Community News

Green chemistry provides a foundation for designing safer, more sustainable science lessons that inspire students to critically consider environmental and societal impacts. K-12 teachers who have integrated green chemistry principles into their classrooms demonstrate how gradual changes to labs and lessons can create engaging and meaningful learning experiences. These insights are drawn from blog posts by Beyond Benign Certified Lead Teachers.

Incorporating green chemistry into classroom activities can be transformative, but finding a starting point can feel daunting, especially amid the demands educators face. To help, we’ve compiled practical tips from K-12 teachers who are rethinking lab experiments, materials, and classroom practices. These updates not only promote sustainability but also create safer learning environments and encourage students to apply green principles in their everyday lives.

How can green chemistry principles help students think differently about the world around them and the planet’s future? 

Richard Cooper of Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School in London, Ontario, Canada, highlights how green chemistry labs enable students to develop practical, real-world skills while fostering a deeper understanding of sustainability and innovation. 

As students learn proper lab techniques, we as teachers are not just simply teaching them how to measure accurately. We also help them learn that focus, practice, and determination are necessary traits for success both inside and outside the lab. These future material designers, supply chain managers, policymakers, captains of industry, and consumers need to understand the impact and connections between Economy, Environment, and Social Equity (3 E’s of sustainability).

Green chemistry and sustainability are essential concepts that help students become scientifically literate 21st-century global citizens. Providing an environment where students utilize key criteria of green chemistry, such as the cost, safety, and performance of products and processes, supports the development of critical thinking skills essential for success in the global economy. In this burgeoning online and global society, I believe that green chemistry and sustainable science could very well be the most relevant science we teach.

How can I use green chemistry in classes beyond chemistry? 

Retired middle school teacher Gisele Rubino of World Academy in Nashua, New Hampshire, has used many green lessons and labs with students in her life and physical science courses.

Beyond Benign’s middle school curriculum consists of units dedicated to biotechnology, chemistry, and math and engineering. The Enrichment Materials section is designed for informal science educators teaching students at the middle school level. I have found that several of the lessons written for chemistry in this section can be easily adapted for both life science and earth science. For example, teaching my students about biomimicry — using the Introduction to Biomimicry and Advanced Biomimicry Matching Game — shows how inspiration from nature can be used to create viable innovations connecting form, function, technology, and engineering design. This is easily integrated into my adaptation lessons. Using real-world technology in the classroom helps to provide examples for my students of how designing with the principles of green chemistry is inherently safer, more cost-effective, and better performing than alternatives.

Science today needs to be taught with our future in mind. My involvement with Beyond Benign has allowed me to explore and develop a curriculum that will help future scientists. By incorporating a “green” curriculum, I feel that I am giving my students a starting point for their future endeavors. Hopefully, this will become a way of life, not just a lesson in science class.

What are some replacement labs you use that have green chemistry principles? 

Cassidy Javner of Shakopee High School in Shakopee, Minnesota, says it’s important to find safer, sustainable alternatives to traditional, hazardous, and sometimes dangerous chemistry labs. 

Open flames and “out of control” chemistry are not tolerated in industry, but there are still quite a few accidents as a result of these practices in the high school setting. Replacement labs teach the same concepts, skills, and knowledge but use equipment and chemicals that are safe for our students and the environment. If we can teach the same kinetics concepts using starch and Vitamin C, then why not? Replacement labs often involve materials available at drugstores or grocery stores, which makes materials easier to acquire and more familiar for students. It also can be powerful to discuss with students why you chose to switch to a more sustainable lab. (The Green Chemistry Teaching & Learning Community has many different replacement lab options for you to try or check out this starter list of labs to try.)

The first replacement lab that I used in my Honors Chemistry classroom was the Le Chatelier’s Principle lab, which replaced the traditional cobalt complex lab. According to the Safety Data Sheet (SDS), the cobalt compounds involved in the traditional lab are possible carcinogens and moderately toxic by ingestion; strict personal protective equipment is required when using this compound. The replacement lab has two equilibrium systems that students analyze.

• Black Tea – H+ Complex: In this example, lemon juice (or vinegar) is used to increase the acidity of the solution, and household ammonia is used to increase the basicity of the solution.
• Starch-Iodine Complex: In this example, a complex is first created using starch and tincture of iodine, and then the temperature is increased and decreased.

Through these examples, students saw how temperature and concentration affect the shifting of an equilibrium system, all while using non-toxic household products. This lab removes hazards for both students and teachers (minimizes hazardous waste disposal) yet still allows students to analyze color changes in equilibrium systems. 

How do I integrate green chemistry into my Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry course? And how can these techniques be applied in other classes?   

Ann Lambert teaches AP Chemistry courses at King Philip Regional High School, Wrentham, Massachusetts. 

