University of Leeds
Green chemistry and sustainability are key themes of both student education and research at the University of Leeds. Undergraduate students are introduced to the UN Sustainability Goals and the various ways that chemistry impacts upon these (positively and negatively) early on in their course and will come back to this throughout their studies. While much of the the discussion is embedded within broader topics (for example, the chemistry and impact of biofuels is considered within broader topics on atmospheric chemistry), at higher levels, dedicated optional modules on sustainable chemistry are offered. At taught postgraduate level, the School of Chemistry offers an MSc in Science and Technology for Sustainability. Green chemistry is also a key facet of our research: one of our five research clusters is the Sustainable and Digital Chemistry group. Green chemistry research is offered at PhD, Masters and Bachelors level – for example, student teams have been responsible for developing greener, more sustainable variants of undergraduate practicals for their BSc projects. Entrepreneurship is also encouraged – the School has several spin-out companies related to e.g. non-precious metal catalysis, sustainable ingredients for cosmetics and cleaner approaches to textile dyeing.
Chemistry Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Chemistry Master of Science (M.S.), Chemistry Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Green Chemistry Master of Science (M.S.)
Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Green Chemistry stand-alone course, Faculty Research, Student Research
ChemSoc https://engage.luu.org.uk/groups/TQB/chemistry
Continue to embed sustainability and green chemistry within our core taught programmes, while ensuring relevant specialist topics are available at higher levels
Continue to work with students to improve sustainability within our teaching laboratories
Introduce basic toxicology as part of our professional skills/laboratory training for all students
The University of Leeds was involved in the flagship CHEM21 European Union project on sustainable chemistry for the pharmaceutical industry (https://www.ihi.europa.eu/projects-results/project-factsheets/chem21). Resources developed within this project include a sustainable solvents guide:
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2016/gc/c5gc01008j