Green Chemistry Education - Beyond Benign

Community News | Green Chemistry Education

CSUSM the first California State University Institution to sign the Green Chemistry Commitment

April 22, 2021

Beyond Benign is thrilled to welcome California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) to our Green Chemistry Commitment program. CSUSM joined the Commitment in March 2021 and is the first California State University institution to sign the commitment. At CSUSM, there is a workgroup that is developing a proposal to help the department implement the 12 principles of green chemistry with the short-term goal to focus on small substitutions in the existing curriculum to make labs safer and produce less harmful waste while also finding substitutes for hazardous chemicals. The workgroup is also updating existing student learning outcomes and lecture curriculum. Read more about the department’s Commitment here.

Check out the California State University San Marcos Who’s Committed Profile to learn more about this institution and its departmental aim!

CSUSM the first California State University Institution to sign the Green Chemistry Commitment

April 22, 2021

First Signer in the United Kingdom – Welcome the University of Bath

March 25, 2021

Beyond Benign is excited to welcome the University of Bath to our Green Chemistry Commitment program. The University of Bath is the first university in the United Kingdom to become a Green Chemistry Commitment signer!

The University of Bath joined the Commitment in March 2021. Despite the ever-changing and challenging times in higher education due to the ongoing pandemic, they are off and running with their Commitment to advance and promote Green Chemistry education. Our Executive Director, Amy Cannon states, “We are honored to have the University of Bath join the Green Chemistry Commitment. As a global leader in green and sustainable technologies, they will continue to demonstrate their leadership through this Commitment to transforming chemistry education. We look forward to deepening our connections with the University and sharing their unique approach to addressing sustainability through chemistry.” Read more about the University of Bath’s Commitment to green chemistry education in their press release and in Chemistry World as the first UK University to sign the Commitment.

Check out the University of Bath Who’s Committed Profile to learn more about this institution and their departmental aims.

First Signer in the United Kingdom – Welcome the University of Bath

March 25, 2021

Beyond Benign is excited to welcome the University of Bath to our Green Chemistry Commitment program. The University of Bath is the first university in the United Kingdom to become […]

First Signer in Sweden – Welcome Stockholm University

March 1, 2021

Beyond Benign is excited to welcome Stockholm University to our Green Chemistry Commitment program. Stockholm University is the first university in Sweden to become a Green Chemistry Commitment signer.

Stockholm University joined the Commitment in January 2020. Despite the ever-changing and challenging times in higher education due to the ongoing pandemic, they are off and running with their Commitment to advance and promote Green Chemistry education. The university has a Master’s program in Sustainable Chemistry aimed to equip students with the knowledge on how to assess chemical syntheses and processing routes. Graduates will have a comprehensive understanding of how to design sustainable materials and chemicals and above all learn the fundamentals of green and sustainable chemistry. Learn more about the program below:

Check out the Stockholm University Who’s Committed Profile to learn more about this institution and the Master’s program in Sustainable Chemistry.

First Signer in Sweden – Welcome Stockholm University

March 1, 2021

First Signer in West Virginia and Second HBCU Joins the Commitment – Welcome WVSU

February 8, 2021

Beyond Benign is excited to welcome West Virginia State University (WVSU) to our Green Chemistry Commitment program. WVSU is the first university in West Virginia and the second of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to become a Green Chemistry Commitment signer.

West Virginia State University joined the Commitment in December 2020. Despite the ever-changing and challenging times in higher education due to the ongoing pandemic, they are off and running with their Commitment to advance and promote Green Chemistry education. At WVSU, Green Chemistry is promoted in classrooms, student extracurricular activities, and departmental outreach into the surrounding community. We congratulate the West Virginia State University ACS Student Chapter on being a Green Chemistry Student Chapter Award winner in 2019-2020 and look forward to seeing what’s next for WVSU students, faculty, and staff.

Check out the West Virginia State University Who’s Committed Profile to learn more about this institution and its departmental aim!

First Signer in West Virginia and Second HBCU Joins the Commitment – Welcome WVSU

February 8, 2021

Beyond Benign is excited to welcome West Virginia State University (WVSU) to our Green Chemistry Commitment program. WVSU is the first university in West Virginia and the second of Historically […]

TU Berlin becomes the first European university to sign the Green Chemistry Commitment

January 26, 2021

Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin) recently signed Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Commitment! “We are proud and delighted to have signed up to this commitment,” says Professor Dr. Martin Oestreich, managing director of the Institute of Chemistry at TU Berlin. “It makes clear our intention and creative drive to contribute to a sustainable society using our research findings in chemistry, a process we will start in our teaching.”