As a teacher of AP Chemistry, I know how it is to be heavy on content and short on time. Those AP students, however, are likely to be future chemists, so we must instill in them an awareness of green chemistry and sustainability. Because students are typically passionate about environmental topics, and as the College Board has updated AP Chemistry labs to remove most of the problematic chemicals and guided inquiries, it is easy to weave green chemistry into your regular lessons. It is also important to remember that green chemistry is not a new branch of science, but rather a lens through which we teach and learn the chemistry principles that are in our existing curricula. This holds true both for a first-year course as well as AP Chemistry.

Throughout the year, I point out to students the “old way” that many labs were taught and ask them to identify how the “new way” is greener. For example, when we complete an analysis of alum lab, students find the formula of the hydrate by dehydration and identify the melting point. Then, instead of having students precipitate out the sulfate using a Barium salt solution, I use a YouTube video that demonstrates the precipitation reaction. As a follow-up, they watch a video of a Barium swallow diagnostic test. I ask students to identify and explain, using the SDS, why we are not working with Barium salts in the high school and discuss why the Barium swallow is a safe and very important medical diagnostic tool. To give students the calculation practice the precipitation provides, I give them a set of data. This is just one example of how I weave green chemistry into my daily curricula.

At the end of the year, after the AP exam, I have each student select a Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award-winning project and research it alongside the product or process it replaced. Each student creates a presentation that is given to the class. I have had students tell me that this activity was the aha! moment that tipped them toward deciding to pursue chemistry or chemical engineering in college!

Can you provide a few examples of high school labs that use green chemistry principles?

Stephen Costanza and Dana Wadnola of Whitesboro High School in Marcy, New York, explain how they transform traditional labs and activities to illustrate green chemistry principles. 

In some cases, simply replacing one chemical with another is enough. In other cases, we look for different activities that cover the same sections of the curriculum. That includes testing several established labs with students. In the Sharklet lab, students explore Sharklet film, an innovation based on shark skin that prevents the growth of bacteria on surfaces. As the students did the simulation, they became so engaged that they did not want to go to their next class. They continued adding more and more clips to see how many could be held. It was a fun way for them to learn how chemistry ties into materials science and engineering. Seeing this high level of engagement was very rewarding for us. 

In addition to the high school resources, we used community engagement activities such as the biomimicry matching game and the green glue activity. The biomimicry matching game involves matching specific animals with potential products inspired by the animals’ characteristics. This was a favorite of our students, especially because they were able to make a connection between biology and chemistry that they never knew existed. The green glue activity challenged students to create two types of glue and evaluate them based on green chemistry criteria. This was fun for them because it involved simple ingredients they could purchase at any market (powdered milk, vinegar, and baking soda), and they also could figure out what was happening because they were familiar with the materials.

Similarly, LeChatelier’s principle equilibrium lab that uses tea, starch, and iodine led to a similar amount of interest. Students were able to see obvious color changes, using materials they have known for years rather than the carcinogenic chromate/dichromate equilibrium that many teachers have used. Whether the color change is from yellow to orange or from tan to dark brown, the principles are the same, yet students are not exposed to harmful materials. In addition, by using store-bought materials, students may be interested in trying other objects they have at home to see if similar changes take place.

These labs are great examples of what it means to make a chemistry classroom “green.” Students use materials they know, and the labs and activities are engaging. Our number one goal as teachers is to help our students succeed in class and their futures, but they should also enjoy what they are learning. Making our classes “greener” can give our students outlets to further explore these concepts outside of school.

How can I engage my high school chemistry students at the start of the year while introducing green chemistry?

Raksmey Derival of Innovation Academy Charter School in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, shares how she uses a three-part “game” to help students learn lab techniques and aspects of green chemistry — and have some fun in the process.

How many students walk into your chemistry class at the start of the year already hesitant because of chemistry’s reputation of being “boring” or “too hard”? I try to overcome these obstacles by challenging students at the start of the year with a “game” that requires creative and innovative ideas as they learn the chemistry of making glue.

Students are presented with a 26-step procedure for making glue and asked to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the process over three days. My lesson expands on Writing the 12 Principles, which introduces many laboratory techniques students will use throughout the year, like measurements and properly mixing solutions.

During day 1, students collaborate as a class. Each student is given one step from the procedure to read aloud and perform in front of their classmates. The “original” procedure includes normal laboratory techniques alongside silly tasks, like doing 20 jumping jacks. As they work through the procedure, the students easily recognize that many of the steps are unnecessary.

That’s when I inform students that they were given a procedure with extra steps. After a review of the chemistry concepts and some guidance on which materials must be included, students revise and rewrite the procedure to make it more efficient. Day 2 allows students to test their “revised” procedures. Each item they use, and the amount of every chemical they use, is tallied to come up with a score. The lab team that has the lowest score (most efficient) while still creating a glue that works (it’s effective) is declared the winner.

