Sustainability and some green initiatives in undergraduate education

Abstract

AbstractGreen Chemistry is also known as sustainable chemistry or benign chemistry. It is concerned with developing processes and products that reduce or eliminate the use of and generation of hazardous substances. In the 21st century today’s students are particularly interested in matters that affect their health and well-being of the planet. To deal with such challenges of students the concept of Green and Sustainable Chemistry not only offers an excellent opportunity to address some of these concerns, but also provides us with a useful way to advance the way we do chemistry. Green chemistry is an ideal focus for undergraduate science education. A strong laboratory component is at the heart of many science courses. In this chapter some of the green chemistry principles and methodologies used to device certain undergraduate laboratory experiments and research are discussed.