"The curriculum must provide students with a working knowledge of the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry."
At a foundational level, bachelor's level students must have a grasp of the twelve principles that underpin green chemistry. To that end, the following resources can help educators who have had little to no exposure to green chemistry concepts and principles before:
- Definition and Overview of the 12 Principles available on the GCTLC (also accessible through the Resources menu at the top of the page).
- Beyond Benign - "What is Green Chemistry?"
- ACS Green Chemistry Institute - "What is Green Chemistry?"
An overview of the Twelve Principles is also available in the following infographic developed by MilliporeSigma and downloadable from the GCTLC library here:
Video Resources
The University of Toronto's Green Chemistry Initiative (GCI) is a student-run group dedicated to providing green chemistry resources in order to promote sustainability in chemistry research and education. The group created a series of YouTube videos between 2014-2018 with each video highlighting one of the twelve principles. The videos provide accessible analogies and descriptions that can be helpful for high school and introductory undergraduate students to learn about each principle. A sample is available below:
GCTLC Library
The following resources have been handpicked from the GCTLC as potentially helpful for addressing this first level within the requirements of the ACS guidelines. This includes a series of videos around the 12 principles, also available on the GCTLC as a curated collection here, that were filmed at the 2013 Green Chemistry and Engineering Summer Student Workshop and provide excellent examples of reactions and chemical concepts under each principle. You can also find more resources in the GCTLC's searchable library, by filtering the results based on the Green Chemistry Principle of interest.
Green Chemistry 101 - Introduction
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 1 - Prevent Waste
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 10: Design for Degradation
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 11: Real-Time Analysis for Pollution Prevention
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 12: Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 2: Maximize atom economy
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 3: Design less hazardous chemical syntheses
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 4: Design Safer Chemicals and Products
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 5: Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 6: Design for Energy Efficiency
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 7: Use of Renewable Feedstocks
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 8: Reduce Derivatives
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.
Principle 9: Catalysis
Learn the twelve principles of green chemistry taught during The Green Chemistry & Engineering Student Workshop on June 17, 2013 in Washington D.C. The course content was provided by ACS-GCI. These videos were produced by the Western States Pollution Prevention Network. Other sponsors included NPPR and Washington State Department of Ecology.