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Executive Summary
Pages 1-9

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From page 1...
... At the same time, this report is not inclusive of every research topic of relevance to sustainability, and it does not provide an in-depth economic analysis or policy assessment of all that is needed to achieve sustainability in the chemical industry -- such as regulation and other government policies that have been historically critical in driving needed changes. The report is meant as a starting point for further analysis, with a focus on those areas that present unique challenges and opportunities where the chemical industry and 1 Throughout this report the committee uses the term "chemical industry" in its broadest sense -- which encompasses allied industries such as pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals as well as educational practices that ultimately feed into the industry -- that is, all those entities involved in the lifecycle of chemicals.
From page 2...
... Addressing sustainability necessarily cuts across all disciplinary boundaries and requires a broad system view to integrate the different and competing factors involved. This includes "strategic connections between scientific research, technological development, and societies' efforts to achieve environmentally sustainable improvements in human well-being,"4 and involves the creative "design of products, processes, systems, and organizations, and the implementation of smart management strategies that effectively harness technology and ideas to avoid environmental problems before they arise."5 In this report, progress in the chemical industry is considered within these broader efforts to address sustainability.
From page 3...
... The set of Grand Challenges and accompanying research needs to move towards chemical products, processes, and systems that will help achieve the broader goals of sustainability are summarized below. Although the Grand Challenges are numbered, they are all important in the context of this report and to the triple bottom line of the chemical industry now and in the future.
From page 4...
... of continued use of fossil fuels (especially oil) as the predominant source of energy and chemical feedstocks, where managing carbon, reducing the intense use of energy resources, and educational efforts to promote sustainability thinking will be critical; and 2.
From page 5...
... This is another area that is already being explored, but will play an increasingly significant role in the chemical industry in the longer term as fossil fuels are phased out of use and application of green chemistry and engineering practices become critical. Research Needed: · Improvements are needed in the quantity and quality of data required for such comparisons and in the approach used to evaluate life cycle metrics.
From page 6...
... 4. Renewable Chemical Feedstocks Grand Challenge: Derive chemicals from biomass -- including any plant derived organic matter available on a renewable basis, dedicated energy crops and trees, agricultural food and feed crops, agricultural crop wastes and residues, wood wastes and residues, aquatic plants, animal wastes, municipal wastes, and other waste materials.14 This is a long term challenge that will become increasingly important as fossil fuels are phased out over the next 100 years.
From page 7...
... Research Needed: · In the area of solar energy technology: -- reduce the cost and environmental impact of producing pho tovoltaic systems; -- directly use solar energy for cost-effective splitting of water to produce hydrogen; -- improve heat transfer fluids that enable direct use of solar energy for meeting some of the heating requirements of the CPI; and -- advance storage systems for solar generated electric power. · Simultaneously develop biomass derived fuels together with chemical feedstocks (Grand Challenge 4)
From page 8...
... from current and future human activity. Addressing this challenge will also be critical during the continued use of fossil fuels as the predominant source of energy and chemical feedstocks over the next 20 years, and will continue to be important as long as carbon based fuels are in use.
From page 9...
... . This also includes developing educational materials such as lab modules, LCA modules, and new textbooks that infuse sustainability and green chemistry concepts into the core material.


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