Open/Entire Community

A one-day Youth Forum will be hosted in Bonn (Germany at the eagerly anticipated Fifth Session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5). Sessions will include four thematic panel presentations, a moderated intergenerational dialogue between youth and key decision-makers, and the official launch of the “Global Youth Declaration on Chemicals and Waste.”

The Youth Forum at ICCM5 will mark a historic moment for the UN and governments to hear directly from children and young people about their needs and priorities for the future of chemicals governance. Young people want to see targeted policies and programmes developed that will specifically address youth/children’s environmental health, rights, and justice in the context of chemical exposures, monitoring and risk assessments. Come join us at the Youth Forum!

Featured Panel

Educational Needs for the Transition to a Green and Sustainable Chemistry Revolution 

11:30AM-12:20PM CET

With Dr. Juliana Vidal, Higher Education Program Manager at Beyond Benign

Official Session Description:

“Remember, please remember reinforcements are on the way – they’re sitting in lecture halls now, venturing into the field for the very first time, writing theses, leading marches, organizing communities, learning to turn passion into progress, potential into power.” – Harrison Ford

With ambition high to complete the final stages of negotiations and deliver a new, effective global chemicals management framework at ICCM5, the imminent focus will soon shift to implementation. How do we couple the goals of SAICM Beyond 2020 with transformations in chemistry education already underway, that will empower current and future chemists with the skills to put sustainability and safety at the center of their work – from research, to industry, to start-up initiatives? Moreover, how can we strengthen the role of academia in capacity-building efforts for chemicals management across countries and regions?

In this session, a panel comprising young professionals/scientists, chemistry students, and representatives of institutions who are building resources and increasing access for students in green chemistry education, will reflect on the challenges and opportunities in educational systems “meeting the moment.”

Event Details

• Who: Youth, Governments, Industry, Scientists
• When: September 25th-29th
• Where:World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB)

Official Event Description:

The Dwain L Ford Lecture Series is co-sponsored by the Chemistry Honors Society, Andrews University Office of Research & Creative Scholarship, and Andrews University Community Engagement Council. It seeks to bring community relevant science to professionals, nonprofessionals, scientists, nonscientists, students and the general public.

Green Chemistry: The Missing Elements

Join us on Thursday, October 12th, for a lecture given by Beyond Benign Co-Founder and Board Member, Dr. John Warner. More information about this free, hybrid event is forthcoming!

Event Details

• Who: Open/Entire Community
• When: October 12th at 4:30 PM
• How: Find Zoom information here, or attend in-person at Andrews University

Join us at this year's online Commonwealth Chemistry Posters!

A unique opportunity awaits you at this year’s online 4th Commonwealth Chemistry Posters, the only virtual chemistry posters event that is delivered by and for Commonwealth countries, to bring together chemists from across the Commonwealth working on similar and complementary challenges to tackle the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Do you want to connect with other chemists working in similar areas and facing similar challenges? Would you like to grow your networks and seek new connections and collaborations? Then join us for our 4th annual online poster event.

If you are an early career chemist, you will also have the opportunity to present a poster of your work to a wider audience – a potential springboard to new opportunities and collaborations. If you want to present a poster, submit your abstract by 14 September.

Early career chemists:

• Present a poster of your work to scientists from across the Commonwealth and reach a wider audience. You could also win a ‘best poster’ prize and be featured the commonwealth chemistry website
• Discuss your work with those who may be addressing the same sustainable development goals, share methodologies and challenges
• Grow your network and the potential for new collaborations at a critical time in your career

For established chemists:

• Expand your networks and discover new talent in your field
• Find out about research taking place around the Commonwealth, related to your area of interest
• Seek out potential new collaborations
• Help guide early career chemists by sharing your knowledge and experience

This event is free to attend and will take place in three two-hour sessions over 36 hours. All participants should attend two of the three sessions in order to maximise their networking opportunities with chemists from different countries. There will also be an opening ceremony.

Please note that Commonwealth Chemistry Posters is only open to those currently residing in a Commonwealth country, or those who are Commonwealth nationals.

For more information and registration, visit the official event site, linked here.

A Systemic Change for Addressing the UN SDGs: The Green Chemistry Commitment.

Dr. Juliana Vidal, Program Manager, Higher Education

Dr. Vidal's poster will present the ways in which Beyond Benign's Green Chemistry Commitment connects to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

From the abstract: In this poster, insights into the GCC program and green chemistry adoption around the world will be discussed, as well as the benefits of implementing green chemistry principles and practices in chemistry education towards the achievement of a sustainable future. 

The Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC): Fostering transformative change in STEM education for a sustainable future

Dr. Jonathon Moir, Senior Program Manager, Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community and Dr. Amy Canon, Co-Founder and Executive Director

From the abstract: Developed in partnership with the ACS Green Chemistry Institute, the GCTLC is a new online community platform where teachers and faculty educators at all levels (from elementary school through to university/college) can collaborate and share their knowledge and best practices around bringing green chemistry into the classroom. Community members can access a searchable library of community-contributed green chemistry educational materials on the GCTLC (including alternative greener lab experiments, in-class activities, lecture slides, and more). The platform also includes forum spaces to discuss the latest resources, give and receive mentorship, and discuss challenges and opportunities in reforming chemistry education with a focus on sustainability and green chemistry. This presentation will highlight work over the past two and a half years in developing the site as well as some of the principal features of the platform. 

Join a worldwide discussion of our environmental issues and how to achieve a more sustainable future on September 25th! The Global Conversation on Sustainability (GCS) is a project organized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the International Younger Chemists Network to connect scientists around the world, engage young researchers, and inspire our whole society to take action and address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals!

Sustainable action begins with a conversation, so invite your institution and organize your event! More information about the GCS project, important resources for initiating the discussion, and guidelines on organizing your own Conversation on Sustainability can be found here!

#Sustain4All

• Who: Open/Entire Community
• When: September 25th
• How: Find out here.

This premier conference is convened by the ACS Green Chemistry Institute to advance green chemistry and engineering through scientific exchange, professional development opportunities, and community networking. The conference starts with a day of workshops on Sunday, June 2 and the GC&E Awards Ceremony Dinner on Sunday night. The technical sessions kick off Monday morning. 

The Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference (GC&E) holds around 42 technical sessions covering a wide variety of research areas and industrial applications. This year, the conference explores the forefront of technology with its theme, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Enabled Green Chemistry.

Chemistry education sessions and workshops are a central part of the conference.

Key Dates:

• Call for Abstracts is open through February 12. 
• Early registration opens February 14 and runs through April 30. 

Beyond Benign Talks:

Teaching Green Chemistry: Systems Thinking, Assessments, and Curricular Design

Use of ChemForward for Chemical hazard evaluation and assessment in academic settings (30 mins) during the Teaching Green Chemistry: Systems Thinking, Assessments, and Curricular Design

8:00am - 5:00opm - June 2, 2024 | Room: Maplewood Room (A&B)

Monica Mame Soma Nyansa, Cynthia Woodbridge

Exploring and championing professional education in Green Chemistry and Toxicology

04:25pm - 04:45pm EDT - June 4, 2024 | Room: Ravinia Ballroom (DEFG) (Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia)
Monica Mame Soma Nyansa, Presenter; Natalie O'Neil; Amy Cannon

Reimagining chemistry education: The green chemistry commitment at Beyond Benign

05:05pm - 07:05pm EDT - June 4, 2024 | Room: Ravinia Ballroom (ABC)

Juliana Vidal, Presenter; Natalie O'Neil; Amy Cannon

Utilizing Drupal and CiviCRM to optimize an open-access database of green chemistry educational materials on the new GCTLC platform

10:15am - 10:35am EDT - June 5, 2024 | Room: Camellia (Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia)

Jonathon Moir, Presenter; Sarah Prescott; Nimrat Obhi; Amy Cannon

Uniting and engaging a diverse, global community of green chemistry educators and practitioners through a virtual open-access platform

10:35am - 10:55am EDT - June 5, 2024 | Room: Camellia (Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia)

Nimrat Obhi, Presenter; Jonathon Moir; Sarah Prescott; Amy Cannon

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Join us at the University of Birmingham for Materials Metabolism: Green Chemistry for a Circular Economy, a general interest seminar talk, given by Beyond Benign Co-Founder and Father of Green Chemistry, Dr. John Warner.

Official Talk Description:

As we design products to be more sustainable and to fit within a circular economy we are best served to recognize and learn from patterns within nature.

There exists a circular pendulum that swings between the natural world of stable ecosystems and the human built world of products. Centrally located between these two systems exists the domain of the “materials metabolism”, the molecular mechanistic foundation of the assembly and disassembly of molecules and materials. Nature typically carries out the deconstruction and construction of materials through catabolism and anabolism, performing both metabolic processes synchronously. Human industrial design has evolved to perform the synthesis and breakdown processes in spatially and temporarily separate spaces. The principles of green chemistry provide a logical framework to design products within the materials metabolism. This presentation will discuss the general concept of the materials metabolism and provide real world green chemistry examples.

For directions to the talk, refer to the QR code included in the event graphic!

Sustainable chemistry offers solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing society. This event celebrates the enormous strides made towards using chemistry to ensure a safe and healthy world for tomorrow and the launch of the School of Chemistry’s MSci in Chemistry with Sustainability.

