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Conference report: Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference
Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 1 (2016) IeIII
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry journal homepage: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/current-opinion-ingreen-and-sustainable-chemistry/
Conference report: Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference
1. Introduction The Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference was held in Berlin, Germany, from April 3rd to 6th, 2016. The organisers designed the conference to try to cover as much of the diversity of the subject of green chemistry and sustainable chemistry as possible. Possibly due to this wide spread of subjects, the response to the call for abstracts was so great that the conference had to be extended to three full days with an opening reception on the Sunday evening. The plenary session which began the conference was indicative of its diversity. Around 300 delegates joined for thoughtful opening speeches from the Conference Chair Klaus Kümmerer, the German Parliamentary State Secretary for the Environment Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter and the President of the German Chemical Society, Thisbe Lindhorst. They emphasised that a struggle for enough resources to sustain the needs of the population is nothing new. The Secretary of State described how the beginnings of sustainability can be traced back to the 18th century when wood became scarce and a decision was made to cut down only what would grow back quickly. Prof. Lindhorst (Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel) emphasised that sustainability is not just a trend: maintaining resources and disposing of waste efficiently are of vital importance for the stability of the world. Chemists need to find the language to communicate with the public to make sure that the importance of sustainability is understood. The “Father of Green Chemistry” Paul Anastas (Yale University, Fig. 1) then gave the first keynote speech of the conference, reminding us that, although chemistry could be seen as the oldest science, Green Chemistry as a separate field of research only really began 25 years ago with the development of the 12 principles of green chemistry [1]. Green chemistry, according to Prof. Anastas, is a new perspective that can help to transform the world. As Steve Jobs said “the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones that do”. After these inspiring talks it was time to look to the future. The five finalists of the Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge (see below) were given the opportunity to present their proposals. The afternoon was given over to the first two parallel sessions. 2. United Nations sustainable development goals In September 2015 the United Nations agreed 17 sustainable development goals (UN SDGs) for 2030 [2]. There was some discussion about how many of these goals contain chemistry: perhaps 10, maybe more. What was clear during all the sessions was that the aims of green and sustainable chemistry are very closely linked to http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2016.07.007 2452-2236
the UN SDGs and the knowledge and input of chemists will be required to meet the majority of these goals. Therefore chemists specializing in green and/or sustainable chemistry have a major role to play in helping the world achieve the SDGs. 3. Parallel sessions The subject area of green and sustainable chemistry is so vast that, in order to cover the main areas of green and sustainable chemistry, it was necessary to have two parallel sessions for most of the conference. This gave the opportunity to cover areas as diverse as: mineral resources and recycling; non-fossil sources for organic molecules; synthesis and solvents; catalysis and engineering; greenness and sustainability; renewable energies; new business models; green and sustainable products and ethics, legislation and economics. Time was allowed at the end of each session for lively debate around the subject being discussed. As is often the case with parallel sessions, the delegates were spoiled for choice: how do you choose between Armin Reller (University of Augsburg), describing the problems caused by trying to recycle resources that have become so widely dispersed due to our modern lifestyle and James Clarke (York University) discussing Towards the circular economy with green chemistry? How do you choose between a discussion by Klaus Kümmerer (Leuphana University Lüneburg) on “Benign by Design” e only developing products that are not harmful to the environment and Carsten Sinkel (BASF) on new developments in biodegradable and renewable polymers or Petra Schwager (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) and Achim Halpaap (United Nations Environment Programme) on the UN SGDs and new management methods and business models to achieve these goals? Fortunately a selection of the keynote speeches are reprinted in this issue. The final afternoon was given to a more contemplative discussion about how to make chemistry greener and more sustainable. Should every country follow China's lead and make the study of green chemistry part of all chemistry degrees? Alexander Nies (Deputy Director-General for chemical safety, environment and health in the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety) discussed the ethics of chemistry. Is it ethical to use a hazardous substance when safer alternatives are available? Is it ethical not to restrict the use of a known hazardous substance (asbestos) just because it is not listed in the Rotterdam convention [3]? Is it even ethical to take 15 years to agree to ban just one known hazardous substance (the Minamata Convention on Mercury [4])? Germany is taking the lead in setting up an international body to manage chemical use. Pierre Barthelemy
II
Conference report: Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference / Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 1 (2016) IeIII
Fig. 2. Yunsang Kim (centre) winner of the first prize in the Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge, together with the chairman of the Challenge jury, Klaus Kümmerer (left) and on behalf of Elsevier, the prize sponsor, Rob van Daalen (right).
