This statement of philosophy regarding green chemistry in education was developed as a collaborative effort by Beyond Benign and the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) Leadership Committee, a group of 19 experts from across the education continuum, as well as from industry. The authors agree that green chemistry is a critical component of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and as such, it should be a foundational framework for students studying in these fields.
Green chemistry is defined as “the use of a set of principles that aim to reduce and/or eliminates the use and/or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture, and application of chemical products.” The terms “we”, “us”, and “our” below refers to the collective education community, as we strive to regularly update the philosophy based on feedback from our community members from all different geographic regions and with all different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences.
