a Greener Synthesis of Dibromide and Epoxide Chalcones

Tell me about what this experience, and green chemistry, mean to you.

I worked with Dr. Bastin, who has headed the Green Chemistry Commitment at Widener and has implemented the green chemistry degree that we offer. SURCA really taught me how I function in a lab, and what things are important to consider. 

You know, we are in a climate crisis and we’re facing a lot of problems in our world, and fixing things with chemistry is one of the best things you can do with this degree. SURCA was an absolutely wonderful experience. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. 

Writing this in May 2024, the program is just kicking off again for the Summer, under new leadership. Dr. Robert Mishur (Assistant Professor of Chemistry) and Dr. Mike Corcoran (Assistant Professor of Psychology). After ten years of co-organizing the program, Angie and Loyd are handing off the baton… but not quite out of the picture just yet– With almost 100 students in this year’s program, it is all hands on deck at Widener University this Summer.

From March 17-21, the Beyond Benign team was engaged in discussions, presentations, and networking sessions at the ACS Spring National Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Colleagues from all over the world converged both in person at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and virtually to share some of the latest and greatest insights and advances in green chemistry teaching and learning. At the conference expo, Beyond Benign’s booth was a flurry of activity; over the course of two and a half days, the team met with hundreds of faculty, students, and industry representatives. The booth had tables set up with tablets to sign up on the spot for a Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) account and opportunities to participate in raffles, win prizes, and get stickers and swag. All in all, close to 100 new users registered on the GCTLC platform over the duration of the expo, and we’re thrilled to have them join the community! 

A few stand-out highlights from the conference include:

• A presentation by Beyond Benign’s Dr. Nimrat Obhi (Program Manager, GCTLC) on “Green Chemistry Education: A Key Tool for Environmental Justice” during a session exploring the critical intersections between chemistry education and environmental justice.
• A full-day session organized by Prof. Deborah Bromfield-Lee (Florida Southern College) and Prof. Jane Wissinger (University of Minnesota) on “Incorporating Green and Sustainable Chemistry to Meet the Three Categories of the New ACS Guidelines for Bachelor’s Degree Programs and Increasing Student Engagement. The session included sixteen presentations from faculty and education experts and wonderful examples of green chemistry in education in action. 
• A presentation by Beyond Benign’s Dr. Monica Nyansa (Program Manager, Higher Education) on “Student-led Community Engagement in Action” during a session exploring the synergy between safety, green chemistry, and environmental justice.
• A session on “Practicing Green Chemistry at the Bench” including presentations by GCTLC Advisory Committee members Dr. David Laviska (ACS Green Chemistry Institute) and Prof. Andrea Oseolorun (Prairie View A&M University) as well as Dr. John Warner, co-founder of Beyond Benign.

In the ever-evolving landscape of green and sustainable chemistry, three distinguished organizations — the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute (ACS GCI), Beyond Benign, and Change Chemistry — are working collectively to steer the industry toward a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future. In the following conversation, visionary leaders from each of these organizations — Jenny MacKellar from Change Chemistry, Adelina Voutchkova-Kostal from ACS GCI, and Amy Cannon from Beyond Benign — discuss the remarkable progress, challenges, and strategic initiatives undertaken in the past year, and where they see green and sustainable chemistry progressing in the years ahead.

Jenny MacKellar, Change Chemistry: Change Chemistry is a coalition of 100+ industry leaders committed to driving the adoption of safer and sustainable chemistries globally. Jenny MacKellar is the coordinator of Change Chemistry’s diverse member offerings, overseeing programs, workgroups, and events. With a background in systems biology and public health, she previously spent nine years at the ACS GCI and has experience in U.S. government agencies, emphasizing science communication, policy, grant management, and IT solutions.

Adelina Voutchkova-Kostal, ACS GCI: The ACS’s flagship Green Chemistry Institute convenes the global chemistry community to catalyze innovative thinking, facilitate critical conversations, and communicate the core values and benefits of green and sustainable chemistry and engineering. Adelina Voutchkova, Director of Sustainable Development at the ACS, leads the ACS GCI and has extensive research experience in green synthetic methods and predictive toxicology.

