The Role of Green Chemistry

Green chemistry's underlying premise is that the Earth does have a natural capacity for absorbing and dealing with much of the waste and pollution that society generates -- problems only arise, and society becomes unsustainable, once that natural capacity is exceeded. The role of green chemistry is therefore to promote innovative chemical technologies that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances across the whole life cycle of a chemical product -- in its design, its manufacture, and its use -- so that the burden placed on the environment's natural absorptive capacity stays within what it can actually handle. Beyond its environmental role, green chemistry also helps reduce capital expenditure by preventing pollution at the source (which is generally cheaper than treating pollution after it has been created), and it incorporates pollution-prevention practices directly into how chemicals are manufactured, promoting both pollution prevention and industrial ecology more broadly. It is described as a genuinely new way of looking at chemicals and their manufacturing processes, aimed at minimising negative environmental effects, and -- because the green chemistry movement is still in its early stages -- it is presented as an exciting time for chemists working on the discovery, manufacture and use of chemicals. Two specific environmental benefits are highlighted: green chemistry helps protect the ozone present in the strat …