After identifying the winners and debriefing what groups did to use fewer materials to make glue, light bulbs go off on what they can do differently to obtain a lower score. Students are told they can try the challenge again on day 3. Again, they revise the procedure and test out their now-“optimized” process. This is when the students become really engaged! Students enjoy the competitive nature of the lab and start thinking really creatively! After all groups test their optimized procedures, most have successfully made glue in a much more efficient manner than day 1’s original procedure and have even demonstrated increased efficiency from day 2’s revised procedure.

This all naturally leads to a conversation about how they practiced green chemistry without even being introduced to its definition and principles! I use examples from their procedures to showcase how they prevented waste, designed for energy efficiency, increased atom economy, and supported several other green chemistry principles. Likewise, I discuss how other principles were violated during those days. I then build upon this activity by having the students rewrite the 12 Principles using more student-friendly language. With this foundation set, students see that they can invent, fail, invent some more, and repeat this process until they succeed, all through the lens of green chemistry.

There is a Lemonade Lab – Writing the Principles that you can check out, too! 

How to Get Involved:

• Attend our monthly interactive webinar series, Observe, Wonder, Think, to collaborate with your peers and get the support you need to bring green chemistry principles into your classroom. 
• Join the Green Chemistry Teaching & Learning Community to connect with the community, access resources, and engage in forums specifically for K-12 educators.
• Subscribe to Beyond Benign’s newsletter to receive updates, opportunities, and inspiration directly to your inbox.
• Explore free, downloadable lessons for all grade levels.

Introducing Ann Lee-Jeffs, the newest member of Beyond Benign’s Executive Board! With nearly 40 years of experience leading sustainability initiatives at companies like Colgate Palmolive, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Teva Pharmaceuticals, Ann is an innovative leader in advancing green chemistry and healthcare plastic recycling. Ann’s journey reflects a profound commitment to environmental sustainability, evident not only through her corporate achievements but also through her founding of the Sustainability Women in the World (SW2) movement, which empowers women leaders in sustainability globally.

As she joins Beyond Benign’s Executive Board, Ann brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective on sustainable chemistry. Beyond Benign caught up with Ann to discuss her career journey, her dedication to green chemistry, and her vision for how sustainability can drive meaningful change in industry and education as we enter the era of the Artificial Intelligence revolution. Read on to learn more about Ann’s impactful work and her inspiring outlook on the future of sustainable chemistry!

First, we’d love to hear about your career journey and the passions that have driven you! What inspired you to focus on sustainability, and how did that lead you to green chemistry?

I have always been moved and motivated by my family and friends who go out of their way to do things to help me and others. Starting at a young age, I was driven, curious, and motivated by taking on the hardest challenges that I believed I could handle. Becoming a chemical engineer, which was encouraged by my mom, was one of the challenges I took on—and it was one of my hardest and proud accomplishments. As a chemical engineer, I had an opportunity to work for several multinational companies, including Colgate Palmolive, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Teva Pharmaceuticals, to help them become leaders in sustainability and green chemistry. Green chemistry is an innovation platform for sustainability. Many companies have practices related to green chemistry—utilizing principles to minimize waste or emissions—the key is leveraging those practices for innovation.

During my time with Pfizer, I was a leader of the green chemistry movement and was involved in establishing the ACS Green Chemistry Institute Pharmaceutical Roundtable. There, I led work to help them recognize green chemistry as a platform for not only increasing the efficiency of drug development but also innovating the process. This resulted in both top and bottom-line growth. I took this experience and applied it at Johnson & Johnson to integrate green chemistry across their 200+ family of companies.  

Before joining the Beyond Benign Board, you founded the Sustainability Women in the World (SW2) movement. How did your work at SW2 help shape your approach to sustainability leadership? 

Leading sustainability at Teva Pharmaceuticals and Modern Meadow, I navigated the shift from seeing sustainability as an opportunity to a risk-focused necessity. Founding SW2 was about empowering women executives to lead with innovation in sustainability, which is especially important as we face the transformative challenges and opportunities of the AI revolution. SW2 activates the power of women executives in sustainability to bring about a tide that helps all sustainability leaders facing this crossroads—ensuring that this key growth innovation platform remains and we can continue aligning our work for the good of the planet and the health of people. 

As someone with extensive experience in corporate sustainability, what do you see as the most significant challenges and opportunities for the green chemistry movement in the next decade?

The primary challenge and opportunity for green chemistry is to evolve from a scientific to a business movement, gaining traction among CEOs, investors, consumers, policymakers, and sustainability officers.

What drew you to join the Beyond Benign Board of Directors? How do you see your background in sustainability and green chemistry contributing to the organization’s vision and goals?

Having advocated for green chemistry for over 20 years, joining Beyond Benign was a natural step. I aim to help expand the organization’s reach and impact and connect the sustainability and green chemistry communities more closely. As such, I am very excited about connecting the dots between green chemistry and sustainability to bring the two communities closer together.  