Amy Cannon, Beyond Benign: Beyond Benign empowers educators to bring green chemistry to their teaching and practice. Amy Cannon, the recipient of the world’s first Ph.D. in Green Chemistry, is a pioneering force in advancing sustainability within the field. From co-founding Beyond Benign in 2007 to earning accolades for research and leadership, Amy remains dedicated to transforming education systems to equip scientists with essential green chemistry skills for sustainable chemical solutions.

Join us in this enlightening dialogue as these three leaders discuss their organizations’ unique contributions, collaborative endeavors, and their collective journey toward a sustainable and inclusive future.

Each of your organizations works uniquely in the chemistry space to promote green and sustainable chemistry at institutional and industrial levels. Could you share some highlights from the past year that indicate progress in this direction?

Jenny: From our perspective, two notable trends stand out. Firstly, there is unprecedented policy support through significant legislation like the Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Sustainable Chemistry R&D Act. These laws not only allocate substantial funding for green and sustainable chemistry innovations but also emphasize environmental justice, encouraging holistic problem-solving.

Secondly, we are seeing the finance community prioritizing green and sustainable chemistry. Companies now face reputational risks if they do not prioritize green and sustainable chemistry practices as part of their business strategies. This shift in perspective is pressuring even major chemical companies to align with and prioritize sustainable chemistry practices.

Adelina: In the industry sector, there’s a notable increase in interest and engagement in pre-competitive collaboration facilitated by the ACS GCI. Industry groups collaborate through roundtables to overcome research and development challenges that lead to a reduction of the environmental and health impact of their operations.

On the education front, educators are showing a growing appetite for a green chemistry curriculum. On the science and innovation side, ACS journals that serve green chemistry and engineering are growing in prominence. Initiatives such as the Green Chemistry Challenge awards further highlight the collaborative efforts in pushing the green chemistry agenda.

Amy: The past year has been super exciting, marking a broader recognition of green chemistry as a means to achieve sustainability goals. In the education sector, the rate of new signatories to the Green Chemistry Commitment nearly tripled, indicating significant acceptance and growth. And, we also launched a new community platform to support the global green chemistry education community, the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC).

The updated ACS guidelines for bachelor’s degree programs now consider green chemistry a critical requirement and a normal expectation, emphasizing its importance in the curriculum. While it may not be the norm yet, there is a clear expectation that green chemistry should be integrated meaningfully into higher education curriculum. Industry is also recognizing the benefits of green chemistry skills in the workplace, adding to the overall positive momentum.

What are some of the barriers your communities are facing as they work to make green and sustainable chemistry more widely adopted?

Amy: I usually don’t talk about barriers because I find it limiting; I see them more as opportunities. However, within the education sector, the challenges of integrating green chemistry are not unique to this field but rather stem from the broader difficulties of changing established curricula. Adapting teaching practices and altering routines ingrained for years is a universal challenge requiring time, resources, community support, and financial investment. It’s crucial to view these obstacles not as hindrances specific to green chemistry but as opportunities to understand the complexities of implementing change. While some barriers, like misconceptions about green chemistry, may be unique, their prevalence is decreasing with the growing body of evidence showcasing the benefits of sustainable practices.

Adelina: I echo Amy’s perspective on viewing challenges as opportunities. The current heightened public awareness of sustainability provides a timely opportunity. Leveraging this awareness, we can emphasize the role of chemists in bridging innovation gaps to minimize environmental impact. This presents a chance to inspire students, researchers, and companies about their respective roles in contributing to sustainable development. The ACS GCI plays a unique role in communicating these actions, using its platform to highlight chemists as agents of positive change.

One approach for that is leveraging the ACS’s broad reach to inspire chemists about the broader application of their research. The GCI looks to showcase not only fundamental research but also its real-world applications in solving sustainability challenges. In the long term, we plan to engage the global community with campaigns that communicate the vital role of chemistry in addressing sustainability challenges.

