Lily Dorstewitz
The Yale Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering just entered year two of its ongoing six-year, $12.6-million initiative with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, or UNIDO.
The collaborative project called the Global Greenchem Innovation and Network Programme aims to develop green chemistry initiatives in the Global South and work with professionals from across disciplines, from politicians to entrepreneurs, to foster sustainable innovation.
“Green chemistry is really about how do we get all of the same creativity, brilliant performance that chemistry has contributed to making modern life without all of the problems to human health and the environment,” said professor Paul Anastas, the director of the center.
Anastas, who coined the term “green chemistry,” is also involved with the School of Public Health and the School of the Environment — an interdisciplinary collaboration that is the focus of much of the center’s research.
Some of the work done by the center involves turning wood industry wastes into compounds for use in cosmetics, personal care and cleaners. Another project involves green nanotechnology, engineering microscopic particles to remediate rather than generate water pollution.
“We are fortunate to work with UNIDO once again, as they have tremendous knowledge and experience in the international development arena,” wrote Karolina Mellor, director of the Global Greenchem Innovation and Network Programme, in a 2023 press release. “It is such a pleasure to engage with UNIDO’s network of National Cleaner Production Centers (NCPCs), which are a crucial part of the overall efforts, especially in demonstrating technologies in their respective countries.”
Currently, the international outreach of the organization includes six countries — Jordan, Indonesia, Peru, Ukraine, Serbia and Uganda — to offer alternatives to environmentally harmful persistent organic pollutants, mercury and microplastics.
These chemicals can accumulate over time, leading to adverse reproductive, developmental and hormonal health effects.
“The work that Professor Anastas and the Global Greenchem Innovation and Network Programme is doing is so critically important because it supports economic growth in Global South countries that are disproportionately bearing the burdens of the climate crisis while also helping to eliminate harmful pollutants in those countries and reduce the use of hazardous chemicals worldwide,” School of Environment Dean Indy Burke wrote to the News.
In addition to traditional laboratory research and policy, the center also “spits out companies,” according to Anastas.
One example is P2 Science, an organic polymer company that started in Yale’s Chemistry Department. The company, which Anastas and Patrick Foley ENG ’12 co-founded, turns plant-based compounds into ingredients for flavors and fragrances.
Some of the environmental work conducted by the center has been under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency, an organization currently under attack by the Trump administration.
“I’m a big believer in the federal government’s role in funding basic research, discovery and innovation necessary to move toward systems that are cleaner, don’t generate waste and, quite frankly, drive innovation, drive new industry sectors [and] drive new jobs,” Anastas said. However, the government is only “a small source of funding,” he added.
Yale will collaborate with the Nobel Foundation to host a symposium on chemistry for sustainability in May.