Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) Professionals

The annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference, hosted by the ACS Green Chemistry Institute®, is the premier global event for green chemistry and engineering. GC&E attracts scientists, educators, students, industry professionals, and advocates to explore advancements, share best practices, inspire innovation, and build community dedicated to sustainable solutions.   
 

The 2025 conference theme will be Good Health and Well-Being Through Sustainable Chemistry to align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.    

GC&E 2025 will showcase innovative research and cross-cutting topics in green and sustainable chemistry and engineering, with an emphasis on symposia that highlight our theme “Good Health and Well-Being”, such as medical breakthroughs, new technologies, and efforts to eliminate or reduce hazardous chemical pollution promoting longer and healthier lives.

There are always many sessions on education topics. Symposia will be released in December and the call for abstracts opens January 3. 

Join IUPAC CHEMRAWN and Beyond Benign in a webinar featuring Thomas Freese (University of Groningen, Netherlands) to discuss sustainable laboratory practices. In this event, guidelines and hands-on advice on how to make your laboratory greener at research institutions and industry will be presented, as well as examples of achieving systemic change for a sustainable future. If you have any questions in advance for Thomas, feel free to add them in below! We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Lab sustainability is increasingly at the forefront of decision making in science centres around the world, as evidenced by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Sustainable Labs report and the high level of interest in the RSC Sustainable Lab grants. 

In this hour-long, interactive webinar you will hear from recipients of the first round of the RSC Sustainable Labs grant whose projects seek to answer questions in topics areas including solvent choices and reuse of single use plastics. You will hear about the problems they’re trying to solve and how findings from their initial results can be actioned. By joining this webinar, you will learn how chemical scientists are looking to solve challenges faced when making more sustainable choices in the lab. You will also hear perspectives on the broader challenges in sustainable labs and efforts by the wider research community – including major funders – to drive more sustainable laboratory practices. 

The webinar will provide useful and actionable information as well as highlighting the opportunity to apply for the second round of RSC Sustainable Laboratories grants. 

The RSC will send a certificate of attendance to everyone who joins us live for the event. Please make sure you register using exactly the name you want on the certificate.

Note: this webinar will run from 3 - 4 pm British Standard Time (10 - 11 am Eastern Time).
 

With the theme "Chemistry for a Better Planet" this Regional Meeting will bring more than 400 chemists from industry, academia, and government sectors together for symposia on a wide range of topics including green and sustainable chemistry. The call for abstracts will appear in Chemical & Engineering News in early 2025.

We are excited to announce that the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) has created the CIC Green Subject Division. Its objective is to bring together the community of researchers and practitioners of the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) and Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) who identify as contributing to, or having an interest in, green chemistry and chemical engineering.
 
The new Green Subject Division will:

• Organize symposia on green and sustainable chemistry, technology, and chemical engineering at the annual CSC and CSChE conferences. 
• Bolster industrial participation at the annual CSC and CSChE conferences. 
• Provide professional training in green/sustainable practices at the annual CSC and CSChE conferences. 
• Present Canadian Green Chemistry and Engineering Awards. 
• …and further activities that will serve our community.

*Save the date*
The Green Division's inaugural Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held by Zoom on Tuesday, Jun.18 at 1 PM ET.

Join Zoom Meeting 
Meeting ID: 850 7250 8961
Passcode: 871250

The AGM can be accessed via the Green Division Webpage.

Positions of leadership are open! At the AGM, we will elect a Division Chair, Division Vice-Chair, and Division Secretary-Treasurer as well as up to six (6) Division Members at Large.  If you or someone you know would be interested, please ask them to communicate with Joelle Pelletier at joelle.pelletier@umontreal.ca. Spread the news to your research group and colleagues!
 
If you will attend CSC 2024 in Winnipeg, we will also be holding an Information Session on Tuesday June 4 from 5:20 to 7:20 (Central Time) in Room 9.  Please drop by, learn more and get involved. All those interested in green and sustainable chemistry, technology and chemical engineering are welcome, including students and postdocs: we invite all to contribute to shaping the new Green Subject Division. 
 
We look forward to working with you to make the CIC Green Subject Division part of our future.
 

The Philippine Chemistry Congress is the biggest annual conference of chemists, chemistry educators and chemistry researchers in the Philippines. This brings chemists from academe, industry and government together in one venue to interact, share new knowledge and to collaborate. The 38PCC&2024IC2 will also feature technical exhibitors who will be able to showcase new products that can improve your performance and productivity, create partnerships, and generate new ideas.

Registration closes Monday, July 15, 2024

On the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations of the Pacific Northwest, the trees are deep in conversation and negotiation via mycelial networks. The salmon return to make the stream bed fresh and cool for the next generation, while coastal nurseries provide a place to rest where old meets new and salty meets sweet.

Join us for a week to observe and explore how Nature creates the richness and complexity of life through chemistry. Adventure through the ecotones to learn the ways in which Nature operates at the molecular scale to communicate, assemble/ disassemble, purify, clean, colorize, protect, detect, repair, and a host of other functionalities that parallel those needed in commerce.  

Tune your senses through exploration, experience, and experts to understand the critical ways in which Nature’s chemistry differs from modern commercial chemistries to achieve the same functional end, and how this learning can broaden and benefit your approach to Nature-positive R&D.

The fields of chemistry and biomimicry will converge to explore the profound lessons nature offers for shaping a world characterized by high-performing chemistry strategies and materials that benefit the people and places in which they are made, used, and managed. Sip tea and watch the eelgrass sway while you practice Biomimicry Thinking with Nature’s recipes and methods.

