Beyond Benign and Dow expand collaboration to advance green chemistry education

Midland, MI – Dow and Beyond Benign, a nonprofit organization focused on making green chemistry an integral part of education, announce an expanded multi-year collaboration. Building upon a foundation of cooperation, both organizations aim to advance chemistry education by empowering educators with the tools and resources to incorporate green chemistry into higher education curricula.

The collaboration, fueled by Dow’s commitment to sustainability, will bolster Beyond Benign’s initiatives in several key areas: Expansion of the Green Chemistry Commitment program: Over the next three years, Beyond Benign plans to accelerate the recruitment of universities globally into its Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) program, an institutional approach to advancing green chemistry in higher education (currently, more than 160 have joined). This expansion will further the integration of green chemistry principles into academic institutions worldwide.
Design of on-demand professional training in Green Chemistry: Beyond Benign and Dow will partner with educators to design a cutting-edge on-demand training program focused on green chemistry. This initiative will provide educators and industry professionals with accessible resources to enhance their understanding and teaching of sustainable chemistry practices.
Green Chemistry Education Challenge awards: Beyond Benign will provide university awards to support the advancement of Green Chemistry in teaching, research and service for 15-30 university educator teams.
Support for Dow employee volunteer opportunities: Dow employees will have opportunities to engage as advocates, educators and learners in Green Chemistry initiatives, amplifying the impact of this collaboration across communities.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to expand our efforts with Dow,” says Amy Cannon, Beyond Benign Co-Founder and Executive Director. “This collaboration will allow us to deepen our connections with educators to provide key resources to train future scientists with the knowledge and skills to design safer chemical products. We will also provide support to universities through educational grants and peer support to enable further adoption of green chemistry in higher education.”

With expanded support from Dow, Beyond Benign aims to collaborate globally, prioritizing relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the U.S. Beyond Benign seeks to increase participation of Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in the GCC program to enhance the representation of scientists in the green chemistry field, empower faculty to integrate sustainability principles into chemistry education and expand the diversity of the talent pool equipped to address critical sustainability challenges in alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“Beyond Benign’s commitment to advancing green chemistry education is inspiring,” says Bob Plishka, global director of Strategic Corporate Partnerships and Dow Company Foundation president. “This collaboration reflects Dow’s commitment to sustainability and STEM & skilled trades, empowering educators to instill environmental stewardship in the next generation of scientists.”

Growing this collaboration symbolizes a significant stride in transforming chemistry education. Green chemistry places sustainability at the forefront of product and process design, providing the framework for scientists to address sustainability in the design stage of a product lifecycle. Supported by Dow, Beyond Benign launched the GCC 25×25 initiative in 2020, aiming to ensure 25% of graduating U.S. chemists possess green chemistry expertise by 2025. Over 107 U.S. universities, including many of Dow’s academic partners(opens in a new tab), and over 160 universities globally have already joined, highlighting the widespread embrace and impact of green chemistry principles. To learn more about the GCC program and which universities have signed the pledge, please visit Beyond Benign’s website: https://www.beyondbenign.org/he-green-chemistry-commitment/