Jenny: I agree with Adelina and Amy. One significant concern is the lack of consistency around metrics for measuring sustainable chemistry attributes. There has been significant work over the years to determine how we measure progress towards safer chemicals, but we have a long way to go in creating similar metrics for sustainable chemicals. Clear metrics aid communication between customers and suppliers during the production of products, but also with the public and investors, and support educational transformations providing a comprehensive narrative of the community’s objectives. Developing metrics for green and sustainable chemistry is a tough task, and efforts like the ACS GCI Pharmaceutical Roundtable are working hard to establish clear standards, reflecting the broader industry trend toward reporting progress.

What do chemistry educators and students need from industry and policy leaders in order to prepare the next generation of green and sustainable chemists more successfully?

Amy: That’s a great question. I believe we need stronger bridges to industry, with a clearer articulation of their needs. Industry should express the specific skills they require, allowing educators to better tailor training for the next generation. The ACS has provided leadership through guidelines emphasizing green chemistry, and it will be interesting to see if this momentum continues. Moreover, industry needs to align its actions with expressed needs by actively seeking and hiring individuals with green chemistry skills.

Jenny: I love this conversation, and having worked with Amy and Adelina for so many years, education is obviously near and dear to my heart.

To enhance education, we are in the process of developing a survey to better understand the upskilling needs of our current workforce. This would help us bridge the gap between what industry needs and how we train future scientists. On the policy side, we’re focused on ensuring that current funding opportunities support innovation and green and sustainable chemistry. We aim to harness these opportunities to align with the principles of green chemistry, ensuring that the policies in place translate into meaningful funding opportunities. Additionally, we’re working on communicating the importance of green and sustainable chemistry to policymakers, emphasizing its connection to bipartisan topics like job creation.

Adelina: The ACS GCI is evolving its engagement in policy, collaborating closely with the ACS Government Affairs Office. We aim to be strategic partners to organizations like Beyond Benign and Change Chemistry in elevating the agenda for sustainable chemistry. While the passage of the Sustainable Chemistry Act was a significant milestone, many challenges remain. The GCI is working to communicate the need to position the chemical research and industrial enterprise to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This requires the identification of innovation gaps, recognizing supply chain demands of industry, and the policy that will be needed to encourage the adoption of new chemistries. Recognizing that our organizations are all parts of a larger ecosystem underscores that collaboration with such strategic partners is crucial for affecting the change we advocate for.

Jenny, at an industrial level, where are you seeing the biggest opportunities for advancement in green and sustainable chemistry right now?

Jenny: There are so many opportunities, but we always focus on areas with the potential for the most significant impact. We are trying to understand which systematic levers need to be pulled to drive the transition and scale of safer and more sustainable chemicals in the market. It’s important to demonstrate how green and sustainable chemistry practices can help companies achieve their broader sustainability goals. For example, many of the aspirational goals laid out in the UN SDGs are urgent issues, especially for the next generation. Articulating how green and sustainable chemistry can play a supporting role in addressing grand global challenges is critical to making sure that these practices become core to setting business strategies. Policy changes, financial shifts, and altering consumer mindsets are all part of a comprehensive approach needed to drive the industry in a sustainable direction. Education and systemic changes are also crucial, considering the unparalleled support required for the transition to the next phase of the chemical industry.

Amy: I think it’s an interesting time with significant opportunities aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These goals, addressing environmental and social justice challenges, are grand challenges that either require chemistry innovation as a central part of the solution, or should be embedded in how we practice chemistry. While not specific to particular industries, these challenges are global and local, providing a broader perspective.

Adelina: I agree, the UN Sustainable Development Goals are a critical framework connecting green chemistry and engineering impacts globally. We’re actively working to connect research to these goals, ensuring our work positively impacts lives, communities, and ecosystems. We recently collaborated with the Moore Foundation to identify underfunded areas in fundamental chemistry that have a high potential to impact UN SDGs. We hope to encourage funding in these important areas and help researchers make connections between the fundamental advances that stem from their work and potential applications, bridging the gap between fundamental research and practical applications. It’s a long-term project, but an essential one.

Speaking of research, Adelina, the connection between chemists at academic and industrial levels seems crucial for the advancement of green and sustainable chemistry. Where are you seeing success in these connections, and where are there still opportunities for growth?