Fig. 1. Professor Paul Anastas delivering the inaugural keynote speech at the Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference.
(Executive Director Research and Innovation, European Chemical Industry Council) spoke about the initiatives being undertaken by the European chemical industry to reduce the environmental impact of the sector. Finally, we were reminded that a green and sustainable world is all our responsibility: Helmut Krist (Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, Germany) spoke about sustainable chemistry in the textile chain and how the need for this would be reduced if we all bought fewer clothes (apparently, the average western women buys 619 pieces of clothing a year) and those we did buy were produced in a sustainable way (which at the moment is even difficult for retailers to check). There is a need for us as individuals to act responsibly, for industry to accept responsibility for clean production and to ensure that the next generation is educated correctly.
4. Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge Sustainability is very much about looking towards the future, which is why the Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge was inaugurated. This aims to promote projects that offer environmentally friendly and sustainable processes, products and resources applicable for use in developing countries. The challenge was open to individuals and organizations in both the nonprofit and commercial sectors. From the nearly 500 entrants, five were selected to develop their ideas further and present on the first day of the Conference to the plenary session. The finalists were: Sustainable textile dyeing using nanocellulosic fibers by Yunsang Kim This proposal was on the development of innovative textile dyeing technology using nanocellulosic fibers to reduce the generation of wastewater and release of toxic chemicals in dyeing process. Biopesticide for improvement of paddy yield by Suzana Yusup and Daniel Joe Dailin This described the development of a water-based bio-pesticide, based on a unique combination of different plant extracts, for improving the productivity of paddy fields. This project involved the local community and aimed to reduce the use of commercial pesticides.
BIO-AQUA water purification by Lucian Lucia This was a proposal for a bio-based technique, utilizing third world on-site resources for sorbent development, to eliminate heavy metal toxins from drinking water. Sustainable fertilizer delivery systems and biosorbents by Eric Wei Chiang Chan This was a design to produce and use carboxymethyl cellulose to serve as a biosorbent to remediate polluted sites and reduce leaching of crop fertilizers into water catchments. To provide an eco-friendly, low cost clean water solution by Anindya Ghosh Roy A plan to design a low-cost portable water filter that provides clean water solution and is 100% biodegradable. After the presentations a panel of judges made a final choice of the winner and runner-up. The winners were announced at the gala dinner on the Thursday evening: The first prize of 50,000 euros went to Yunsang Kim (Fig. 2) because of the innovative green chemistry aspect and the large positive impact on the environment for his textile dyeing technology using nanocellulosic (NC) fibers to reduce the generation of wastewater and release of toxic chemicals. The textile industry is considered as one of the most ecologically harmful in the world. Yunsang's project aims to develop an innovative textile dyeing technology using nanocellulosic fibers to reduce the generation of wastewater and release of toxic chemicals in dyeing process. The proposed technology is expected to reduce more than 80 percent of water consumption and help diminish environmental footprint of textile industries around the globe. The NC fibers are a naturally produced raw material that is abundant, biodegradable, and renewable in nature. The runners up, Suzana Yup and her team, won 25,000 euros for their innovative sustainable agriculture project: using natural products to develop a water-based bio-pesticide. The bio-pesticide will be formulated using different plant extracts such as ginger, garlic, red chili and Neem. The formulated product will be tested on paddy plants and should improve the productivity of paddy fields.
5. Concluding remarks When Klaus Kümmerer came to sum up the conference, he mentioned the problem that all of us experienced which was the inability to visit and learn from all the sessions: an embarrassment of riches, you might say. It was obvious that, although chemistry
Conference report: Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference / Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 1 (2016) IeIII
was on the right path to becoming greener and more sustainable, at the moment only small steps were being made and there was still a long way to go. There was an obvious need for the community to get together on a regular basis, discuss projects and make new contacts. A good reason to meet again at the second Green and Sustainable Chemistry conference to be held in Berlin in 2017. References [1] P.T. Anastas, J.C. Warner, Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998, p. 30. [2] United Nations Sustainable Development Goals https://
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sustainabledevelopment.un.org (accessed 23.06.16). [3] The Rotterdam Convention http://www.pic.int/TheConvention/Overview/tabid/ 1044/language/en-US/Default.aspx (accessed 23.06.16). [4] Minamata Convention http://www.mercuryconvention.org/Convention/tabid/ 3426/Default.aspx (accessed 23.06.16).
