Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry (Jan 2022)
National leadership and cross-sector collaboration could help overcome differences in stakeholder definitions of sustainable chemistry
Abstract
GAO conducted a technology assessment to explore among other things, the opportunities, challenges, and stakeholder roles in sustainable chemistry. We found that stakeholders across industry, government, and academia lack agreement on how to define sustainable chemistry and how to measure or assess the sustainability of chemical processes and products. These differences hinder the development and adoption of more sustainable chemistry technologies. However, based on a review of the literature and stakeholder interviews, GAO identified several common themes underlying what sustainable chemistry strives to achieve – including that standard definitions and metrics for sustainability are important for stakeholders. In addition, we note that national leadership and collaboration across many sectors could enhance sustainable chemistry progress. This includes the potential for sustainable chemistry to inspire new products and processes, create jobs, and enhance benefits to human health and the environment. However, we found that technological and business challenges interfere with efforts to implement some of these sustainable chemistry technologies, and that the diverse set of stakeholders can lead to coordination challenges. We offer strategic approaches that may help overcome these challenges.