In your career, you’ve launched several industry roundtables. How do you think Beyond Benign’s focus on education and green chemistry can benefit collaborative industry efforts like those?

We are what we teach. Education shapes our future workforce, which is crucial as we still face gaps in innovation and sustainability skills. Beyond Benign’s role in educating from elementary to graduate levels is pivotal. I see an opportunity for Beyond Benign to lead collaboration between the industrial and academic sectors to develop education that aligns with modern needs in innovation and sustainability.

How to get involved:

• Join the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) to connect with your peers in a collaborative environment focused on green chemistry education.
• Subscribe to Beyond Benign’s newsletter to get green chemistry news, resources, and inspiration delivered to your inbox monthly.

Meet Dr. Jonathon Moir, Senior Program Manager of the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) at Beyond Benign. With a passion for chemistry education and advancing sustainability, Jonathon has been a champion of green chemistry throughout his career. From helping to found the Green Chemistry Initiative at the University of Toronto to guiding the development of the GCTLC, Jonathon’s journey is all about driving collaboration and innovation in the field. 

As he leads the charge in shaping the GCTLC, Jonathon is excited to see the platform grow into a dynamic hub for educators, students, and industry leaders to unite, share resources, and push green chemistry education to new heights. Beyond Benign recently caught up with Jonathon to learn about his career journey, his vision for the GCTLC, and how this dynamic platform fosters green chemistry resource sharing and collaboration. Dive into the conversation below!

First, we’d love to hear about your career journey and the passions that have driven you! How did your professional path lead you to your current role with Beyond Benign, specifically working on the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC)?

In graduate school during my Ph.D. program, I was fortunate to have some phenomenal colleagues in the same research group. In 2012, while in the office, two of my colleagues began talking about green chemistry and how great it would be to bring more of it into our chemistry department. Many of us agreed and felt that a student group could be a great way to start getting people on board. We got together for our first meeting with a few other friends and students from other research groups, began considering ideas for initiatives we could do, established a group constitution, and shortly after became an officially recognized group on campus: the University of Toronto Green Chemistry Initiative. It’s amazing to see the group is still going strong 12 years later, and I still get together once in a while with many of the original group members.

That was my first introduction to green chemistry. After I graduated, I moved into the nonprofit sector and took on a few different roles. I had several opportunities to return to research and debated myself regularly as to whether that was something I wanted to do, but the COVID-19 pandemic threw everything into a tailspin. Ultimately, I took a moment to reflect on what I cared about, and two things immediately came to mind: education and sustainability. From that, I remembered Beyond Benign and Dr. Amy Cannon‘s presentation at the University of Toronto years before. So I reached out to Dr. Natalie O’Neil, who was leading the Higher Education program at Beyond Benign, and asked if there was anything I could help volunteer with. After a few months, a position opened up to support the development and launch of the GCTLC, and I was thrilled to be able to apply!

What features or opportunities within the GCTLC platform are you particularly thrilled about, and how do you envision it empowering educators, students, and sustainability advocates?

What’s amazing about the GCTLC is the community-driven approach and passion for bringing people and information together into one place, which makes the platform so powerful. The teachers, faculty, students, and industry champions tell us what they want to see and submit their content, questions, and comments directly to the site. In that way, users answer questions from other users, comment on other community members’ resources, and add their original work and great resources they’ve found to the GCTLC’s library. They share about upcoming events and important developments, so the platform is a living space that’s constantly evolving and changing. New pages with additional resources and links are regularly added based on community feedback. In particular, the GCTLC’s library lets users update their resources after they’ve been published, allowing them to go through additional peer review to help prevent information stagnation. This was the original hope for the platform, and it’s great to see it happening in real time. While the platform is still in its infancy, we’re incredibly excited to see this evolving and dynamic platform taking shape, molded by the very users that make up its membership. 

You invested considerable effort in guiding the GCTLC Leadership Committee (now the Advisory Committee) to establish the platform’s core values at the outset. Could you share the importance of this step and how it shapes the GCTLC’s development and impact?

One of the first things we did with the Leadership Committee was develop the platform’s mission, vision, and core values in early 2021. This was a critical step at the outset as it helped us to articulate what type of community space we wanted to build, with feedback from the committee members as representatives of the wider community (representing teachers in K-12 and Higher Education, information management experts, education policy experts, and industry champions). Doing this before we had even chosen a developer allowed us to focus on how our committee would work with the development team and with us to build the platform, design the peer review process, facilitate conversation, choose specific design elements, manage community-contributed content, and data, create the layout for the homepage, and so much more. We have strived at every stage to uphold the core values in every aspect of the GCTLC, from the content we include and site accessibility to the functionality we add over time. We continue to hold those values as the core spirit of everything we do.

