Green Chemistry Student Chapter Award

Student involvement in green chemistry principles and practices is essential to the integration of environmentally benign technologies in academia and industry.

ACS Student Chapters may be recognized as a green chemistry chapter by engaging in at least three green chemistry activities during the academic year.

For examples of activities that would count towards earning your Green Chemistry Student Chapter Award review the ACS GCI “How To” guides. These guides provide step-by-step instructions on how to make your chapter green through fun and educational activities. Your chapter is not limited to these activities. Below is a list of additional ideas.

• Develop a green chemistry website
• Make a green chemistry bulletin board
• Pass out green chemistry buttons, brochures, etc.
• Present a green chemistry poster at a national/regional meeting
• Promote green chemistry on campus
• Create and distribute “green rating” handouts
• Make green chemistry t-shirts and use to teach around the campus
• Create and distribute a green chemistry newsletter

• Educate community regarding greener products
• Display about green chemistry at local mall

• Visit a hydrogen powered car and discuss the pollution prevention pros and cons
• Attend green chemistry presentations/lectures at a National/Regional Meeting, or at the ACS GCI Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference (gcande.org)
• Take a field trip to a LEED certified green building or house and learn about the green chemistry principles incorporated into the building materials
• Attend a green chemistry workshop

• Park, stream, road or other clean-up
• Recycling drive
• Water monitoring
• Same web page/newsletter/bulletin board as previous year
• Earth Day celebration without green chemistry component specified
• Any activity with only one member involved
• Attending three talks by home university professors
• General sustainability practices, e.g. using biodegradable coffee filters for a coffee hour, etc.
  

The Chapter Report serves as the basis for awarding "green" status to student chapters. Green chemistry activities may be documented in the annual report through minutes, announcements, photographs, and/or newsletters.

Green Chemistry Student Chapters are encouraged to apply for an Innovative Activities Grant to support green chemistry activities in research and community-oriented activities.

You can:

• Become a spokesperson on your campus for sustainability and the solutions chemistry can bring through green chemistry
• Start a movement of sustainability across your campus and in the community
• Make a difference through chemistry
• Have a positive impact on human health, the environment and the future
• Improve the “image” of chemistry

Chapters are awarded with a "green" status receive numerous benefits:

• Recognition at the Green Chemistry Student Chapter Awards Ceremony held at ACS National Meetings
• Information on green chemistry travel awards and scholarship opportunities
• Complimentary copies of green chemistry educational materials on request
• Connections to faculty engaged in green chemistry research

See a list of award recipients (2001-2014). In 2014, 97 Student Chapters received the Green Chemistry Student Chapter Award.  The awards will be presented at the spring ACS National Meeting in Denver, CO as part of the ACS Student Chapter Awards Ceremony.

For more information, contact:

ACS Green Chemistry Institute^®
1155 Sixteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
gci@acs.org
(202) 872-6102 or (800) 227-5558 ext. 6102