Green Chemistry

This is a set of 12 principles aimed at reducing and eliminating the use and generation of hazardous materials. The principles can be incorporated into new product development, such as new drugs, and the focus is on industrial applications so the principles should be directly applicable to your business.

Briefly, the principles are:

• Prevention - safer than treating or cleaning up waste afterwards. A realife example of a business adopting these principles is available.
• Atom Economy - maximise the incorporation of all materials used in the process into the final product.
• Less Hazardous Chemical Synthesis - minimise the use and generation of toxic substances. A realife case study demostrating these principles are available.
• Designing Safer Chemicals - minimise toxicity whilst maintaining the chemical’s functionality.
• Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries - solvents and separation agents should be made unnecessary, where possible.
• Design for Energy Efficiency - if possible, synthetic methods should be conducted at ambient temperature and pressure.
• Use of Renewable Feedstocks - preferable to depleting feedstocks, where possible.
• Reduce Derivatives - use of blocking groups, protection/deprotection, and temporary modification of physical/chemical processes should be minimised; such steps require additional reagents and can generate waste.
• Catalysis - catalytic reagents (as selective as possible) are superior to stoichiometric reagents.
• Design for Degradation - design chemical products so that they break down into innocuous products at the end of their function.
• Real-time Analysis for Pollution Prevention - analyse in real-time with in-process monitoring and control prior to the formation of hazardous substances.
• Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention - choose substances to minimise the potential for chemical accidents, including releases, explosions and fires. A realife case study adopting this key principle is available. 

In terms of the practicalities of adopting the principles of green chemistry witnin your business why not utilitise the free to use Green Chemistry Toolkit.

The Green Chemistry Toolkit provides practical advice on green chemistry, to help you to benefit from best practice and comply with legislation, where relevant. Green chemistry is an important component of Sustainable Development and contributes to continuous improvement.

Who is the Toolkit for?

• the senior manager seeking an overview of green chemistry
• the manager designing a green chemistry programme
• the person actively involved in implementing green chemistry

The benefits of green chemistry

By implementing green chemistry and the recommendations within the toolkit, businesses can gain progressive advantage:

• reducing costs associated with getting regulatory approval for new products
• minimising product liability through positive management
• identifying and managing business vulnerabilities
• enhancing productivity and efficiency from applying best practice
• gaining competitive advantage by understanding products and the market
• applying effective business controls where needed
• improving business image

If you wish to review your operations through a paper guide instead then the Envirowise guide Resource Efficiency through Green Chemistry can provide you with the information you need.