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By Adelina Voutchkova, Director of Sustainable Development, ACS
This past September, the ACS GCI marked an extraordinary milestone: 30 years of the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards (GCCA). Since their inception in 1996, these awards have recognized 155 breakthrough technologies that collectively eliminated 830 million pounds of hazardous chemicals and solvents, saved over 21 billion gallons of water, and prevented 7.8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions — all while improving human health, environmental quality, and business competitiveness. These achievements underscore the transformative power of green chemistry to deliver cleaner air and water, safer products, and more sustainable industrial practices. They also remind us that innovation rooted in sustainability is not only possible but also essential to address global challenges such as the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
However, as we celebrate this legacy, it is crucial to consider how we must actively shape, as a community, the direction of innovations that will define the next 30 years so that we ensure this direction meets the moment of unprecedented urgency —where trust in science and its application is critical to avert climate, health, and technological catastrophes. Thus, in conjunction with the 2025 GCCA ceremony, the ACS GCI partnered with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to host an inspiring mini-summit themed “This Would Change Everything.” Visionary scientists and past GCCA winners gathered to share audacious ideas—from harnessing energy and matter in radically new ways to reimagining materials and creating adaptive molecules. Their discussions revealed five cross-cutting themes — transforming research funding models, AI-driven chemistry, materials circularity, metrics for sustainability, and societal trust — that will shape the future of our field.
This milestone moment is not just about reflection; it is a call to action for our community to actively steer innovation toward solutions that meet planetary needs and restore public confidence in science. While follow-up articles are in development to capture the visionary ideas shared during this inaugural event, we invite you to join future iterations planned for ACS Spring 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia, and the 30th Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference in San Antonio, Texas, next June. We hope this marks the beginning of a dynamic, open, and global conversation, which empowers our community to be thoughtful and intentional about shaping its own future. We extend sincere gratitude to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for their vision and support of this event and look forward to continuing partnerships to create opportunities for thought leadership and engagement. Stay tuned to The Nexus for updates and details on these upcoming events.