Read more about TU Berlin and the announcement about their recent signing here

View the Technische Universität Berlin Who’s Committed profile here

TU Berlin becomes the first European university to sign the Green Chemistry Commitment

January 26, 2021

Beyond Benign Launches Its Green Chemistry Commitment 25×25 Initiative

January 21, 2021

Green chemistry nonprofit spearheads new sustainability campaign to ensure 25 percent of graduating chemists have a background in green chemistry by 2025

WILMINGTON, Mass., Jan. 21, 2021 – Beyond Benign, a green chemistry education nonprofit, today announced the launch of its Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) 25×25 Initiative, working to ensure that 25 percent of graduating chemists in the US have a background in green chemistry by 2025 with the support of Beyond Benign partner Dow (NYSE: DOW). The initiative comes at a time when today’s societal challenges are immense, as articulated through the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) is dedicated to integrating green chemistry and toxicology concepts into chemistry programs with the goal of providing students with the skills to design chemical products and processes to reduce human and environmental hazards. With 64 US signers to date, accounting for 8% of graduating chemists, the GCC program is working to create a systemic change in chemistry education, inspiring additional institutions to pursue and integrate green chemistry. With this new initiative of ensuring 25 percent of chemistry students graduate with a background in green chemistry, Beyond Benign is taking new action to extend the GCC reach and resources to achieve this goal over the next four years.

“We believe that by supporting educators and students to teach and learn green chemistry, we are equipping the next generation of scientists and citizens to design and select products that support both human health and the environment,” says Amy Cannon, Director and Co-Founder of Beyond Benign. “With chemistry at the foundation of any sustainable solution, we are excited about the potential this initiative brings to build a critical mass of green chemists in the workforce.

To achieve the ambitious goal of preparing the workforce for sustainable action, per the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG 4.7), Beyond Benign will provide resources and support to interested institutions. This support includes an assessment of current chemistry and green chemistry programs, recommended lessons to incorporate into their curriculum and labs, an annual Green Chemistry Commitment Summit to bring all signers together, financial resources and on-going support for mentors, teachers, faculty and staff.

“It is imperative that our incoming workforce is prepared to design, create and produce sustainable solutions for the well-being of humanity,” says Eunice Heath, Corporate Director of Sustainability for Dow. “Through Beyond Benign’s aggressive GCC 25×25 initiative, we will be able to make a lasting impact on education, science and the global market.”

Since 2007, Beyond Benign has integrated green chemistry into K-12 and higher education institutions through teacher training, lesson plans, community networks, webinars, and events. Institutions that are interested in incorporating green chemistry in their classrooms and labs can inquire about participating in the Green Chemistry Commitment by visiting the Beyond Benign website to learn more.

About Beyond Benign:
Beyond Benign, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, envisions a world where the chemical building blocks of products used every day are healthy and safe for humans and the environment. Beyond Benign is fostering a green chemistry education community empowered to transform chemistry education for a sustainable future. Beyond Benign’s continuum of sustainable science educational programs including, teacher and faculty training and curriculum development from K-20 are helping to build the next generation of scientists and citizens with the skills and knowledge to create and choose products that are safe for human health and the environment.

Over the past 13 years, Beyond Benign has an extensive history of service, having trained over 6,000 K-12 teachers in sustainable science and green chemistry, designed over 200 open-access lessons, reached over 25,000 youth and community members through outreach, & partnered with 75 universities to transform chemistry education. Together we can catalyze the development of green technological innovations that result in safer products and processes in support of a sustainable, healthy society.

Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and on LinkedIn.

Press Contact:
Nicki Wiggins, Director of Development
Beyond Benign
Nicki_Wiggins@beyondbenign.org
978-229-5443

Beyond Benign Launches Its Green Chemistry Commitment 25×25 Initiative

January 21, 2021

Green chemistry nonprofit spearheads new sustainability campaign to ensure 25 percent of graduating chemists have a background in green chemistry by 2025 WILMINGTON, Mass., Jan. 21, 2021 – Beyond Benign, […]

A new initiative to support green chemistry education: The Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community

December 18, 2020

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute and Beyond Benign are pleased to announce the establishment of a new initiative to support green chemistry education: The Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community.

