Green Chemistry in Higher Education: An Upstream Approach to Addressing Sustainable Development Goals

media release: UW Nelson Institute Weston Roundtable lecture, Room 1163.

Speaker: Amy Cannon, co-founder and executive director, Beyond Benign

Chemistry plays a critical role in addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by providing the molecular building blocks of materials and products used in our society. Green chemistry provides principles and a framework to design chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate hazards and impacts.

Chemists with green chemistry skills have made significant positive impacts through the design of sustainable chemistry technologies. Undergraduate and graduate level training is an essential stage in the training of scientists and professionals that are prepared with the skills to address hazards and mitigate impacts at the design stage of a product lifecycle.

This presentation will provide an overview of the tremendous opportunities that green chemistry provides to better prepare students to address sustainability through chemistry. Cannon will highlight programming at Beyond Benign, a non-profit organization dedicated to green chemistry education.

She’ll also discuss academic models for adopting green chemistry in education and research, and the new Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC), an open-source, online platform for the global green chemistry community to share resources, collaborate and network.

The Weston Roundtable is made possible by a generous donation from Roy F. Weston, a highly accomplished UW-Madison alumnus. Designed to promote a robust understanding of sustainability science, engineering, and policy, these interactive lectures are co-sponsored by the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Office of Sustainability.