Adelina: We’ve found success in initiatives like the GCI Industry Roundtables, which provide financial support to researchers who seek to address industrially relevant challenges and foster ongoing collaboration. We have also introduced a new sustainability grant program, supported by the ACS Campaign for a Sustainable Future, which assists early-career and mid-career researchers in connecting their work to industrial applications. We are also developing more opportunities for mid-career researchers to engage with industry during the fundamental research phase.

Looking ahead, our vision involves creating a broader industry-academia nexus, a theme that will shape many GCI initiatives over the next few years. Based on my own experience in academic research, I see this as an area of tremendous potential. There are opportunities for the ACS to serve a critical role in integrating these two communities and sparking long-term connections, as opposed to just short-term collaborations.

A new platform called Green Chemistry for Sustainability, developed in collaboration with the Yale Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering and Beyond Benign, will play a key role in integrating sectors and facilitating connections.

Amy: The collaboration between academic and industrial professionals is crucial. One challenge we’ve recognized is the need for technical expertise in new content areas, which is vital for sustainability. Industry professionals often possess this expertise, making collaboration beneficial. We’ve been successful in pairing professionals with academics to build case studies and educational resources based on real-world industrial examples, providing contextual and holistic perspectives in education. This approach aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry, a significant area of opportunity that we’re actively exploring to enhance relevance in education.

Jenny: I love the direction Amy is taking. We’re exploring ways to make our numerous case studies more accessible for educational settings. Collaborating with academic institutions is a priority, and we’re revisiting past Green Chemistry Challenge Award winners to assess their impact and provide valuable insights. Additionally, we’re keen on working closely with tech transfer offices to identify and support green and sustainable chemistry technologies at earlier stages, helping startups navigate challenges and ensuring they receive the necessary support. It’s an exciting opportunity to contribute to the growth of early-stage companies and address some of the significant challenges in the green and sustainable chemistry space.

Environmental justice is an important topic for each of your organizations. Can you tell me about your plans to foster the advancement of environmental justice in the next year or two?

Amy: In our interactions with academic institutions through the green chemistry program and community-building efforts, we’re focused on integrating both internal Diversity, Equity, Belonging, and Respect (DEBR) policies and external plans into our programming. We aim for these efforts to be impactful and genuinely engaging for individuals and institutions. Our green campus recruitment program includes a Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) initiative, emphasizing the need for intentional representation in our growing green chemistry community. We have dedicated programs and funds to engage with MSIs.

Addressing environmental justice requires a holistic approach, understanding the impacts of our trade at multiple levels. This involves considering historical and current implications, recognizing the real impacts of our actions, and exploring ways to improve. Embracing a systems thinking perspective is crucial, moving beyond silos and acknowledging broader impacts. We aim to weave these considerations into curriculum development and program approaches, with specific, detailed plans for engaging with various institutions. Our focus is on meaningful engagement, support, and elevation, aiming for a direction where chemistry is beneficial to all and not exclusive. While these plans are broad, they represent the beginning of our initiatives at Beyond Benign, with many more opportunities to explore.

Adelina: We’ve recently elevated environmental justice to a strategic priority at GCI, forging collaborations with the US EPA, specifically the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. In this partnership, we delve into existing data from the EPA Toxic Registry Inventory to identify opportunities to implement green chemistry practices to curb pollution.

We recognize the potential impact of local green chemistry solutions, even if they may not result in high-profile journal publications. To facilitate this, we are developing a platform to connect individuals across sectors, fostering mentorship for community efforts. This extends to chemists partnering with organizations for meaningful broader outreach—a crucial element in federally funded grants. We believe that ACS and green chemistry can play a pivotal role in identifying opportunities for researchers to make a positive impact on communities.

Our collaborative efforts extend to sessions at GC&E and ACS National Meetings. We’re enthusiastic about this new portfolio at GCI, and looking forward to seeing the productivity it brings in the coming year.

Jenny: It’s really exciting to witness the growing prominence of environmental justice in the agendas of our organizations, garnering significant interest and support from various quarters, including the federal government. This represents an unprecedented moment.

Recognizing the distinct spheres of green chemistry and environmental justice, we are working to support the development of a framework that aims to help organizations identify areas where their green and sustainable chemistry practices align with addressing environmental justice issues across the lifecycle. This includes the creation of case studies featuring companies in various stages, illustrating success and areas for improvement.