Joanna M. Aldred Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands E-mail address: [email protected]. Available online 20 July 2016
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry journal homepage: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/current-opinion-ingreen-and-sustainable-chemistry/
Conference report: Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference
1. Introduction The Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference was held in Berlin, Germany, from April 3rd to 6th, 2016. The organisers designed the conference to try to cover as much of the diversity of the subject of green chemistry and sustainable chemistry as possible. Possibly due to this wide spread of subjects, the response to the call for abstracts was so great that the conference had to be extended to three full days with an opening reception on the Sunday evening. The plenary session which began the conference was indicative of its diversity. Around 300 delegates joined for thoughtful opening speeches from the Conference Chair Klaus Kümmerer, the German Parliamentary State Secretary for the Environment Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter and the President of the German Chemical Society, Thisbe Lindhorst. They emphasised that a struggle for enough resources to sustain the needs of the population is nothing new. The Secretary of State described how the beginnings of sustainability can be traced back to the 18th century when wood became scarce and a decision was made to cut down only what would grow back quickly. Prof. Lindhorst (Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel) emphasised that sustainability is not just a trend: maintaining resources and disposing of waste efficiently are of vital importance for the stability of the world. Chemists need to find the language to communicate with the public to make sure that the importance of sustainability is understood. The “Father of Green Chemistry” Paul Anastas (Yale University, Fig. 1) then gave the first keynote speech of the conference, reminding us that, although chemistry could be seen as the oldest science, Green Chemistry as a separate field of research only really began 25 years ago with the development of the 12 principles of green chemistry [1]. Green chemistry, according to Prof. Anastas, is a new perspective that can help to transform the world. As Steve Jobs said “the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones that do”. After these inspiring talks it was time to look to the future. The five finalists of the Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge (see below) were given the opportunity to present their proposals. The afternoon was given over to the first two parallel sessions. 2. United Nations sustainable development goals In September 2015 the United Nations agreed 17 sustainable development goals (UN SDGs) for 2030 [2]. There was some discussion about how many of these goals contain chemistry: perhaps 10, maybe more. What was clear during all the sessions was that the aims of green and sustainable chemistry are very closely linked to http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2016.07.007 2452-2236
the UN SDGs and the knowledge and input of chemists will be required to meet the majority of these goals. Therefore chemists specializing in green and/or sustainable chemistry have a major role to play in helping the world achieve the SDGs. 3. Parallel sessions The subject area of green and sustainable chemistry is so vast that, in order to cover the main areas of green and sustainable chemistry, it was necessary to have two parallel sessions for most of the conference. This gave the opportunity to cover areas as diverse as: mineral resources and recycling; non-fossil sources for organic molecules; synthesis and solvents; catalysis and engineering; greenness and sustainability; renewable energies; new business models; green and sustainable products and ethics, legislation and economics. Time was allowed at the end of each session for lively debate around the subject being discussed. As is often the case with parallel sessions, the delegates were spoiled for choice: how do you choose between Armin Reller (University of Augsburg), describing the problems caused by trying to recycle resources that have become so widely dispersed due to our modern lifestyle and James Clarke (York University) discussing Towards the circular economy with green chemistry? How do you choose between a discussion by Klaus Kümmerer (Leuphana University Lüneburg) on “Benign by Design” e only developing products that are not harmful to the environment and Carsten Sinkel (BASF) on new developments in biodegradable and renewable polymers or Petra Schwager (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) and Achim Halpaap (United Nations Environment Programme) on the UN SGDs and new management methods and business models to achieve these goals? Fortunately a selection of the keynote speeches are reprinted in this issue. The final afternoon was given to a more contemplative discussion about how to make chemistry greener and more sustainable. Should every country follow China's lead and make the study of green chemistry part of all chemistry degrees? Alexander Nies (Deputy Director-General for chemical safety, environment and health in the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety) discussed the ethics of chemistry. Is it ethical to use a hazardous substance when safer alternatives are available? Is it ethical not to restrict the use of a known hazardous substance (asbestos) just because it is not listed in the Rotterdam convention [3]? Is it even ethical to take 15 years to agree to ban just one known hazardous substance (the Minamata Convention on Mercury [4])? Germany is taking the lead in setting up an international body to manage chemical use. Pierre Barthelemy
II
Conference report: Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference / Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 1 (2016) IeIII
Fig. 2. Yunsang Kim (centre) winner of the first prize in the Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge, together with the chairman of the Challenge jury, Klaus Kümmerer (left) and on behalf of Elsevier, the prize sponsor, Rob van Daalen (right).