What features make the GCTLC platform a unique space for the green chemistry community? How does it elevate the accessibility and collaborative potential of green chemistry education materials?

Until now, there hasn’t been one central online place for green chemistry education content, resources, collaboration, and conversation. Some previous projects, including the Greener Educational Materials (GEMs) database, hosted through the University of Oregon, had aimed to fill this gap and provided a fantastic first virtual database for resource access and sharing during its lifetime (it was unfortunately shut down in the mid-2010s). However, given the many advances in technology and web development since then and the need to bring together many different functional aspects into a single site to meet community needs, the GCTLC provides a unique, next-level space for teachers and educators worldwide. In particular, the GCTLC’s foundation is built on two open-source, modular software platforms that allow for a wide range of additional functionalities and “power-ups” to be bolted onto the core system, allowing it to quickly adapt to changing community needs and expand on what it can do functionally. In that way, we can further enhance user collaboration and accelerate information access. One example is the broad interest in implementing a tagging feature where users can tag other users in comments to be notified when something might interest them. Another is our groups functionality launching soon, which we also hope will help facilitate collaboration and conversation. 

We know group collaboration spaces are coming soon on the platform. Can you give us a sneak peek? What will this enable the community to do, and what should the community be looking forward to with this project? What are you excited about? 

The groups functionality will allow users to join spaces on the GCTLC dedicated to specific topics or themes of interest with other users who share the same interests. Like Facebook groups, users can create new groups and invite other users to join them or join existing groups by searching through the groups listings. When creating new groups, users can customize the access and visibility settings (including setting up public or private groups), with up to six different group types to choose from. Once a user has joined a group, they can see other members, post questions, start new discussions, create collaborative project threads, and share files or links of interest. 

We’ve heard from many of our community members that the group functionality is much needed. We have close to 15 groups waiting to get started with their own dedicated spaces on the GCTLC. The group functionality will help fill a long-standing gap in the green chemistry education community and further connect our community members from around the world.

How to get involved:

• Join the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) to connect with your peers in a collaborative environment focused on green chemistry education.
• Connect with Jonathon in the GCTLC to keep up with his work!
• Explore the GCTLC Trailblazer Guide to make the most of your experience on the platform. This guide offers tips for optimizing your profile, finding community members, locating helpful resources, uploading new content, participating in discussion forums, creating events, and submitting job postings.

Meet Beyond Benign’s GCTLC Program Manager, Dr. Nimrat K. Obhi! Nim (they/them) is from Ottawa, Canada, and obtained their Honours Bachelor of Science (HBSc) in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Ottawa in 2014. Although they have an interdisciplinary background, Nim first learned about green chemistry during their graduate studies through the University of Toronto’s Green Chemistry Initiative (GCI). Since then, Nim has become a green chemistry advocate and has chosen to focus on using green chemistry as a tool to help improve social justice, health equity, and environmental justice concerns. 

Nim joined the Beyond Benign team as a Program Manager of Higher Education and recently transitioned into a new role serving as the Program Manager for the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC), an online platform that provides a space for learning, connecting, and sharing within the green chemistry community.

In this conversation, Nim shares how their passion for green chemistry began, the connections between their biomedical science background and sustainable chemistry, and how they hope their work with the GCTLC impacts the future of green chemistry education. 

How did you come into the green chemistry field? What is your educational background, and what organizations have you been associated with?

My educational background is interdisciplinary. My undergraduate degree is in biomedical sciences and medicinal chemistry, and my PhD is in polymer and materials chemistry. Throughout my education, I actually never encountered green chemistry in any of my courses or research!

I instead first heard about green chemistry during my PhD through graduate student-focused outreach activities led by the Green Chemistry Initiative (GCI) student group at the University of Toronto. I also had the opportunity to learn more through completing a teaching fellowship project with Dr. Andy Dicks and Dr. Sophie Rousseaux, where we developed a green lab experiment and in-class assignment for an upper-year organic chemistry class that taught students how to evaluate and improve the greenness of a chemical transformation. I ended up staying involved with this project post-fellowship because I truly felt that green chemistry is the best way to do chemistry, where the focus is on the prevention of harm from the beginning so that our environment is not an afterthought.

I was a member of the Working for Inclusivity in Chemistry Toronto student group for a long time, and we collaborated with the GCI often to invite green chemistry leaders to the university for seminars and student-focused roundtable and networking discussions. I also worked with the Canadians Working Towards Inclusivity in Chemistry National Network and the Canadian Society for Chemistry’s Working Group for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity, and while we didn’t work on green chemistry initiatives specifically, our initiatives did seek to support educators and students alike in their scientific careers, which often included pursuing green chemistry.

How does your background in biomedical science influence your interest in green chemistry? 

