Green Chemistry Market Roundtable And Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award

October 16, 2014, was a banner day for green chemistry in the nation's capital with the 2014 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge awards ceremony, and the Green Chemistry Market Roundtable preceding it. The roundtable included representatives from industry, including the 2014 award winners; EPA and other federal agency officials; and others involved with green chemistry and biobased chemicals and products. BRAG Executive Director, Kathleen Roberts, and Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.'s (B&C®) Lynn Bergeson were invited guests and participated in the roundtable discussion on green chemistry innovations and strategies for realizing the environmental market potential for these innovations.

The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge awards were presented at a ceremony later in the day. There were five categories within the challenge: academic; small business; greener synthetic pathways; greener reaction conditions; and designing greener chemicals. The 2014 winners include Professor Shannon Stahl of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as Amyris, Inc., Solazyme, Inc., QD Vision, Inc., and the Solberg Company. In EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) Assistant Administrator Jim Jones' blog post about the awards and this year's winners, he stated "[t]hese scientists are helping to crack the code and solve some of the most challenging problems facing our modern society. They are turning climate risk and other problems into a business opportunity, spurring innovation and investment. They are reducing waste — energy, chemicals and water waste — while cutting manufacturing costs, and sparking investments." EPA has received more than 1,500 nominations in the 19 years of the challenge program. More information on the program and a copy of the EPA press release detailing the technologies of the award recipients are available on the EPA Green Chemistry website.

2015 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Presidential Green Chemistry Award and EPA can be expected to make the awards ceremony a major event. BRAG members and others should start now to think about competing for this prestigious award.