For more than 20 years, educators from a wide variety of institutions, from K-12 to higher education universities and colleges, have been developing, collaborating and sharing green chemistry education resources organically. This community of practice grows yearly, with many institutions now engaging in some form of green chemistry activity.

However, many challenges continue to hinder the adoption of green chemistry in educational settings. Common challenges include lack of time, lack of resources, a congested curriculum, faculty and department buy-in, misconceptions and an overall lack of support.

To overcome these challenges, Beyond Benign and the ACS Green Chemistry Institute will leverage networks and expertise to move our Community of Practice towards a Community of Transformation. Communities of Transformation have a demonstrated ability to empower systemic change in STEM fields through a multi-pronged approach utilizing both in-person and online support.

The Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) will provide the online hub needed to support the adoption of green chemistry and hasten the transformation of chemistry education. We envision a fully-supported site that houses educational resources and provides an interactive global networking and collaboration platform. On the GCTLC platform, community members will be able to readily find vetted resources for teaching core chemistry concepts with a green chemistry lens, discuss approaches with like-minded colleagues, and hear a diversity of ideas needed to advance chemistry education to a place where students are prepared to take sustainable action.

The Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community will be developed and launched over the course of three years. We are pleased to announce today $250,000 in seed funding from the Argosy Foundation, which enables us to launch the project in 2021 while we seek additional funding from grants and corporate sponsorship.

We hope this news brings you something to look forward to after a difficult year for all of us around the world. As we build the GCTLC leadership team and staff the project, we will be sharing updates and soliciting your valued opinions. Born out of collaboration, the GCTLC will ultimately be your platform, and we look forward to your involvement in the years to come.

Stay safe and stay green!

Jennifer MacKellar, Education Program Manager, ACS Green Chemistry Institute
Amy Cannon, Founder, Beyond Benign

On behalf of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute and Beyond Benign

Follow ACS GCI and Beyond Benign on social media to get timely updates on this project and others:
Beyond Benign: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
ACS GCI: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

A new initiative to support green chemistry education: The Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community

December 18, 2020

Finding and Amplifying the Connection between Media and the Environment

October 16, 2020

Caroline Mooney, a senior undergraduate student perusing a Communications major and Marketing minor from Fordham University explored the connection between media and Green Chemistry for her Media and the Environment course by volunteering her time as part of a class assignment to create and share the article below with our community.

As our world has shifted online, teaching techniques have also adapted to these changes through the use of mobile, web, and other e-learning tools to ensure every student gains a rich education. While this transition may have proven to be a challenge for some, educators seized the opportunity to invite TikTok creations into the classroom, helping non-scientists learn about the benefits of Green Chemistry for their own health. Be a part of the change – Follow TheChemistryCollective on TikTok.

Through the use of TikTok services, students from non-science backgrounds can engage with Green Chemistry education by participating in fun and easy-to-do experiments at home! Learn more about the green side of TikTok by reading The Journal of Chemical Education paper by Dr. Katie Lamb & Glenn A. Hurts from the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence (GCCE) at the University of York on how TikTok can be used to facilitate scientific public engagement and for contextualization of chemistry at home here.

We thank Caroline for her time and energy in exploring and amplifying this great resource for learning Green Chemistry!

Finding and Amplifying the Connection between Media and the Environment

October 16, 2020

Ambrose University – First in Alberta, Canada to Join the Green Chemistry Commitment

September 30, 2020

Ambrose University recently signed Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Commitment! “We engaged Ambrose University based on contributions to the green chemistry education field made by Dr. Liza Abraham,” stated Beyond Benign’s Executive Director, Dr. Amy Cannon, “We are excited to have Ambrose University join our Green Chemistry Commitment community of over 70 college and universities to share their work, learn from like-minded colleagues and collaborate to advance sustainability practices in chemistry education.”