My background includes traditional STEM courses like math, chemistry, biology, physics, and biochemistry, in addition to courses on anatomy/physiology, determinants of health, ethics, psychology, pharmacy, and pharmacology. These courses are meant to prepare students for careers in healthcare, where discussions on health equity, drug synthesis, manufacturing, and the history of inequities in medicine are common. 

My original plan was to become a medical doctor before I decided to pursue chemistry instead. I see green chemistry as a necessary tool to help prevent disease and improve health equity and environmental justice concerns in our society. I was definitely in the minority in my program because I loved chemistry. (A common complaint from students was that they didn’t see the relevance of chemistry to healthcare and found chemistry courses difficult or uninteresting). Because of these experiences, I believe teaching green chemistry makes chemistry more societally relevant, necessary, and interesting from a healthcare perspective, as prevention of harm is a core concept in both medicine and green chemistry.

Can you share a story about a time when you’ve seen faculty support other faculty and grow their confidence in teaching green chemistry?

There are so many stories I could share! Every day on the GCTLC platform, I see educators connecting with one another to ask questions and share resources and approaches that have worked for them in their classrooms and labs. Even these relatively small interactions can have a massive and meaningful impact on people at any stage of their green chemistry journey. 

In the higher education Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) program, many educators gave us feedback that they felt more confident teaching green chemistry. I believe this is because the program fosters and facilitates connections between educators to further allow for support and mentorship. I also see this community support happen at every Observe, Wonder, Think webinar and Green Chemistry Connections session, where open spaces for networking and resource sharing contribute to a highly collaborative environment. 

Throughout my time working at Beyond Benign, I have seen that the green chemistry educational community is incredibly curious, welcoming, and supportive. I think the feeling of connection and solidarity embodied by the community is what increases educators’ confidence to make small changes that will contribute to a huge transformation of the way we do chemistry.

You’ve been leading many of the initiatives to build a welcoming and inclusive community. What advantages do you see in building a more diverse and inclusive green chemistry community? Why is Beyond Benign emphasizing this as part of its mission, and what excites you about that work? 

Anyone who wants to pursue green chemistry should feel a strong sense of belonging in the community and that they are valued and appreciated for their differences. A huge part of why we do this work to reform chemistry education is to improve society for the betterment of humanity and our environment, so it just makes sense that all voices and experiences are present. When we talk about reforming chemistry, it is especially important to prioritize voices from equity-deserving communities, as the results of irresponsible chemistry practices disproportionately impact these communities. 

When we make intentional efforts to build a green chemistry education community of practice that values diverse people, we will then be more equipped to address barriers and challenges with an informed and experienced approach because we are relying on the diversity of thought and experience that comes from the entire community‚— not just a slice of the community. 

This work is exciting because I believe there is no one “correct” way to approach green chemistry and that it is especially important and valuable to learn from people who are different from us. My hope for the future of chemistry is that it is a discipline that never excludes people on the basis of their identities or experiences, and I truly believe that dismantling systems of oppression that perpetuate these problems will only help to improve the world around us.

As the Program Manager of the GCTLC, what projects are you currently working on? How do you envision those projects contributing to the future of green chemistry in academia and industry? 

Right now, I am helping to build our community engagement approach for the platform. We want to make sure the GCTLC is a place where everyone feels like they belong and that it helps to accelerate the adoption of widespread green chemistry education. This means we need long-term strategies to ensure that community members want to join and participate freely on the platform and that they feel excited about coming to the GCTLC. My work on these strategies will help us to ensure that the GCTLC is the meeting place for a growing green chemistry education community of practice for years to come. 

If everyone feels they have a place on the platform and that resources, collaborative spaces, and events are supportive and increase learning and confidence, we will be able to work together better to create transformational change in chemistry education. This kind of reform will only help all sectors to streamline innovation to be more sustainable and address large-scale issues like climate change with more tools and resources at our disposal. I believe this type of transformation truly starts within communities, which is why I’m really excited to be working on the GCTLC team! I invite anyone to always reach out to me over email if you would like to provide feedback or get involved!

What are the benefits of student groups in the chemistry community?

I first learned about green chemistry because of the outreach efforts and activities from a student group (and now I work on green chemistry education), so I think that illustrates the power that they have! Student groups are an incredibly important part of the chemistry community and their educational, outreach, safety, and social justice initiatives are greatly beneficial to everyone, even those of us who are no longer students ourselves. 

This past year, Beyond Benign Higher Education team funded 14 amazing student groups around the globe who are doing essential green chemistry work to improve chemistry’s culture and educate younger and younger generations of students about sustainability and prevention of harm. In this interview, my colleague Dr. Monica Nyansa also talked about her student-led work to move chemistry toward a culture of safety, which can literally save lives. Based on my experience, student groups are often doing work without the levels of support or power that educators or administrators have, and there is a lot that can be learned from their approaches. I think it’s important to remember that students are really the next generation of green chemistry leaders and that their work and actions will help to truly drive innovation and change in society. 

