The Organising Committee of the 5th Green Chemistry Conference wishes all participants an enjoyable stay in Barcelona. We are grateful to the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Autonomous Government of Catalonia for their generous contribution to the celebration of the Conference as well as all supporting institutions and individuals.
Chemistry has resulted in major benefits in almost every aspect of our lives, and has contributed to the medical revolution of the 19th century, the expansion of the food supply and the water quality in the 20th century and the beginning of the new millennium. In the same time-frame, the unintended and catastrophic effects of certain chemical substances on the environment and human health caused a public concern and resulted in strict governmental regulations on many substances manufactured and used throughout the world. It is recognised that a comprehensive program for the protection of human health and the environment will need to contain many different aspects and approaches. One approach, which emerged in the 1990´s, is green chemistry (also known as sustainable chemistry), a science-based, non-regulatory tool for the creation of safer products and processes. While very broadly applicable, green chemistry has a very specific and well defined scope. Green chemistry is “the design, development and implementation of chemical products and processes to reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances”.
Extraordinary advances and cutting-edge innovation in the area of green chemistry have been developed worldwide over the past few years which have resulted in the substitution of existing toxic chemicals with safer alternatives, the industrialisation of new cost-effective environmentally benign chemical transformations, and the use of renewable feedstocks for the production of a wide variety of materials, to mention only a few achievements.
During the Conference, outstanding scientists in the field of
green chemistry will present their recent innovations and advances. In addition,
research policies and international initiatives in education and industry-academia
collaborations will be discussed by representatives of government, industry
and academia.