Sustainable development chemistry education

To sustain the development of new green chemistry curriculum and tools, a network of faculty has been formed to promote a collaborative approach to preparation of new materials. The Green Chemistry Education Network (GCEdNet) (35) began in 2004 with five ambassador faculty members located... 

Implementation of green chemistry education at the undergraduate level is key to adopting more sustainable practices and hence a more sustainable society 4), This education should be for both science and non-science majors. While certainly those students who are science majors may have a direct route to action in applying green chemistry principles in both research and development, nonscience majors can also benefit since they become aware of the importance of sustainable practices, learn about positive every-day habits, and come to realize that the chemical industry, which in the past (and even currently) was viewed as a major contributor to environmental degradation, is also part of the solution to the problem. 

Chemistry Education for Socially Responsible and Sustainable Development... 

Thus to start with, it is important to recognise the differences between the practices of chemistry and chemistry education. The commonahties that exist between the two blur the differences with the result that we believe that the two are one and the same thing and subsequently expect school chemistry to produce scientifically literate citizenry and specialist chemists who would be able to respond to societal needs, sustain development and leave a legacy that future generations would be proud of. This is not automatic, at least not for all students. 

A large variety of books and review papers is thus available, but often they either do not employ a comprehensive approach or are not consistent with the approach of sustainable industrial chemistry that is the core of this book. In addition, for educational purposes, it is useful to overview the main methods and tools available to develop a novel and innovative sustainable industrial chemistry. This chapter is dedicated to catalysis as key tool for sustainability and process intensification. 

The categories identified are 1. waste collection including plastics 2. business Ufe 3. green chemistiy companies 4. educational activities around recycling waste including plastics 5. educational activities around chemistry where the issue of plastics is addressed 6. artistic actions enhancing plastics 7. substances considered to be toxic contained within plastics 8. contribution of plastics to sustainable development 9. chemical accidents involving plastics or occupational toxicity in the production of plastics 10. call for waste collection ... 

In the context of sustainable development, learning is equivalent to addressing issues of howto sustainably shape the future in concrete fields of action, ie., chemistry and chemistry education. This includes observation, analysis, assessment and design of a given context in creative and cooperative processes. What is addressed and called for specifically are a critical assessment of knowledge in the light of the present-day information overload, the development of self-worth, self-determination and self-reliance, as well as social competencies such as the ability to participate. " ... 

Chemistry dramatically influences everything from the life of the individual to society as a whole. Chemistry curricula and chemistry teacher education should more thoroughly reflect not only the importance of education and sustainable development, but support the development of human identity, which is interrelated with the environment, both individually and collectively, the goal being to allow students to actively learn how to shape society in a positive, sustainable fashion. 

M. Burmeister, F. Rauch and I. Bilks, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and chemistry education, Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2012,13, 59-68. 

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