What advice or insights would you share with educators and students interested in incorporating green chemistry principles into their teaching and research practices?

The first piece of advice I have is to start small. It’s very easy to convince yourself that you have to completely reform the system overnight, but in reality the community has demonstrated that it is small, incremental changes that add up to large impacts. This can mean something as simple as connecting a chemistry concept learned in class to a broader societal topic for your students. If you work in a lab, even something as small as monitoring your chemical reactions closely to figure out their endpoints can help to vastly conserve energy and resources! 

The second piece of advice I have is to find and join a community of people who are also making these changes so that you can feel less alone — join the GCTLC or a student group and come to our green chemistry events! Changes and reform can happen through community support and learning, and when you reach out, you will find there is always a place for you.

Connect with Nim in the GCTLC to keep up with their work!

Meet Beyond Benign’s newest team member, Dr. Monica Nyansa! We are proud to welcome Monica to our team as the Content Manager of Beyond Benign’s Higher Education programming.

After graduating from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana with a background in pharmaceutical chemistry, Monica attended the American Chemical Society (ACS) Green Chemistry Summer School, where she developed a passion for sustainability in chemistry. 

Monica has since become an active leader in promoting green chemistry education for students and educators. Within the Beyond Benign team, Monica is responsible for leading the design and development of professional development courses that equip educators with the tools and resources they need to teach green chemistry effectively and inspire the next generation of chemists to make positive contributions to society and the environment.

In this conversation, Monica shares her journey to green chemistry journey, her background in pharmaceutical chemistry, her hopes for the future of green chemistry, and the role she sees Beyond Benign playing in advancing the field and promoting a sustainable future for all. 

Can you tell us about your journey into the fields of science and green chemistry? What is your educational background, and what organizations have you been associated with? 

My journey into science began with earning a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy. Following this, I worked as a pharmacist while pursuing a graduate degree in pharmaceutical chemistry. I became fascinated with molecule design and synthesis, leading me to further my studies with a PhD in Chemistry at Michigan Technological University. 

However, my interest in green chemistry was piqued during my PhD program, particularly after attending the ACS Green Chemistry Summer School. This experience sparked my passion for sustainable practices in chemistry. Throughout my doctoral studies, I explored ways to integrate green chemistry principles into my research. 

Additionally, I became involved with the ACS Chemical Health and Safety Division, participating in student-led lab safety workshops and interning with the ACS Office of Safety Programs in the summer of 2023. These experiences deepened my understanding of lab safety practices and reinforced my commitment to promoting safer chemistry within the scientific community.

How does your background in pharmaceutical chemistry influence your interest in green chemistry and chemistry education?

During my master’s degree in pharmaceutical chemistry, my research focused on developing a method for simultaneously determining an over-the-counter combination drug. I noticed that many existing methods in the literature relied on hazardous organic polar solvents and had lengthy run times. Motivated to find a safer and more efficient solution, I aimed to develop a method that used less hazardous chemicals and could complete the analysis in a shorter time frame, ideally around five minutes. This approach was important to me as it reduced exposure to harmful chemicals and minimized resource usage.

While I wasn’t yet familiar with the formal principles of green chemistry at that time, the concept of reducing exposure to harmful chemicals and using fewer resources resonated deeply with me. This mindset stayed with me, and when I later learned about green chemistry principles during my PhD studies, I was pleased to see it integrated into the curriculum at Michigan Tech, a Beyond Benign Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) signer. Having explicit instruction in green chemistry ensures that future chemists are equipped with the knowledge and tools to make positive and relevant contributions to society while prioritizing safety and sustainability in their work.

Can you discuss your experiences in green chemistry education? How do you expect this to influence your work at Beyond Benign?

As far as I can recall, explicit instruction on green chemistry was not part of my undergraduate experience. We frequently handled corrosives and flammables, such as organic solvents, in laboratory coursework, sometimes on open benchtops. Exposure to green chemistry during my graduate education has taught me the importance of sustainability in chemistry. Learning about green chemistry principles, such as minimizing waste and using safer chemicals, has prepared me to promote environmentally friendly practices, especially during my research work. 

One thing that I found important in my education was access to resources to learn more about safe and green chemistry and its application. Since explicit instruction of green chemistry applications in the curriculum is critical for educating the next generation of students, this process begins with educators feeling able and confident in teaching green chemistry.

At Beyond Benign, I expect to use this knowledge to develop educational materials that inspire educators to embrace green chemistry, presented in manageable chunks to facilitate incorporation into their existing chemistry curriculum. By providing resources for faculty training in green chemistry concepts and applications and making them accessible, I hope to empower educators to make positive changes in their teaching methods to better prepare students.

As Beyond Benign’s Content Manager, what projects are you currently working on? How do you envision these projects impacting educators and students?

