Insertion of Green Chemistry in education aiming at a more sustainable society

Abstract

The role of chemistry in sustainable development is to contribute to an environmentally friendly planning of its products and processes, taking into account environmental and human health aspects, through the principles of Green Chemistry. Although the contribution of this green philosophy to the future is well established in the literature, working on green ideals for sustainability is a challenge, either due to the complexity of training qualified professionals or the total absence of these ideals in chemistry education spaces. Therefore, our objective was to contribute to the insertion of Green Chemistry in an educational institution and to assess its impact on the training of Chemistry technicians and teachers. Here, two initiatives were proposed to apply green ideals to everyday chemistry, in basic and higher education: (i) the "Green Day: Rethinking laboratory practices in Chemistry Teaching in a sustainable way" and (ii) class proposals for teaching of chemical concepts, from the perspective of Green Chemistry. Results indicate that these approaches are a promising contribution to the formation of active citizens in problem solving. Considering the multiplier potential of ideas, the insertion of Green Chemistry in basic and higher education contributes to the training of qualified professionals for the dissemination of a more sustainable chemistry.