Environmental justice remains a nuanced and sensitive topic, with companies navigating the early stages. The conversation seeks to spotlight restorative efforts, acknowledging past challenges and fostering a positive shift in the chemistry narrative. While there are still ongoing discussions and the community is in the early stages of understanding and supporting this endeavor, there’s a noticeable increase in enthusiasm and openness compared to even five years ago.

Any final thoughts?

Amy: In reflecting on our collective efforts, it’s notable that these three US-based organizations share similar timelines. Our commitments to advancing the field of green and sustainable chemistry date back to the late ’90s and early 2000s, and we’ve consistently strived to propel the industry forward through the work of each of our organizations.

Collaborating with both of your organizations is so rewarding, and the continuous exploration of ways to collaborate is beneficial for the entire global community. As just three organizations within this expansive network, the potential for collaboration is immense.

Being side by side with incredible women on this journey is inspiring. Although there’s still a considerable distance to cover, the progress made collectively, not only by us but also by countless others in the community, is noteworthy. It’s an exciting time, and there’s a sense of anticipation for what lies ahead.

In her TEDx Talk, “The Promise of Green Chemistry,” Beyond Benign Co-Founder and Executive Director Dr. Amy Cannon inspires calls for a paradigm shift in chemistry education to focus on reducing or eliminating substances hazardous to environmental and human health. “We can’t wait for someone else to clean up our messes,” Amy says. “We can’t wait for someone else to save the world. We can do chemistry better and smarter, but only as long as we’re given the tools and the training to do so.”

Drawing from her extensive background, including holding the world’s first Ph.D. in green chemistry, Amy emphasizes the importance of training chemists to be mindful of their work’s broader human and environmental impacts. “Chemistry can solve problems, and it can prevent future problems from occurring,” Amy says. “But only if we intentionally approach our chemistry through thoughtful, proactive design.”

Throughout the talk, Amy inspires us to view green chemistry as a fundamental part of how we teach and practice green chemistry. “Chemistry is essential. It makes up the molecular building blocks of the products that we use every day. It’s all around us and part of us,” she says. “We need to ensure that chemists are trained to create those building blocks sustainably.”

This talk was part of TEDxAmoskeagMillyard’s 2023 event “Here and Now” at the Rex Theatre in Manchester, New Hampshire. Watch the talk to learn about Amy’s green chemistry journey, why chemistry is a logical career path for creating change, and the importance of embedding green chemistry into chemistry education.

Watch the Talk:

Read the Transcript:

When I was a freshman in high school, I participated in an Earth Day fair at my school here in Goffstown, New Hampshire. The topic that I chose to learn about was ozone depletion. The year was around 1990, and scientists had only recently discovered that the ozone layer that protects our Earth from harmful UV rays was thinning, and there was an alarmingly large hole being developed over the Antarctic. This hole and the thinning were being caused by a certain class of chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, as you may know them. And as I was learning about this, I remember feeling a sense of alarm and a sense of urgency. Alarm that there were actually chemicals and products that were capable of doing this type of destruction to the environment and urgency that something needed to be done about it. My friends and I put together an information booth to share what we have learned with the community. And I was actually even quoted in the local newspaper, the “Manchester Union Leader.” And I remember that there was no more important challenge to tackle — I’m sure you’re somewhat familiar with that sort of passion that youth might have. I wanted to save the world. But at 15 years old, I didn’t really know what that meant. And I wasn’t really sure how to contribute to these sorts of global challenges.

