Green chemistry and the grand challenges of sustainability

Abstract

Abstract In its simplest form, green chemistry may be defined as the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the generation of hazardous substances. The brief history of green chemistry is marked with extraordinary creativity and accomplishments in meeting the “triple bottom line” of sustainability in economic, social, and environmental performance. Green chemistry is about redesigning chemical processes from the ground up, and it goes hand in hand with the sustainable practice of chemistry. We need to start at the undergraduate level, and to provide a better foundation in green chemistry and systems thinking if we are to prepare a generation of chemists able to respond to the grand challenges of sustainability.