The 'Sus' Word

The theme for the 239th American Chemical Society national meeting in San Francisco last month was “Chemistry for a Sustainable World.” The fact that sustainability has made its way to headline the premier meeting of the world’s largest scientific society is notable.

Of the roughly 355 oral sessions in the technical program, 38 symposia had the word sustainability or some version of it in the title. That’s about 11%. Overall, some 1,600 of the 12,500 technical papers presented at the meeting fell under the sustainability banner. Those presentations represent perhaps the largest and most comprehensive set of scientific reports ever assembled on advances made and challenges remaining for sustainability.

By contrast, at the ACS national meeting in San Diego five years ago, the number of symposia with sustainability in the title was zero. The “sus” word does not appear in the technical program at all.

Chemistry by its nature is about evolving chemical products and processes to make them better and more efficient; sustainability is inherent in chemistry. But a more focused and guided effort is needed to create the energy, safe drinking water, adequate food, housing, transportation, and medical care that we want to live meaningful, comfortable, and healthy lives—not just for the current generation of humanity, but in perpetuity.

To that end, ACS has taken proactive steps to write sustainability into its vision, mission, and strategic goals. ACS meeting organizers picked sustainability as the overarching theme for San Francisco to educate attendees about current sustainability initiatives in the chemical enterprise and about how to use chemistry to improve our global environment.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Paul T. Anastas, a green chemistry pioneer, delivered the meeting’s plenary address, in which he made an impassioned plea for using green chemistry and engineering as the guiding framework to change the face of society in the name of sustainability (C&EN, March 29, page 8). His message is clear: Our planet won’t allow us to continue to do things the way we are doing them today. As head of EPA’s Office of Research & Development, Anastas plans to use green chemistry to guide future EPA research grants.

Green chemistry and engineering is a science that aims to reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances during the design phase of chemical products. For a technology to be considered green, it must accomplish three things: It must be more environmentally benign than existing alternatives, it must be more economically viable than existing alternatives, and it must be functionally equivalent to or outperform existing alternatives. That’s a tall order but one that must be fulfilled in a sustainable world.

John C. Warner, another founding father of green chemistry and president of the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, participated in a town hall meeting on green chemistry and engineering at the ACS meeting. Warner pointed out that only 10% of current technologies are environmentally benign, meaning they are about as green as they can get. Warner said another 25% could be made benign relatively easily. But benign versions of the remaining 65% have yet to be invented. Warner’s message is also clear: There has to be a new industrial revolution.

One thing that can’t be overlooked in creating this brave new world is that some existing chemical products and processes, although not perfect, are too useful for chemical companies to simply abandon when jumping on the sustainability bandwagon. For example, bisphenol A, used as a monomer and as an additive in polymers—in particular in plastic linings for food cans—is the right chemical for the job that it does (C&EN, March 1, page 5).

But there is concern for adverse health effects associated with bisphenol A, primarily in children. The evidence for toxicity is uncertain, therefore EPA is requesting additional data from manufacturers to learn more (C&EN, April 5, page 8). Until a better product is created or bisphenol A is shown unequivocally to be harmful, it should continue to be used.

Chemicals like bisphenol A are why we need green chemistry. Some “What if?” critical thinking will lead chemists and chemical engineers to a better product that avoids toxicity concerns, making moot any questions about the safety of bisphenol A.

Green and sustainable chemistry and engineering is not free. CropLife America, the trade association for the agricultural and pest-management chemicals industry, released statistics in February indicating a 40% increase in costs to discover and develop new pest- and disease-prevention products over the past decade. Most of the increase is attributed to growing scrutiny of human and environmental safety to meet more stringent regulatory controls. These classes of chemicals are becoming greener thanks to this effort, but the chemical industry and consumers buying the end products are absorbing the cost.

In the end, our sustainable future, including a sustainable chemical enterprise, is going to require innovative molecular solutions. The programming at future ACS meetings will play a vital role on the road to sustainability by increasing public appreciation of chemistry in meeting world needs, increasing interest of young people in chemistry, and generating enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry. Chemists and chemical engineers need to buckle up for a long journey.