Like many teenagers, I had a lot of different passions growing up. In addition to sustainability, I also had a passion for athletics. And although these two may seem different, they were really essential in my career path. Upon graduation from high school, I was recruited to play division II basketball for St. Anselm College here in Manchester. St. Anselm, when it came time to choose majors, they didn’t have an environmental science major at the time, which is what I would have chosen due to my passion. So I decided I would major in a core science, and then I’d specialize later. So, I was left between chemistry and biology. And I ended up choosing chemistry because I had a wonderful high school chemistry teacher, Mrs. Lessard. She made it engaging and fun, and I ended up being somewhat decent at it, too. You know, thinking back, had I chosen another sport to play, had I attended another college that did have that environmental science major, I wouldn’t have had that foundation in chemistry, which turned out to be essential. So there I was, playing basketball and juggling a chemistry degree major, and I started to learn about the basics of chemistry. I learned about the chemical and physical properties of chemicals. I learned how to draw and name them. I learned about the periodic table and the different properties of the elements. I learned about chemical reactions and how to make some basic structures. I learned about analytical chemistry, which is basically detecting and studying chemicals in a variety of settings, including in the environment. And that’s exactly how I thought I was going to use my chemistry degree. My perception, at the time, was that the field of chemistry just really wasn’t very sustainable, and it was actually a huge part of the problem. But I thought I could use my chemistry skills to study problems and tell the world about them.

So, after graduation, I did an industrial internship, and I felt I wasn’t quite where I wanted to be and I wasn’t being true to my 15-year-old self that wanted to save the world. So I applied to graduate schools, and I was admitted to a program at the University of Massachusetts in Boston called ECOS — Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sciences. I started to take classes to learn about the environmental sciences and start to specialize like I thought. At the same time that I was taking those classes, I was assigned an advisor from the chemistry department due to my chemistry background: Dr. John Warner. John Warner was a young chemist and an inventor who had just left an industrial career inventing for Polaroid, the instant photography company. And I started to learn about his work. A year prior to me joining the university, he had just published a book called “Green Chemistry Theory and Practice.” I had never heard about this before. But he was among a handful of chemists that were starting to work towards making the field of chemistry more sustainable, and his work was exciting. He was creating new types of solar energy devices that use a lot less energy in the process of making them. He was creating new types of plastics that were not only a lot less toxic but also recyclable or biodegradable. He was creating new medicines that used a fraction of the active ingredient in order to be effective, but also were safe in how they were made. And what I realized is in my courses, I was learning about the downstream effects of the problem. For example, how pollution and chemicals impact our oceans and our ecosystems. But here was John focusing upstream on creating and ultimately inventing solutions.

Up until that point, I thought I’d be studying problems. I hadn’t realized I could actually use my chemistry degree to solve problems. So this got me wondering, why do we even have environmental problems in the first place? Why do we have products that cause cancer? Why do we have ozone-depleting chemicals? So, let’s take that example of the chlorofluorocarbons that I studied at my Earth Day fair years ago. How did they even get developed? What were scientists possibly thinking? Turns out that scientists were actually trying to solve a problem. And the problem was that the first generation of refrigerants, which is the main use of chlorofluorocarbons, those first generation of refrigerants, were a class of chemicals that were mostly gases that were either highly toxic or explosive. So those early refrigerators in the early 1900s, If there was a pinhole leak in that unit, and it leaked out into a home, it could result in families dying due to the toxicity of the gas. Or if there was a spark created, then refrigerators were actually known to explode. Could you possibly imagine having a refrigerator that could kill or explode? There was a clear problem that needed a solution. So scientists set out to create a nontoxic and stable solution to address those toxicity and explosive issues. And that’s exactly what they got in chlorofluorocarbons. CFCs are indeed non-toxic, so if there’s that pinhole leak, families won’t die. And they’re also not going to explode due to the stability of the gases. But in fact, they are so stable that when they’re released into the atmosphere, they remain intact all the way to the layer of our atmosphere where the stratosphere sits, and our ozone layer, where powerful UV lights hits them and breaks off a chlorine atom that does catalytic destruction to our ozone layer, basically busting a big hole in that layer. So, scientists ended up solving one problem and inadvertently created another. These types of unintended consequences in the field of chemistry are super common. We make some really great products with some really nasty side effects. I’m sure you can think of a number of them off the top of your head, from leaded gasoline and lead paint to now plastics that are building up in our oceans, we have a long history of unintended consequences. And we have a lot of chemicals in our society. In the US alone, we have over 80,000 chemicals in commerce today, with 2,500 of them being produced at a rate of more than 1 million pounds annually. Seven new chemicals are introduced into the market each day, resulting in over 2,000 new chemicals each year. How could we possibly ensure that each and every one of them are safe for humans in the environment? How can we avoid that next unintended consequence? The best way to avoid an unintended consequence is to anticipate it. By understanding what makes a molecule toxic to humans and the environment, it can give us tremendous control to design chemicals and products with reduced hazards and impacts. That statement might sound obvious — that chemists should understand what makes a molecule toxic or potentially destructive to the environment — but in the 90s and the 2000s during my studies, this knowledge was completely void from chemistry degree programs.

