The ACS Green Chemistry Institute (ACS GCI), in partnership with industry leaders, is launching the Natural Polymers Consortium (NPC) to explore the utilization of natural polymers to accelerate the development of more sustainable functional materials. Companies working in this area are invited to join, while academics and NGOs interested in developing relevant chemistries are welcome to partner.
Events
ACS Spring 2024
Potential NPC founding members will participate in a business meeting in New Orleans on March 19, 2024, to formalize the strategic priorities, group structure, and membership of the NPC Business Plan. Please contact Isamir Martinez for more information.
A session describing the NPC will be presented by Jun Wang (Colgate-Palmolive) on March 19 at 9:05 a.m. in the symposium, "Cross-Sector Partnerships for Innovation and Talent: Collaborate with Industry and NGOs."
Other Upcoming Symposia
2024 Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference in Atlanta, GA (June 2-5, 2024). Natural Polymers for Sustainable Chemistry Applications
2024 Fall National ACS Meeting in Denver, CO (August 18-22, 2024). Global Collaborations on Natural Polymers as Substitution of Synthetic Materials (ACS POLY Division)
Call for Abstracts
In the annals of material history, plastics have reigned supreme since their inception around 1840. From the early days of natural rubber, shellac, and celluloid—materials derived from the bounty of our planet—to the post-1930 era dominated by synthetic petroleum-based plastics, we’ve witnessed an astonishing 80-year and the continuing surge in plastic production. However, this meteoric rise has come at a cost: our environment now grapples with the repercussions of plastic pollution. Plastics, once hailed as revolutionary, were conceived without a collaborative design for their end-of-life journey. Their persistence in landfills and oceans has sparked a global call for change.
This Symposium is to call for the collective efforts to explore toward natural polymers. With the extensive knowledge accumulated about the relationship between the molecular structure and the material performance, together with the most recently emerging new technologies, such as synthetic biology, enzymatic chemistry, artificial intelligence, we can rewrite the narrative of material development, keeping the life-cycle design idea in mind and ushering in an era where innovation meets reverence for our planet.
Abstracts are due April 1st, 2024, at the ACS abstract submission site.
Organizers: Wei Gao, Jun Wang, and Qiong Yuan
Past Events
February 2024: ACS Webinar entitled "Harnessing the Power of Natural Polymers: Innovation Opportunities for Circular Materials" featured a panel discussion on how the NPC is positioned to connect researchers in a pre-competitive manner to address the most critical development and application of natural polymers for commercial products.
August 2023: ACS Fall 2023 Symposium in San Francisco entitled “Natural Polymers – A Back to the Future Approach to Deal with the Plastics Issue,” featuring 19 speakers from academia, government, and industry. A hybrid NPC business meeting brought 50 participants to discuss the group structure, membership, and strategic priorities.
May 2023: A kick-off call brought over 60 prospective members together to discuss the formation of the NPC.
Vision
Material science innovations for a circular economy—Meeting human needs while improving the integrity of the environment.
Mission
To catalyze the development and application of natural polymers in material science globally.
Strategic Priorities
The NPC is a collaboration poised to accelerate innovation in this crucial area through our strategic priorities:
- Facilitate pre-competitive communication, discussion, and collaboration between scientists across industries, government, NGOs, and academia that (i) foster new ideas related to natural polymers and (ii) promote the development of research tools that accelerate progress towards sustainable natural polymers.
- Promote and support research into potentially transformative natural polymer technologies that accelerate progress in the field.
- Develop metrics and tools to evaluate the biodegradation, environmental impact, and life cycle impacts of novel natural polymers to enable future product designs.
Companies working in this area, as well as academics and NGOs interested in developing relevant chemistries, are invited to participate. Founding members will establish the membership fees and structure in 2024.
Questions? Email Us.
Press
ACS GCI Launches the Natural Polymers Consortium
May 2023 | The Nexus
