When many people think of chemistry, they automatically jump to explosions, toxic chemical spills or an industrial accident on the news. What they don’t think about are the medicines that keep us healthy, the immunizations that make us live longer, the materials like plastics and fabrics we use every day, the energy we consume or the crops we grow that give improved yields. All of these are dependent on chemistry and the chemical industry
The reason is obvious: For centuries, the chemical industry caused pollution problems because its focus was maximum production speed and profit, not environmental safety. But chemistry doesn’t have to be that way!
I was first introduced to green chemistry when an email landed in my mailbox inviting me to apply for a workshop on green chemistry education in 2014. Just like many, I had never heard of green chemistry before, but I took a chance and applied. That one-week workshop at the University of Oregon shaped the path of my professional life in a way that I had never imagined.
So, what is green chemistry?
It is the design of chemical processes and products that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. This is not about cleaning up pollution after it happened. It is not about relying on protective equipment to shield workers from harmful chemicals. It is certainly not political. Green chemistry is a mindset — a conscious way of doing chemistry with the environmental impact, economic feasibility, and social equity in mind.
Developed by Paul Anastas and John Warner in 1998, green chemistry operates under the umbrella of 12 foundational principles. Green chemistry education makes the chemist ask, “Should we do this this way?” or “How can we do it better?” rather than “Can we do this?” This mindset encourages critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and innovation, all skills that are essential for addressing the challenges of the 21st century.
Green Chemistry at McPherson College
McPherson College is proud to be the first college or university in Kansas to sign the Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) with Beyond Benign in 2023. (Beyond Benign is an organization that develops and disseminates green chemistry and sustainable science educational resources that empower educators, students, and the community at large to practice sustainability through chemistry.)
Our long-term goal is that every student who graduates with a degree in biology, biochemistry or chemistry is guaranteed to be knowledgeable of green chemistry and toxicology concepts through the organic chemistry lab curriculum.
So far, we are keeping up our promise and doing more. Our stand-alone Green Chemistry and Introduction to Toxicology courses have become required for our chemistry majors and chemistry for industry track making sure our chemistry graduates have the essential knowledge that is recommended by the American Chemical Society for a chemistry major.
Green chemistry and toxicology education provides students with high-demand job skills as many industries now actively seek graduates who have knowledge of green chemistry, toxicology, and sustainability studies. Systems thinking, a core component of green chemistry education, helps students see how global issues like climate change, sustainable development, economics, and public health are all interconnected, and the central role chemistry plays in it.
The two-year natural science undergraduate research sequence at McPherson College further expands opportunities for interested natural science majors to explore green chemistry concepts further through their research projects.
It is not only our natural science majors who get to experience and explore green chemistry at McPherson College. Through general education courses like Principles of Chemistry and Chemistry for Life, we have expanded the reach of green chemistry education to a wider range of students at the college.
I am grateful for the opportunity I have at McPherson College to share my knowledge, inspiration and values with our students through green chemistry education, and I am planning to expand this specific way of thinking with the wider community through outreach activities and collaborative projects.
