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.
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Press Contact:
Nicki Wiggins, Director of Development
Beyond Benign
Nicki_Wiggins@beyondbenign.org
978-229-5443
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. 
“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. 
Our Co-Founder and Executive Director Amy Cannon, our K-12 Education Director Kate Anderson, and our Green Chemistry Commitment Director Irv Levy, together with Amy Keirstead, Reuben Hudson, Jennifer MacKellar, Mollie Enright, and Elizabeth Howson have just published a paper in the Journal of Chemical Education.
