The Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC): fostering transformative change in STEM education for a sustainable future Jonathon Moir 1 , Amy Cannon 2 1 Beyond Benign, Inc., North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 2 Beyond Benign, Inc., Wilmington, Massachusetts, USA Chemistry as a field has a critical role to play in addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (U.N. SDGs), across industry, manufacturing, policy, and education. 1 However, the widespread teaching of concepts such as green and sustainable chemistry (which can help address the U.N. SDGs) in school classrooms and university curricula remains sparse and under-represented. This has led to new generations of underprepared science graduates who lack the necessary skills and knowledge needed to address sustainability challenges that threaten our planet. A recent report from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) found that 68% of practising chemists surveyed felt there was a gap between current knowledge and skills and those needed for green jobs. 2 In addition, educators and students alike felt it was important that these topics be included in chemistry curricula. While the existing educational gap is likely due to a combination of factors (including misconceptions within schools about the concepts, lack of time and available resources for educators, etc.), 3 the benefits and importance of teaching students these skills cannot be understated. This is corroborated by the recently updated guidelines for bachelor chemistry programs in the United States (US) by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Professional Training (CPT). 4 The guidelines now list Green Chemistry and Sustainability as a Critical Requirement within Coursework for institutions to gain ACS CPT accreditation in the US, and state that “[t]he curriculum must provide students with a working knowledge of the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry”. To help support educators and facilitate the adoption of new greener and sustainable chemistry curricula, Beyond Benign, Inc. recently launched the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) platform. 5 Developed in partnership with the ACS Green Chemistry Institute, the GCTLC is a new online community platform where teachers and faculty educators at all levels (from elementary school through to university/college) can collaborate and share their knowledge and best practices around bringing green chemistry into the classroom. Community members can access a searchable library of community-contributed green chemistry educational materials on the GCTLC (including alternative greener lab experiments, in-class activities, lecture slides, and more). The platform also includes forum spaces to discuss the latest resources, give and receive mentorship, and discuss challenges and opportunities in reforming chemistry education with a focus on sustainability and green chemistry. This presentation will highlight work over the past two and a half years in developing the site as well as some of the principal features of the platform. References 1. Chemistry & Sustainable Development Goals, https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/sustainability/chemistry-sustainable- development-goals.html, (accessed 31 May 2022). 2. Sustainability curriculum survey results, https://www.rsc.org/policy-evidence-campaigns/environmental-sustainability/ sustainability-reports-surveys-and-campaigns/a-sustainable-chemistry-curriculum/, (accessed 14 September 2023). 3. J. MacKellar, D. J. C. Constable, M. M. Kirchhoff, J. E. Hutchison and E. Beckman, J. Chem. Educ. , 2020, 97 , 2104–2113. 4. ACS Guidelines for Bachelor’s Degree Programs, https://www.acs.org/education/policies/acs-approval-program/guidelines. html, (accessed 14 September 2023).Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC), https://gctlc.org/, (accessed 14 September 2023).
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