Join us in Birmingham to hear from leading experts in diverse areas of Sustainable Chemistry and about recent breakthroughs in this world-changing field. The symposium includes a range of leading speakers from UK and abroad, alongside opportunities for PhD and postdoctoral researchers to present their work through oral and poster presentations.  The symposium will be based at the University of Birmingham Edgbaston Campus, which is well on its way to becoming a Smart and Net Zero Campus by 2035, and already filled with thousands of trees, a botanic garden and schemes to protect wildlife such as hedgehogs on campus.

Learn more about the event and register here.

Dr. Juliana Vidal, Program Manager, Higher Education

Join us in Birmingham for Dr. Juliana Vidal’s talk, A Systemic Change for a Sustainable Future: The Green Chemistry Commitment.

Education is central to creating lasting change, and a background in sustainability allows the development of a scientific workforce and a knowledgeable citizenry prepared to design and choose more benign processes for human health and the environment. In this context, green chemistry education plays a fundamental role in achieving the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the targets stated due to its capacity to reach and interconnect distinct aspects of our society. 

Beyond Benign is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a systemic change in chemistry education and empowering the chemistry community to practice sustainability at the molecular level through green chemistry. Its Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) program was created in 2013 and aims to catalyze the incorporation of green chemistry into science courses at higher education institutions globally. 

Over 130 institutions are part of the GCC community and are integrating green chemistry on their own timelines and building upon unique campus environments and strengths. In this presentation, insights into the GCC program adoption around the world and in the UK will be discussed, as well as the GCC implementation in a wide range of higher education institutions.

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• Who: Open/Entire Community
• When: September 7th-September 8th
• Where: Birmingham, UK
• How: Register here.

On October 16th – October 17th, join our team and our Green Chemistry Commitment Signers (GCC) from Latin America to learn more about their amazing Green Chemistry initiatives during the LatinXChem Twitter Conference! The LatinXChem is a virtual forum through which the community of Latin American chemists around the world can share and discuss their research results and advances.

Beyond Benign will be offering awards for the two best green chemistry posters in #LatinXChem23! First place will be awarded a $200 USD voucher and second place will receive a $100 USD voucher. Winning posters will be selected by a committee of our #GCCcommitment signers.

Join our team members and community at the NOBCChE’s 50th Annual Meeting from September 11th – September 14th in New Orleans, LA, USA. This year, the conference will also be a celebration of the history of the organization and the achievements of its members! Each year, the Annual Conference provides opportunities for networking and mentorship between students of all levels and professionals. In addition, the conference creates a venue for scientific dialogue through technical programming, as well as personal and professional development for students and early/mid-career professionals. 

Learn more about the NOBCChE’s Annual Meeting, submit your abstract and register for the event here.

Find Beyond Benign and our community members at these events (see NOBCChE’s Agenda here):

Tuesday, September 12

Student Program Workshop: Green Chemistry and Environmental Justice, 2:00 – 4:00 pm CT. Run by Sederra Ross (ACS Green Chemistry Institute) and Monica Nyansa (Michigan Tech).

Technical Session: Environmental/Green Chemistry I, 2:00 – 6:00 pm CT.

Wednesday, September 13

Student Program Workshop: Students as Change Agents: Bringing Green Chemistry to Your Institution, 2:00 – 3:00 pm CT. Run by Nimrat Obhi (Beyond Benign).

The goal of this session is to support student leaders in their efforts to bring green chemistry to their campuses/institutions. Students will hear from Beyond Benign about what green chemistry is, our programming developed specifically to support them, and strategies for creating change at their institutions.

Technical Session: Environmental/Green Chemistry II, 2:00 – 4:00 pm CT.

• Who: Chemistry students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty
• When: September 11th – September 14th
• Where: New Orleans, LA
• How: Register here.

Join us at WiFO 2023, the German Chemical Society Annual Meeting, from September 4th – September 6th in Leipzig, Germany. This largest event of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh, German Chemical Society) and the most important chemistry congress in the German-speaking world takes place every two years.

This year’s topic: Rethinking Chemistry

Rethinking Chemistry is more important than ever to meet the most urgent challenges of our time, such as climate change, energy scarcity, and new legislation (European Green Deal). In line with the diverse tasks, Rethinking Chemistry is not a “one-fits-all solution”. Each area of chemistry can and must make its own contribution. And WiFo 2023 will show how many valuable contributions chemistry can make.

Learn more about WiFo 2023 and register for the event here.

• Who: Open/Entire Community
• When: September 4th-September 6th
• Where: Leipzig, Germany
• How: Register here.