Sustainability and systems thinking in the chemistry of aspirin manufacture for first-year engineering students

Abstract

In response to the need to integrate sustainability in higher education, an activity incorporating green chemistry, life cycle inventories, and systems thinking was designed for first-year general chemistry. The activity is centred on the synthesis of aspirin, with students comparing three synthetic routes to salicylic acid. The pedagogical approach combined individual preparation, collaborative group tasks -including structured role play, and individual reflection. It was implemented in a large-enrolment engineering course within a three-hour laboratory session. Students considered trade-offs between renewable and non-renewable resources, waste generation, and energy use. To evaluate learning outcomes, random samples of individual and group submissions were analysed. The preparation exercise revealed that students were able to independently learn to apply green chemistry metrics and identify isolated environmental, economic, and societal implications of aspirin manufacture. Group activities, particularly the role-play component, supported deeper engagement and integration of these impacts. Group role-play summaries provided evidence of systems thinking and consideration of multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Subsequently, students demonstrated more holistic views of sustainability in the reflective exercise, recognising it as a shared collective and individual responsibility requiring contributions from multiple disciplines. Students valued the application of chemistry knowledge to a real-world context and the development of sustainability-related skills. With over 90% of students endorsing the activity's inclusion in the curriculum, this study offers a scalable model for meaningfully integrating sustainability and systems thinking within a single laboratory session.Several studies use systems-oriented concept maps (SOCMEs), system maps, and conceptual modelling to help