Fig. 1. Professor Paul Anastas delivering the inaugural keynote speech at the Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference.
(Executive Director Research and Innovation, European Chemical Industry Council) spoke about the initiatives being undertaken by the European chemical industry to reduce the environmental impact of the sector. Finally, we were reminded that a green and sustainable world is all our responsibility: Helmut Krist (Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, Germany) spoke about sustainable chemistry in the textile chain and how the need for this would be reduced if we all bought fewer clothes (apparently, the average western women buys 619 pieces of clothing a year) and those we did buy were produced in a sustainable way (which at the moment is even difficult for retailers to check). There is a need for us as individuals to act responsibly, for industry to accept responsibility for clean production and to ensure that the next generation is educated correctly.
4. Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge Sustainability is very much about looking towards the future, which is why the Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge was inaugurated. This aims to promote projects that offer environmentally friendly and sustainable processes, products and resources applicable for use in developing countries. The challenge was open to individuals and organizations in both the nonprofit and commercial sectors. From the nearly 500 entrants, five were selected to develop their ideas further and present on the first day of the Conference to the plenary session. The finalists were: Sustainable textile dyeing using nanocellulosic fibers by Yunsang Kim This proposal was on the development of innovative textile dyeing technology using nanocellulosic fibers to reduce the generation of wastewater and release of toxic chemicals in dyeing process. Biopesticide for improvement of paddy yield by Suzana Yusup and Daniel Joe Dailin This described the development of a water-based bio-pesticide, based on a unique combination of different plant extracts, for improving the productivity of paddy fields. This project involved the local community and aimed to reduce the use of commercial pesticides.
BIO-AQUA water purification by Lucian Lucia This was a proposal for a bio-based technique, utilizing third world on-site resources for sorbent development, to eliminate heavy metal toxins from drinking water. Sustainable fertilizer delivery systems and biosorbents by Eric Wei Chiang Chan This was a design to produce and use carboxymethyl cellulose to serve as a biosorbent to remediate polluted sites and reduce leaching of crop fertilizers into water catchments. To provide an eco-friendly, low cost clean water solution by Anindya Ghosh Roy A plan to design a low-cost portable water filter that provides clean water solution and is 100% biodegradable. After the presentations a panel of judges made a final choice of the winner and runner-up. The winners were announced at the gala dinner on the Thursday evening: The first prize of 50,000 euros went to Yunsang Kim (Fig. 2) because of the innovative green chemistry aspect and the large positive impact on the environment for his textile dyeing technology using nanocellulosic (NC) fibers to reduce the generation of wastewater and release of toxic chemicals. The textile industry is considered as one of the most ecologically harmful in the world. Yunsang's project aims to develop an innovative textile dyeing technology using nanocellulosic fibers to reduce the generation of wastewater and release of toxic chemicals in dyeing process. The proposed technology is expected to reduce more than 80 percent of water consumption and help diminish environmental footprint of textile industries around the globe. The NC fibers are a naturally produced raw material that is abundant, biodegradable, and renewable in nature. The runners up, Suzana Yup and her team, won 25,000 euros for their innovative sustainable agriculture project: using natural products to develop a water-based bio-pesticide. The bio-pesticide will be formulated using different plant extracts such as ginger, garlic, red chili and Neem. The formulated product will be tested on paddy plants and should improve the productivity of paddy fields.
5. Concluding remarks When Klaus Kümmerer came to sum up the conference, he mentioned the problem that all of us experienced which was the inability to visit and learn from all the sessions: an embarrassment of riches, you might say. It was obvious that, although chemistry
Conference report: Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference / Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 1 (2016) IeIII
was on the right path to becoming greener and more sustainable, at the moment only small steps were being made and there was still a long way to go. There was an obvious need for the community to get together on a regular basis, discuss projects and make new contacts. A good reason to meet again at the second Green and Sustainable Chemistry conference to be held in Berlin in 2017. References [1] P.T. Anastas, J.C. Warner, Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998, p. 30. [2] United Nations Sustainable Development Goals https://
III
sustainabledevelopment.un.org (accessed 23.06.16). [3] The Rotterdam Convention http://www.pic.int/TheConvention/Overview/tabid/ 1044/language/en-US/Default.aspx (accessed 23.06.16). [4] Minamata Convention http://www.mercuryconvention.org/Convention/tabid/ 3426/Default.aspx (accessed 23.06.16).
Joanna M. Aldred Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands E-mail address: [email protected]. Available online 20 July 2016