Challenges and Opportunities for Green Chemistry Education and its Relation with Sustainable Development

Document Type : Review article

Authors

1 Department of Chemistry, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Chemistry, Shahid Beheshti Campus, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Due to the importance of green chemistry in protecting the environment, preventing the destruction of natural resources and creating a healthy and natural life, over the past several decades, green chemistry has emerged as an important component of chemistry education and is rapidly expanding. Various educational materials have been developed to teach the 12 principles of green chemistry to students in schools and universities around the world. However, there is international pressure on sustainable development that challenges educators and teachers of green chemistry to gauge the complexities of green chemistry and to consider social sustainability factors. In this review paper we describes the history of green chemistry, its teaching and its relation to sustainable development, the courses and programs that have been working to achieve these goals in recent years. In addition, some of the methods used to evaluate the learning outcomes of green chemistry courses are discussed and reviewed.

Keywords