Yet here was John Warner, very intentionally focusing on the chemistry he was doing. And I realized that I found myself at the beginning of a movement — a movement where chemists were starting to think about creating products and chemicals very intentionally benign by design. And for the first time in my studies, I saw the true power of chemistry. And there was a shift from chemistry as the problem to chemistry as the solution. So, I was inspired and I changed back to being a chemistry major. I finished my Master’s in chemistry, and then I worked alongside John to create the world’s first Ph.D. program in green chemistry to start addressing these gaps. In 2005, I was the first graduate from this program, and I was among a small but growing number of chemists with green chemistry training. And at that time, and still largely true today, the majority of chemists were not and are not trained in green chemistry. Chemists are not trained to consider the impacts of the chemistry they use or the chemistry they create. So, it’s no wonder why we see unintended consequences. And this is exactly why I’ve dedicated my career to addressing this gap. I founded a nonprofit organization called “Beyond Benign,” where our mission is to empower elementary to university educators to transform chemistry education. We focus on educators so that scientists receive the training they need and citizens can make better decisions.

Chemistry is essential. It makes up the molecular building blocks of the products that we use every day. It’s all around us, and it’s part of us. We need to ensure that chemists are trained to create those building blocks sustainably. Chemistry can solve problems, and it can prevent future problems from occurring. But only if we intentionally approach our chemistry through thoughtful, proactive design. There’s tremendous power in smart molecular design. As a field of chemistry, we can make any molecule, any product, any material that we set our minds to. But we’re only just beginning to understand the profound responsibility that comes with that sort of power. We can’t wait for someone else to clean up our messes. We can’t wait for someone else to save the world. We can do chemistry better and smarter, but only as long as we’re given the tools and the training to do so. Beyond Benign’s “Green Chemistry Commitment” program is an institutional commitment to including green chemistry in the university curriculum. It’s voluntary and flexible and builds on the diverse strengths of chemistry educators. This program started in 2013 with 17 first signers, we saw our first international signer in 2016, and since then this has grown to over 140 universities worldwide and growing fast.

This is taking hold not only here in the United States but also in South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. This year alone, the signing rate for this program has nearly tripled, and we’re showing signs of a tipping point. But we have a lot of work to do. In the United States, we graduate about 22,000 chemists annually across all degree levels. Our Green Chemistry Commitment signers represent about 11% of those graduates — not an insignificant number. We have an ambitious goal of growing that to 25% over the next two years, our 25X25 goal, so that we can reach a critical mass that’s capable of creating change and get to a place where green chemistry is the norm, not the exception. The students that are involved with these programs are interested in solving problems and contributing to the greater good. Industry is listening to consumer calls for better, more sustainable products and preferentially hiring scientists with these skills. Because it turns out it makes good business sense when green chemistry is in practice. We know that green chemistry can lead to large societal benefits because of better, smarter molecular design; we have alternatives to chlorofluorocarbons today, and they’re nearly phased out across all applications. We have refrigerators that won’t kill us, and they won’t explode. And by the way, they also won’t deplete the ozone layer. When we put our minds to it, we can create those really great products without those nasty side effects. This type of preventative upstream thinking is certainly not new. I’m sure you’ve heard about it in healthcare — an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And this is true across disciplines. If we are proactive in our thinking and our actions, there is so much we can anticipate and much we can avoid. We have a lot of challenges to tackle, from ozone depletion that inspired me years ago, to now climate change and plastics in the ocean that are inspiring youth today. Every single one of these challenges requires chemistry as a central part of the solution. But we can only get there if green chemistry is embedded in our education systems, and we’re preparing chemists with these skills. And my hope is that the next freshman that participates in their Earth Day fair and hears that call to action like I did, that chemistry is a logical career path for creating change and that green chemistry becomes the way we teach and practice chemistry. Thank you.