Community News

Through our partnership with Dow to support our 25×25 Initiative Beyond Benign is thrilled to welcome Southern University and A&M College to our Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) community! The Chemistry Department at Southern University will start Green Chemistry education by implementing Green Chemistry Principles in undergraduate chemistry courses and laboratories, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Biochemistry. The institution is the third HBCU (Historically black colleges and universities) to join the GCC program.

Check out the Southern University and A&M College Who’s Committed Profile to learn more about the department and its aims!

Beyond Benign was thrilled to welcome the Keck Science Department serving Scripps, Pitzer, and Claremont McKenna Colleges signed the Green Chemistry Commitment in March 2021. The department emphasizes green chemistry throughout the chemistry curriculum. Starting with general chemistry, green chemistry is introduced in the laboratory. Green Chemistry education continues in organic chemistry and the department has opportunities for majors to contribute to green chemistry research. Chemical toxicology is covered in one of the advanced laboratory courses and there is a stand-alone upper-division environmental chemistry class offering. Many of the faculty members have projects related to green chemistry in their research programs, where students can receive training, write theses, and publish journal articles. The department is committed to offering a program where every graduate receives a solid foundation in green chemistry!

Check out the Pitzer College Who’s Committed Profile to learn more about the department and its aims!

Beyond Benign was thrilled to welcome the Keck Science Department serving Scripps, Pitzer, and Claremont McKenna Colleges signed the Green Chemistry Commitment in March 2021. The department emphasizes green chemistry throughout the chemistry curriculum. Starting with general chemistry, green chemistry is introduced in the laboratory. Green Chemistry education continues in organic chemistry and the department has opportunities for majors to contribute to green chemistry research. Chemical toxicology is covered in one of the advanced laboratory courses and there is a stand-alone upper-division environmental chemistry class offering. Many of the faculty members have projects related to green chemistry in their research programs, where students can receive training, write theses, and publish journal articles. The department is committed to offering a program where every graduate receives a solid foundation in green chemistry!

Check out the Claremont McKenna College Who’s Committed Profile to learn more about the department and its aims!

The Executive Director & Co-Founder of Beyond Benign, Amy Cannon, is thrilled to see the Green Chemistry Commitment highlighted in connection with the climate crisis and how higher education institutions are adopting it in their curricula. Teaching future chemists how to design products and processes that are healthier and safer for humans and the environment is an upstream, preventive, solutions-oriented approach to address local and global sustainability challenges. Read in TIME Magazine how higher education curricula across many disciplines are changing.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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

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