This presentation will describe the formation of a new committee in a large R1 University’s Department of Chemistry focused on building a culture of green and sustainable chemistry practices. Although pockets of efforts were present, the committee’s goal was to bring these initiatives together to build a community of diverse stakeholder’s visibly promoting chemistry as an essential role for a sustainable future. The committee is committed to sharing knowledge and resources that draw on departmental strengths in safety, curriculum materials, and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.  Additionally, graduate researchers actions that model more sustainable research laboratory practices. Departmental surveys were conducted to obtain a baseline understanding of current practices so that progress can be measured.<br/><br/>Chemistry departments are often the largest producers of waste and leading consumers of energy on campuses. The committee plans to engage with university sustainability programs and UN Sustainable Development Goals strategic planning to build collaborations that illustrate chemistry as seeking solutions to rather than a contributor to environmental harm. An overarching theme of the new Sustainable & Green Chemistry committee (SGC) is to equip our students/researchers with the skills and mindset to be leaders in their future careers.

Creating a departmental culture of sustainable and green chemistry practices

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ACS Spring 2023

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