Chemistry Department Encourages “Greening”
The Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) is a pledge to the chemistry department to incorporate the 12 green chemistry principles in chemistry courses. This commitment has two components: “greening” the labs and preparing the students for chemistry in a world that is increasingly focused on sustainability and safety. The “greening” refers to the reduction of waste and change of reagent choices in the chemistry lab experiments. The 12 green chemistry principles will be added into science classes to address the learning objectives outlined by Beyond Benign, the foundation that created and maintains the course materials.
During the last two decades, individual professors in the chemistry department introduced green chemistry concepts into lectures and lab activities. The GCC seeks to build on the efforts of leaders in the field to the Mclee Change chemistry education. The GCC is helping to transform chemistry education in the university chemistry department. The program strives to prepare world-class chemists whose skills are well-aligned with the needs of Earth and its inhabitants in the 21st-century. It designs and develops innovative, efficient, and environmentally-sound solutions to the safety and effectiveness of chemical products and processes.
There will be no changes to the budget for chemistry. However, signing this commitment gives universities access to the Green Chemistry curriculum and lab experiments curated by Beyond Benign. “With this commitment, we are gaining access to resources on how to incorporate the green chemistry principles as well as access a support network of other professionals and colleges that have also signed the green chemistry commitment.”
The 12 principles of green chemistry will be incorporated in some of the chemistry class curriculum and lab experiments. In these lab experiments, students will determine which principles are being used to make the lab experiments greener. Laurie Centari said, “We actually have been greening our labs for many years. We actively look for ways to decrease the number of solvents we use, choose more sustainable chemicals, and use biological starting materials like red cabbage powder when we can.” This commitment gives us a chance to document our progress in greening our chemistry labs. With the addition of the Green Chemistry principles into the curriculum, we will produce chemists who are ready to tackle the challenge of producing materials for the modern era that are designed with safety and sustainability in mind.
Green chemistry is good for Green River as well as the environment. “Using less toxic reactants in our chemistry lab experiments makes our classes safer not only for our students but our faculty and staff.” A safer chemistry lab will translate into a safer, cleaner environment. The green chemistry commitment is a voluntary, flexible framework for chemistry department to progressively adopt a green chemistry theory and practice. Recognizing that each institution has different capabilities in resources, the committee strives to unite the field around green chemistry student learning objectives, which can be integrated through a number of different pathways and timelines. By signing the green chemistry commitment, chemistry department will agree to commit to incorporating the green chemistry student learning objectives within their own departments each department will submit a streamlined annual report at the end of each academic year that will highlight past accomplishments and focus on future goals through the green chemistry commitment the progress of individual departments, as well as the. The field as a whole will be tracked and reported to the community. Here is how your department can be part of the green chemistry commitment all forms are available online. The chemistry department chair, along with one administrator must sign the pledge form. Submit the contact form with your’s institutions primary contact personal information. The chemistry department must submit an annual survey to cake process of the adoption of the green chemistry student learning objectives. The survey will be sent out each spring and can be gathered electronically or via phone interview. This will be due on an annual basis in order to continue participation in the commitment