As the content manager, I am working on some exciting projects, mainly aimed at enhancing green chemistry education for students and educators alike. One project involves creating educational content for the professional development of faculty in green chemistry and toxicology concepts. These projects entail working with faculty, usually from institutions that have signed the Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC), to design and develop on-demand training courses. These courses aim to empower educators with the knowledge and skills to confidently incorporate green chemistry into their teaching methods, ultimately enhancing the quality of education for students. (The first step of this project is to gather feedback from the community — we encourage all higher education faculty to fill out our survey so we can hear what their professional education needs are!)

Another ongoing project is a module on how to use the chemical hazard database, ChemForward, for teaching students about hazards and hazard assessment, and finding safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals as a way of ending toxic chemical exposure and promoting safer chemicals.

Overall, I envision these projects making a significant impact on educators and students by fostering a greater understanding of green chemistry principles and promoting sustainable practices in the field of chemistry. By equipping educators with the tools and resources they need to teach green chemistry effectively, we can inspire the next generation of chemists to make positive contributions to society and the environment.

Beyond Benign has a number of opportunities for the education community to get involved in the movement to advance green chemistry education. From your perspective, what are the advantages of peer support and peer-assisted learning? 

Peer support and peer-assisted learning are key to advancing green chemistry in education. In a community of practice like the green chemistry community, educators exchange ideas and share experiences, fostering collaboration and innovation in teaching strategies. Each person brings a certain level of expertise and experience to the table, and that is what makes peer support very critical in a community of practice. Knowing that someone is doing what you are also doing or trying to do helps to lower the risks of isolation.

Peer-assisted learning, on the other hand, encourages active engagement and participation, enabling educators to learn from each other and improve their teaching methods. This sense of community enhances motivation and satisfaction in the learning process. 

To further support this community, in 2023, Beyond Benign launched the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC), an online platform for the community and by the community to provide a space for learning, connecting, and sharing within the green chemistry community. This platform is critical to advancing the rapidly growing green chemistry teaching and learning community as more institutions start incorporating green chemistry into their curriculum.

What are your hopes for the future of green chemistry in academia and industry?

I envision a future where green chemistry principles are integrated seamlessly into teaching, research, development, and manufacturing processes, leading to cleaner, safer, and more sustainable products and processes.

In academia, I envision a future where green chemistry education and research are prioritized. This entails integrating green chemistry principles directly into chemistry curricula, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, and offering robust support for green chemistry initiatives and projects. I foresee the next generation of scientists and engineers being equipped with a solid foundation in chemistry viewed through the lens of green chemistry. They will be well-prepared to assume pivotal roles in driving innovation and promoting sustainability across diverse industries and academic disciplines.

In industry, my hope is for the widespread adoption of green chemistry practices and technologies. This entails not only reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing processes and products but also promoting resource efficiency and the use of renewable feedstocks. I hope industries prioritize chemistry that is safe, green, and protects the environment and the climate. By prioritizing these, companies can not only enhance their competitiveness but also contribute positively to society and the planet.

How do you believe organizations like Beyond Benign can contribute to realizing these goals?

Organizations like Beyond Benign play a crucial role in realizing these goals by acting as catalysts for change and facilitating collaboration between academia, industry, and other stakeholders. Beyond Benign provides valuable resources, training programs, and educational materials to support the adoption and implementation of green chemistry principles. Beyond Benign empowers individuals and organizations to embrace sustainable practices and drive positive environmental outcomes by raising awareness, building capacity, and fostering partnerships. Overall, organizations like Beyond Benign can make a significant contribution to advancing the field of green chemistry and promoting a more sustainable future for all.

What advice or insights would you share with educators and students interested in incorporating green chemistry principles into their teaching and research practices?

For educators, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Thanks to organizations such as Beyond Benign and the GCTLC platform, there are resources and peer support available. There are numerous ways to incorporate green chemistry into your existing courses, ranging from explicit instruction on green chemistry principles in chemical processes to offering standalone courses dedicated to green chemistry principles and applications. Support is readily available for integrating these concepts, along with assessment materials. Come to one of our Green Chemistry Connections sessions to learn more and connect with your peers. Additionally, support your students who are interested in delving deeper into green chemistry applications. Connect them with resources and champion their education.

For students, seek out peers who share your interests and consider forming a group. Many student-led initiatives in green chemistry, like the University of Toronto Green Chemistry Initiative Team, provide opportunities for involvement. 

Maintain your curiosity and passion for learning!

How you can get involved:

• Keep up with Monica and her work by connecting with her in the GCTLC!
• Higher Education Faculty: Help shape the future of professional training in green chemistry and toxicology! Your insights in this 15-minute higher-ed survey will pave the way for tailored educational initiatives in the field. Your feedback makes a big difference.
• K-12 Educators: Treat yourself to personal and professional growth this summer! We’re offering three outstanding professional development courses for K-12 educators taught by Beyond Benign Lead Teachers.