ACS Green Chemistry Institute and Change Chemistry host their inaugural Sustainability Leader Summit at Climate Week NYC

The American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) and Change Chemistry hosted the inaugural Sustainability Leader Summit on Sept. 27 in conjunction with Climate Week NYC. Held at the Yale Club of New York City, the summit convened leaders from government, nongovernmental organizations, and corporations across the chemical manufacturing and formulated products value chain. The event comprised an hour-long public-facing panel discussion followed by a closed-door meeting. Joel Tickner, executive director at Change Chemistry, and Adelina Voutchkova, ACS director of sustainable development and leader of the GCI, moderated the panel. Panelists Jeffrey Whitford of MilliporeSigma; Jennie Romer of the US Environmental Protection Agency; Luiziana Ribeiro of BASF; Stafford Sheehan of Air Company; and Todd Cline of Procter & Gamble discussed why sustainable chemistry innovation is critical for addressing climate change from both an industry and government perspective.

ACS chief operating officer LaTrease Garrison joined the private meeting, in which leaders from over 20 companies and organizations talked about the nexus between sustainable chemistry, climate change, and other sustainability goals. Topics included barriers and drivers to innovation, sustainability recognition and accounting, and communication and advocacy. The summit aimed to foster collaboration throughout the supply chain and across private and public sectors to accelerate climate action via adoption of scalable innovative green and sustainable chemistry technologies.