Practical Sustainability Strategies, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 16Green Chemistry, Nanotechnology, and “Big Hairy Audacious Goal”

In the preceding chapters, we have provided a summary of various strategies that can be employed by corporations, government agencies, and non-profits to offer products and services of the highest quality without having a negative impact on the environment. In the next decades, it will be extremely critical to be aware of the declining health of the environment and that everything we do should improve its health before it is too late. In addition to employing strategies like those described in the earlier chapters, there may be many others that can be integrated into an organization's operation to accomplish the same goal. Here we summarize three additional strategies.

GREEN CHEMISTRY

Green chemistry is a revolutionary approach to the way that products are made; it is a science that aims to reduce or eliminate the use and/or generation of hazardous substances in the design phase of materials development. It requires an inventive and interdisciplinary view of material and product design. Green chemistry follows the principle that it is better to consider waste prevention options during the design and development phase than to dispose or treat waste after a process or material has been developed. This not only reduces the amount of waste material generated, but also reduces the quantity of feedstock required to manufacture the product.

For a technology to be considered green chemistry, it must accomplish ...