The concepts of green and sustainable chemistry have gained significant attention around the world given their potential to innovate and advance chemistry to help achieve global sustainable development goals. To enhance the understanding of these concepts, UNEP consulted with a group of over 100 expert stakeholders to develop 10 Objectives and Guiding Considerations for Green and Sustainable Chemistry and the Framework Manual.
The Objectives complement traditional approaches in chemistry, by emphasizing sustainability considerations and highlighting what outcomes green and sustainable chemistry seeks to achieve. They aim to motivate stakeholders to reflect on, assess and guide their innovation action and management practices. Stakeholders are encouraged to share the Objectives within their networks and encourage their wide application.
Ultimately, the Objectives seek to promote innovation to unveil the full potential of chemistry such that it is compatible with and supports the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
Ten Objectives of Green and Sustainable Chemistry
- Minimizing Chemical Hazards: Design of chemicals with minimized (or no) hazard properties for use in materials, products and production processes (“benign by design”).
- Avoiding regrettable substitutions and alternatives: Develop safe and sustainable alternatives for chemicals of concern through material and product innovations that do not create negative trade-offs.
- Sustainable sourcing of resources and feedstocks: Use of sustainably sourced resources, materials and feedstocks without creating negative trade-offs.
- Advancing Sustainability of Production Processes: Use green and sustainable chemistry innovation to improve resource efficiency, pollution prevention, and waste minimization in industrial processes.
- Advancing Sustainability of Products: Use green and sustainable chemistry innovation to create sustainable products and consumption with minimized (or no) chemical hazard potential.
- Minimize chemical release and pollution: Reduce chemical releases throughout the life cycle of chemicals and products.
- Enabling non-toxic circularity and minimizing waste: Use of chemistry innovations to enable non-toxic circular material flows and sustainable supply and value chains throughout the life cycle.
- Maximizing Social Benefits: Consider social factors, high standards of ethics, education and justice in chemistry innovation.
- Protecting workers, consumers, and vulnerable populations: Safeguard the health of workers, consumers and vulnerable groups in formal and informal sectors.
- Developing solutions for sustainability challenges: Focus chemistry innovation to help address societal and sustainability challenges.
The infographic Advancing the 10 Objectives and Guiding Considerations For Green and Sustainable Chemistry provides further context to key change-makers on the Objectives and support further action.
Development of manuals on Green and Sustainable Chemistry
Resolution 4/8 on the sound management of chemicals and waste, adopted at the 4th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 4, March 2019) “welcomes the analysis of best practices in sustainable chemistry and recognizes the value of developing a better understanding of sustainable chemistry opportunities”. It further requested UNEP to “synthetize UNEP’s analysis of best practices in sustainable chemistry into manuals on green and sustainable chemistry, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, by UNEA 5, and to continue the work on a holistic approach for the sound management of chemicals and waste in the long term, taking into account both the importance of the sound management of chemicals and the potential benefits of chemicals for sustainable development.”
Adopted at the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2, March 2022) Resolution 5/7 on the sound management of chemicals and waste “welcomes UNEP’s Green and Sustainable Chemistry: Framework Manual and its executive summary, which highlight the crucial importance of environmentally sound innovation, and encourages their use, as appropriate”.
This 2-page infographic provides an overview of key UNEA resolutions, as well as information on UNEP’s Green and Sustainable Chemistry: Framework Manual and the Ten Objectives and Guiding Considerations for Green and Sustainable Chemistry.
Green and Sustainable Chemistry: Framework Manual
Developed in consultation with experts from industry, academia, government, international organizations and NGO’s, the Green and Sustainable Chemistry: Framework Manual provides a high-level overview of various scientific, technical and policy aspects of green and sustainable chemistry.
The first part of the Manual addresses the questions of “Why” is green and sustainable chemistry needed and “What” does it aim to achieve. “How” to achieve a transformation to green and sustainable chemistry is then explored through an overview of enabling tools and measures.
Chapter 3 of the Framework Manual contains the 10 Objectives and Guiding Considerations for Green and Sustainable Chemistry. Developed through a global consensus building process, the 10 Objectives highlights the outcomes which green and sustainable chemistry action can achieve.
The overall intention of the Framework manual is to foster learning and scaling-up action to advance the Ten Objectives - Unveiling the full potential of chemistry such that it is compatible with, and supports, the implementation of the 2030 sustainable development agenda.
Specialized Manual on Green and Sustainable Chemistry Education
To inspire and guide transformative action, UNEP has developed a Specialized Manual on Green and Sustainable Chemistry Education and Learning.
By including formal, non-formal and informal aspects of green and sustainable chemistry learning, the specialized manual caters to education system actors as well as strategic change agents which influence the way chemistry is practiced. A synthesis of all dimensions of green and sustainable chemistry learning is offered in the Specialized Manual along with practical guidance, illustrative examples and organized educational resources.
Ultimately, the Specialized manual strives to raise awareness, enhance knowledge and develop skills of all stakeholders who have a role to play in applying the Ten Objectives and Guiding Considerations.
UNEP’s Practical Guidance for Strategic Action to Advance Green and Sustainable Chemistry
Building upon the final chapter of the Framework Manual, and in response to UNEA Resolution 5/7, UNEP developed a webpage containing practical guidance to carry out the planning and implementation of strategic action to advance green and sustainable chemistry. Along with the Framework Manual, the guidance draws upon the shared experiences of stakeholders who have built strategic initiatives that are relevant to green and sustainable chemistry.
Green and Sustainable Chemistry Innovation in Key Industrial Sectors
The rapid growth of chemical-intensive industry sectors such as construction, agriculture, electronics and textiles creates risks, but also opportunities to advance sustainable consumption, production and product innovation. Green and sustainable chemistry innovation has the potential to drive sustainability in these key industrial sectors. The application of UNEP’s Objectives within these sectors can help identify opportunities and promote action to advance innovations which reduce impacts on human health and the environment along the value chain.
A workshop held in Paris in 2023 was co-organized by UNEP’s Chemicals and Health Branch and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) Secretariat to bring together experts in green and sustainable chemistry, and those working towards a more sustainable buildings and construction sector. Participants discussed the potential of chemical innovations to support a more sustainable buildings and construction value chain, and key strategies to reach that potential. The analysis and workshop outcome report seeks to capture these discussions. It also contains a translation of UNEP’s Objectives for the buildings and construction sector, which may help guide stakeholders to continue this work for other important sectors.