While the content is designed with the non-chemist in mind, chemistry professionals will gain valuable insights into Nature’s life-friendly chemistry principles and hands-on training using the biomimicry research methodology.

Throughout this workshop, our world-renowned biomimicry instructors will teach participants to: 

• Recognize the roles chemistry plays in the natural world and their relevance to the roles chemistry plays in commerce and industry,
• Distinguish between biotic and abiotic chemistries in the natural world,
• Discover the principles underlying Nature’s elegant and sophisticated life-friendly chemistries,
• Understand the principles underlying Nature’s multifunctional, life-friendly chemistry-based materials,
• Use Biomimicry Thinking tools to abstract chemistry design principles and deep patterns from specific, function-based natural strategies, and
• Apply Biomimicry Thinking tools to solve a chemistry-related challenge.

This workshop is open to professional and university-level participants from all backgrounds and levels of experience with biomimicry. The agenda is designed for:

• Innovators within commercial sectors touched by chemistry, such as chemicals, cosmetics, packaging, textiles, electronics, personal care, medical, and energy, who are interested in bringing Nature’s Chemistry and materials genius to their project work and innovation strategies through Biomimicry Thinking.
• Innovators without chemistry training who are interested in gaining the knowledge that would allow them to be productive partners alongside professional chemists as they work to bring Nature’s Chemistry and materials genius to their project work and innovation strategies.
• Sustainability champions who want to be inspired by the natural world at the molecular scale as they work to solve humanity’s toughest sustainability challenges.
• Educators who want to bring Nature’s Chemistry and materials genius into the classroom.
• Students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Biomimicry program with Arizona State University interested in the Biomimicry Specialist Certification. This Immersion Workshop counts as one of two required in-person units. Learn more about the requirements for the Biomimicry Specialist Certification here.

In June 2023 AASHE piloted the first Sustainability Education Forum. Over 140 registrants from 13 countries across five continents came together to discuss and listen about the challenges and opportunities for sustainability education. Attendees felt that the event facilitated “inspiring, engaging, and meaningful discussions,” provided “a very holistic way of structuring learning and sharing,” and fostered “an inspirational sense of community.” Read more about the 2023 event in this article and these testimonials.

We’d like to build upon that experience and invite you to join the Sustainability Education Forum 2024 on June 6 & 7! Let’s come together, share our expertise and co-create our emerging future. What and how do we teach students given the urgency of the times? How do we “fall-forward” on issues related to sustainability teaching and learning in higher education? Let’s use this opportunity to listen and speak about the issues that matter to interdisciplinary sustainability educators.
 

Are higher education institutions simply reverting to how things were done pre-pandemic or can we use this opportunity to truly redesign systems? New and different voices need to be heard and conversations need to catalyze actionable change. On June 6 and 7, let’s talk with each other, think with each other and respectfully challenge each other’s ideas in order to advance sustainability education across the curriculum.

The Sustainability Education Forum (SEF) will provide space to explore these possibilities and more. Per the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a forum is “a public meeting place for open discussion” and this is what the SEF offers – a space for authentic conversations, where we can engage as a community and with each other. Throughout the SEF, you will have plenty of chances to exchange ideas and make new professional connections, while gaining inspiration and an opportunity to recharge your own efforts. 

Intended Audience
 

This is the event to attend if you’re:

• a faculty in any discipline who is engaged with sustainability education
• interested in or just starting incorporating sustainability literacy in your courses
• considering building a sustainability curriculum development program at your institution
• new or a veteran at building sustainability across the curriculum programs
• involved with sustainability-degree programs
• a sustainability staff who is involved with curriculum initiatives
• an instructional designer supporting faculty incorporating sustainability in their courses
• anyone interested in sustainability education and research at higher education institutions.

At this event, you will connect with others who approach their work with the same sense of urgency that you do. It is these types of connections that serve us throughout the years; they make the hard times manageable and the good times fun. Join us and let’s make some good times — together!

Event Dates: The SEF will take place on Thursday, June 6 and Friday, June 7 spanning multiple timezones. See tentative schedule.

Join this free webinar from Green Rose Chemistry to learn how you can accelerate change in your organisation by advocating for sustainable chemistry. This webinar is empowering, practical, and completely free. Anyone can create change!

What will you learn?

• How green chemistry can provide environmental and social benefits 
• The business value of green chemistry, including market opportunities and risk avoidance
• Strategies for effectively promoting green chemistry in your workplace with clear examples
• Case studies of employees successfully bringing about change from within their companies

The webinar will be delivered by Anna Zhenova, CEO & Founder of Green Rose Chemistry and IUK Unlocking Potential Award winner. Anna is a green chemist with a passion for the innovative side of sustainable chemistry. She excels in translating academic expertise to real-world applications, and wants to help you accelerate the transition to more sustainable materials.

Register now and join the green industrial revolution!

Poor indoor air quality poses a significant threat to human health, with various construction products such as paint, furniture, wood flooring and carpets being potential contributors to unhealthy indoor air. These materials often release harmful chemicals into the environment, posing risks to occupants over an extended period after installation. The resultant health issues are diverse and underscore the multifaceted impact on individuals within built environments.

Addressing these risks necessitates a strategic shift towards the utilization of soy and other bio based building materials, which not only enhance indoor air quality but also align with sustainable practices. Biobased materials offer a myriad of advantages, including a reduced carbon footprint, lower volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, and improved performance compared to their petrochemical-based counterparts. Beyond their environmental benefits, these renewable and low-toxicity materials actively contribute to meeting compliance standards, such as the International Green Construction Code and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification system.