Sustainable chemistry and chemical engineering
Sustainable chemistry is a scientific concept that seeks to improve the efficiency with which natural resources are used to meet human needs for chemical products and services. Sustainable chemistry encompasses the design, manufacture and use of efficient, effective, safe and more environmentally benign chemical products and processes. Chemistry and chemical engineering focused on the designing of products and processes that minimize the use and generation of hazardous substances. Whereas environmental chemistry focuses on the effects of polluting chemicals on nature, green chemistry focuses on technological approaches to preventing pollution and reducing consumption of non-renewable resources Sustainable chemistry is also a process that stimulates innovation across all sectors to design and discover new chemicals, production processes, and product stewardship practices that will provide increased performance and increased value while meeting the goals of protecting and enhancing human health and the environment. Recent OECD work in this area has focused on developing a better understanding of what drives sustainable chemistry innovation and on establishing a web-based Sustainable Chemistry Platform to serve as a networking resource and a place to disseminate information about workshops, training courses, and other capacity building opportunities.