Read more about Ambrose University and the announcement about their recent signing here

View the Ambrose University Who’s Committed profile here

Ambrose University – First in Alberta, Canada to Join the Green Chemistry Commitment

September 30, 2020

Mollie Enright Innovating with Bioplastics

September 15, 2020

Mollie Enright, our Graduate Student Liaison, has just participated in the Virtual ACS Kids Zone! This event allowed the general public to explore the wonders of chemistry by featuring popular STEM advocates showing different hands-on activities! With the “Innovate with Bioplastics” activity, Mollie showed how you can create your own edible water pods and also discussed the importance of Earth-friendly plastics! To access Mollie’s and other presentations at the ACS Kids Zone, just click here!

Mollie Enright Innovating with Bioplastics

September 15, 2020

Mollie Enright, our Graduate Student Liaison, has just participated in the Virtual ACS Kids Zone! This event allowed the general public to explore the wonders of chemistry by featuring popular […]

Designing Impactful Green and Sustainable Chemistry Workshops for High School Teachers

September 3, 2020

Our certified Lead Teachers Cassandra Knutson and Cassidy Javner, together with Jane Wissinger from the University of Minnesota (one of our Green Chemistry Commitment Signing Institutions) have just published a chapter in the eBook Chemistry Education for a Sustainable Society Volume 1: High School, Outreach, & Global Perspectives, by ACS Symposium Series. In the chapter Designing Impactful Green and Sustainable Chemistry Workshops for High School Teachers, Cassandra, Cassidy, and Jane describe the design and implementation of a three-day workshop with the goals of training and supporting high school teachers to incorporate Green and Sustainable Chemistry into their classrooms. To read the eBook, please access: https://pubs.acs.org/isbn/9780841237551

Designing Impactful Green and Sustainable Chemistry Workshops for High School Teachers

September 3, 2020

Guidance Document to Green Chemistry

September 1, 2020

The Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale, together with the UNIDO Global Green Chemistry Initiative created a descriptive and informative guide with reasons and means in which industries and governments can apply Green Chemistry. In this roadmap, you can find a background on Green Chemistry and its importance, instructions for its implementation, references, technical information, and case studies. The Yale-UNIDO Guide to Green Chemistry can be accessed at: https://www.global-green-chemistry-initiative.com/guidance-document

Guidance Document to Green Chemistry

September 1, 2020

Student Reflections on Interning at Beyond Benign

August 27, 2020

Over this summer, we have had hundreds of High School and Middle School students tour through our facilities and learn about Green Chemistry. None of this would have been possible without the hard work and passion of our summer interns, Madi Morin, Sunatib Choundry, and Rahul Reddy Alla. Find out below what it’s like to intern in Green Chemistry education.

Beyond Benign and Education First STEM Tour Reflection, by Madi Morin

“Over the past two months, it has been a privilege to help lead the Beyond Benign stop of the Education First STEM tours. With hundreds of students of various ages passing through, I have been able to gain experience in both the fields of science and education. My limited knowledge and lens of viewing chemistry has expanded to imagine the possibilities of it blurring socio-economic lines, entering the industries of business, cosmetology, athletics, and apparel, and understanding the practicalities of inventing products that are benign at the molecular level versus the unnecessary “reality” of chemistry containing hazardous materials. I have been provided the space and time to reflect on how this booming industry can continue to grow and what my role looks like within it. This opportunity has knocked down my stereotypes of scientists in labs being limited in their interpersonal development and of research and chemical reactions being a linear process. My understanding of communication and collaboration has grown as I see the scientists at WBI working across multiple different disciplines and my appreciation for innovative and logical thinking has expanded when I see how instrumental creativity is in developing new products. Thank you for providing me with both the resources to be set up to succeed and the freedom to make changes and confidently own the fieldtrips. I have been challenged to strengthen my foundation in green chemistry so that I am able to communicate the message to middle schoolers, high schoolers, special education students, and even pupils speaking a different language. Thank you again, it has been a phenomenal experience!”

