Green Chemistry as the Foundation of Sustainability and the Circular Economy

media release: UW Center for Sustainability & the Global Environment Weston Roundtable lecture, Room 1163.

Speaker: John Warner, CEO & CTO of Technology Greenhouse

While there is a lot of discussion about WHY we need sustainability and WHAT we should do to measure and characterize sustainability, it is especially important to discuss HOW we should make these changes. This is the domain of Green Chemistry. When a researcher contemplates a new experiment, when an inventor imagines a new product, he or she makes several small and large decisions that will have a profound impact on the ultimate sustainability of what they do. If they do not have the skills and tools to understand the sustainability implications at the mechanistic molecular level (green chemistry), it is unlikely that they will successfully achieve sustainability objectives. This presentation will discuss how green chemistry can be integrated into the earliest stages of research and development to ensure maximum sustainability. Real world, commercialized examples will be used to illustrate key points.

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.