Sustainable Chemistry

The chemical industry plays a vital role in modern living standards, providing innovations and materials essential for health, food, mobility and energy, and acting as a key driver of the global economy. Synthetic chemical substances are fundamental inputs to modern value chains and are used in nearly all manufactured goods worldwide [1]. Accounting for around 10% of global final energy consumption and approximately 7.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions [2], the chemical industry plays a crucial role in the transition towards a sustainable and climate-friendly economy, while ongoing challenges related to environmental protection and human health must continue to be addressed. Meeting global challenges and achieving the United Nations Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires a fundamental transformation of the chemical industry and related sectors.

Icon of a leaf overlapping into a schematic molecule

The International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3) supports this global shift towards Sustainable Chemistry across chemical value chains with cross-sectoral impact. ISC3 promotes a holistic sustainability approach that embeds sustainable technologies, processes and products throughout supply chains. Sustainable Chemistry goes beyond considering individual products and associated material flows in isolation. Instead, it adopts a systemic approach that takes into account entire product life cycles – from design and production to use and further processing. It promotes the closing of material loops and fosters new business models focused on efficiency and sustainability.

At the same time, ISC3 encourages a shift in mindset among stakeholders by promoting sufficiency strategies, helping to reduce the overall consumption of materials, resources and energy, and ensuring that solutions are aligned with actual needs.

Key priorities include climate protection, the decarbonisation and defossilisation of industrial processes, as well as responsible waste and chemicals management. This entails:

developing products that are durable, repairable, reusable and recyclable at the end of their life cycle – rather than designed as linear, disposable products
developing competitive processes and products for local and international markets that require less energy and fewer resources and rely on bio-based or recycled feedstocks
promoting technologies that sustainably reduce risks to people and ecosystems

The objective of this holistic approach is a systemic transformation of the chemical industry and related sectors that respect ecological limits, strengthens social responsibility and enables long-term economic performance. Sustainable Chemistry meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Sustainable Chemistry is not a vision for the future – it is a prerequisite for a resilient and future-proof industry, for protecting the environment and human health, and a key lever for achieving the global sustainability agenda (SDGs).

Sustainable Chemistry – Where Change Begins.

Read about our Key Characteristics of Sustainable Chemistry

The 10 Key Characteristics of Sustainable Chemistry provide a clear and practical framework to assess and ensure sustainability for chemical technologies, processes, products, and services. They help to consider environmental, economic, and social aspects in a holistic way and support informed decision-making. In addition, ISC3 has developed a simplified version of these key characteristics to offer an accessible entry point, making Sustainable Chemistry easier to understand and apply in everyday decision-making.

References:

[1] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change – Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report, Cambridge University Press, 2022, Chapter “Industry”.

[2]European Environment Agency, Managing the Systemic Use of Chemicals in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.