Student Reflections on Interning at Beyond Benign

August 27, 2020

Over this summer, we have had hundreds of High School and Middle School students tour through our facilities and learn about Green Chemistry. None of this would have been possible […]

Approaches to Incorporating Green Chemistry and Safety into Laboratory Culture

August 26, 2020

We are all aware of the importance of implementing Green Chemistry and safety into our laboratory culture and practices, but where do we start? In our latest publication with Natalie O’Neil, Star Scott, Rachael Relph, and Ettigounder Ponnusamy at the Journal of Chemical Education, you can learn more about our Guide to Green Chemistry Experiment for Undergraduate Organic Laboratories and how this approach helps the Green Chemistry incorporation process. This publication and the guide were created in partnership with My Green Lab and Millipore Sigma. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00134

Approaches to Incorporating Green Chemistry and Safety into Laboratory Culture

August 26, 2020

We are all aware of the importance of implementing Green Chemistry and safety into our laboratory culture and practices, but where do we start? In our latest publication with Natalie […]

Kevin Szkop and the Green Chemistry Commitment

August 25, 2020

From November of 2019 to June of this year, we were very grateful for having Kevin Szkop on our team as the inaugural Higher Education Fellow. Kevin is a recent Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry at the University of Toronto, whose thesis was focused on novel applications of Green Chemistry towards catalysis and synthesis. During his time at Beyond Benign, Kevin worked with different Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) signers institutions around the world to analyze trends in feedback data, create case studies, and assess the success of the program. You can access the GCC 2019 Signer Report, created with the help of Kevin by clicking here!

Higher Education Fellowship at Beyond Benign, by Kevin Szkop

“The reason for wanting to work with Beyond Benign on the Green Chemistry Commitment was to critically analyze the program to see how we could increase participation and improve the signer experience. My experience with the Green Chemistry Initiative at the University of Toronto was instrumental in sparking my passion for Green Chemistry education and outreach. The GCI performed a department-wide audit of the Green Chemistry material offered in undergraduate courses. I wanted to expand these efforts to the greater chemistry community, and Beyond Benign was the perfect partnership to do so.

As part of my time as the Higher Education Fellow, I connected with key leaders in Green Chemistry education and got an opportunity to learn how they were able to motivate their students and promote sustainable science in their communities. It was fascinating to see how different institutions all over the world engaged their local communities in public demonstrations, created innovative curriculum material for the delivery of modern Green Chemistry tenants, and imparted important skills to their students.

Out of my time with Beyond Benign, I gained a deeper appreciation of Green Chemistry education and all the different ways it can be communicated. I look forward to the continued growth of the Green Chemistry Commitment program and the success of all signing institutions!”

Kevin Szkop and the Green Chemistry Commitment

August 25, 2020

From November of 2019 to June of this year, we were very grateful for having Kevin Szkop on our team as the inaugural Higher Education Fellow. Kevin is a recent […]

CSUSM the first California State University Institution to sign the Green Chemistry Commitment

CSUSM the first California State University Institution to sign the Green Chemistry Commitment

First Signer in the United Kingdom – Welcome the University of Bath

First Signer in the United Kingdom – Welcome the University of Bath

First Signer in Sweden – Welcome Stockholm University

First Signer in Sweden – Welcome Stockholm University

First Signer in West Virginia and Second HBCU Joins the Commitment – Welcome WVSU

First Signer in West Virginia and Second HBCU Joins the Commitment – Welcome WVSU

TU Berlin becomes the first European university to sign the Green Chemistry Commitment

TU Berlin becomes the first European university to sign the Green Chemistry Commitment

Beyond Benign Launches Its Green Chemistry Commitment 25×25 Initiative

Green chemistry nonprofit spearheads new sustainability campaign to ensure 25 percent of graduating chemists have a background in green chemistry by 2025

Beyond Benign Launches Its Green Chemistry Commitment 25×25 Initiative

A new initiative to support green chemistry education: The Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community

A new initiative to support green chemistry education: The Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community

Finding and Amplifying the Connection between Media and the Environment

Finding and Amplifying the Connection between Media and the Environment

Ambrose University – First in Alberta, Canada to Join the Green Chemistry Commitment

Ambrose University – First in Alberta, Canada to Join the Green Chemistry Commitment

Mollie Enright Innovating with Bioplastics

Mollie Enright Innovating with Bioplastics

Designing Impactful Green and Sustainable Chemistry Workshops for High School Teachers

Designing Impactful Green and Sustainable Chemistry Workshops for High School Teachers

Guidance Document to Green Chemistry

Guidance Document to Green Chemistry

Student Reflections on Interning at Beyond Benign

Student Reflections on Interning at Beyond Benign

Approaches to Incorporating Green Chemistry and Safety into Laboratory Culture

Approaches to Incorporating Green Chemistry and Safety into Laboratory Culture

Kevin Szkop and the Green Chemistry Commitment

Kevin Szkop and the Green Chemistry Commitment

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