Themed collection Chemical Education for Global Sustainability

Using systems thinking skills to evaluate misinformation related to global challenges.

Citizen analytical chemistry (ZAC) combines analytical science with citizen science, allowing both scientists and non-experts to collect and share chemical data using simple, low-cost, portable tools.

Chemistry education for sustainability requires an approach which takes account of the student and the particularities of context.

The role of education, from schools to continued professional development, in fostering more sustainable analytical chemistry laboratories.

Matharu plots: a thought-provoking exercise that empowers us to explore global research and eliminate biases.

The 2025 IUPAC Guiding Principles of Responsible Chemistry provide an emerging framework for advancing sustainability and responsibility in chemical practice.

This tutorial review provides chemistry educators with literature coverage (to the end of 2025) of teaching activities that feature plant-derived anthocyanin extracts. Overviews and procedures for example activities have been also been provided.

Recycling acetone in the teaching laboratory leads to a significant carbon and cost reduction, changing the culture around solvent use.

A hybrid VR-mechanochemistry laboratory model modernizes undergraduate chemistry teaching while reducing waste, energy use, and access barriers. Graphical abstract image generated with BioRender.

For many students assignments connecting chemistry to sustainability are outside of their prior experience, and helpful resources such as a curated chatbot can provide directed assistance even when instructors are unavailable.

Although chemical safety and security fall under chemical risk management, research has shown that knowledge about chemical safety is more prevalent at post-secondary institutions than chemical security knowledge.

Instructional model-based activities in high school support students' critical reflection on environmental issues. Graphical abstract image generated with Canva.

The RECOMPENSE project uses co-creation and student-led open-science education to upcycle polystyrene waste into sulfonated resins, enabling sustainable catalysis in Friedel–Crafts reactions and promoting circular approaches to plastic valorisation. Graphical abstract image generated with Copilot.

The gamified activities described herein are designed to support communities of practice in green chemistry while exploring discipline-specific applications in inorganic catalyst design.

An educational experiment was developed to use chitosan to remove tartrazine from water. The linear and nonlinear versions of isotherms were used to derive the thermodynamics parameters. Correlations with Green Chemistry Principles were made.

An interdisciplinary course based on green chemistry and systems thinking connects chemistry to real-world issues and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, enhancing student learning outcomes.

In Reimagining Chemistry students are partners in discussing critical issues in chemistry and effecting meaningful change in their communities.

The Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) is an online platform dedicated to fostering a global community of practice (CoP) that can accelerate the adoption of green and sustainable chemistry in education systems worldwide. Image generated with Canva.com.

Emergent efforts to incorporate green chemistry into the undergraduate curriculum has led to the development and testing of a case study focusing on the decision-making process around single-use plastics. Graphical abstract image generated with Biorender.

Structuring inquiry in pre-college chemistry.

Project-based learning integrating UN SDGs into undergraduate chemistry, using UK and US case studies to show how sustainability challenges enhance student engagement.

Green chemistry has emerged as a key driver of sustainable innovation by redesigning chemical products and processes to reduce environmental and human health impacts while supporting economic development.

The Department of Chemistry at the University of York, UK has been at the forefront of green chemistry education initiatives for several decades.

This study shows that solvent-based washing enables safe pipette tip reuse for trace chemical analysis, with EtOH : H₂O (50 : 50, v/v) providing the best balance of cleaning, and sustainability, reducing plastic waste without performance loss.

A newly-developed undergraduate-level lab activity allows students to explore previously inaccessible topics in atmospheric chemistry and air quality.