In celebration of the 65th birthday of Professor James Clark

It is our immense pleasure to honour the 65^th birthday of Professor James H Clark, founding Editorial Board Chair of Green Chemistry, global pioneer of green and sustainable chemistry, colleague and friend. James has carried out research on environmentally friendly chemistry for over 20 years, and has worked on education, networking and promotion of sustainable technologies for over 10 years. Through his intervention the world is now rapidly waking up to the importance of making chemicals and chemistry more green, environmentally compatible and within the framework of a sustainable 21^st century circular economy.

In the very first editorial for the journal Green Chemistry, written by James in 1999, he highlights his determination for a new journal, setting the vision for its role in developing the subject and its reputation (DOI: 10.1039/GC9900G1). His desire to continue to publish in Green Chemistry and promote the subject through the Royal Society of Chemistry has never wavered. James has published 59 articles in Green Chemistry and is Editor-in-Chief of the Royal Society of Chemistry Green Chemistry book series (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 James at the bench in the early days.

While many of the ideas in the editorial article are still as relevant today as they were in 1999, the subject has evolved considerably. This is because for green chemistry to actually make a difference, it must be implemented, something which requires multi-disciplinarity as well as engagement from a wide range of stakeholders. Alongside launching the journal in 1998, James established the Green Chemistry Network (http://www.greenchemistrynetwork.org) which promotes awareness and facilitates education, training and practice of green chemistry in industry, commerce, government, and academia. The network was initially launched with funding from the Royal Society of Chemistry and is now funded on a project-by-project basis. James is the current President of the GCN, a not-for-profit company.

James's contribution to green chemistry and in particular his vision for ‘big picture’ collaborative activities has been immense. We use the term ‘big picture’ as those who meet James often remark that they are leaving with much bigger and better opportunities not previously imagined. James is a visionary in establishing new supply chains and is passionate about making green chemistry work. We must translate discovery research through to products and applications such that green chemistry is a reality and not a merely a dream. Always seeking to involve industry, James established the Green Chemistry Centre for Industrial Collaboration (2003) which then became what is now known as the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence (2006), a world-leading research, education and networking institution that specialises in the development and application of green chemical technologies with particular interest in exploiting the chemical potential of biomass, waste as a resource and development of biorefineries. In 2012 James helped establish and is co-Director of the Biorenewables Development Centre (http://www.biorenewables.org), a €10M scale-up facility opened by the Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, then Minister for Business Skills and Innovation, to test the best green chemical technologies at demonstrator scale. Realising the need for academia and business to engage, and for B2B interactions, in an open, non-competitive arena James established a bespoke Industrial Engagement Facility in our recently opened state-of-the art Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence. His vision is for the chemical and allied industries to transition from current practices and processes to more sustainable chemical manufacturing commensurate with 21^st century circular thinking (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 James and Dame Ellen MacArthur at the opening of the new Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York in September 2014.

Many of James's visionary practices and principles based on sustainable consumption and production, ‘doing more and better with less’, waste as a resource, whole systems thinking and a circular economy, are coming to fruition in global policies and strategies. He has always advocated empowering all to protect our planet, alleviate poverty, ensure equity, equality and fairness, and create partnerships that tackle global challenges, and induce harmonization. These qualities are now manifest in the 2015 United Nations sustainability agenda that prioritises the planet, people, poverty, partnerships and peace through 17 sustainable development goals. In 2012, James established a network of Global Green Chemistry Centres (G2C2) which bring together established and emerging research centres focused on discovery research, education, training and outreach, and industrial collaborations in order to tackle global issues (http://www.greenchemistrynetwork.org/g2c2). The G2C2 now has over 30 centre members spanning across six continents, Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Australia including New Zealand.

James is a strong advocate for education at all levels. He has a remarkable ability to converse with all ages and differing levels of expertise. His passion for education and outreach is none better exemplified by the creation of the world's first MSc in Green Chemistry and Sustainable Industrial Technology in 2001, which attracts some of the best graduates from around the world and is the only course of its kind to be accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry. James was joint winner of the 2012 ACS-CEI Award for Incorporation of Sustainability into Chemical Education and in 2014 he won the HEFCE-funded Sustainable Laboratories (S-Labs) award for incorporating green and sustainable chemistry teaching in university laboratories. James has now established the first Centre for Graduate Training (CGT) that delivers the next generation of green and sustainable thinkers and business leaders fully conversant in science and the triple bottom-line business case .

To conclude, James, through your unwavering desire for the best research and education and your ability to empower both novices and professionals, you have brought green chemistry to the fore. Importantly, you have been supported by your wife Catriona and children Matthew and Lindsey whilst you've been away from home inspiring the world in green chemistry. James, you have made many friends close to home but also globally, all of whom will join us in thanking you for your contributions to date and wishing you a very happy 65^th birthday!

Notes

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily the views of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

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