What are the most green companies, and what makes them so environmentally friendly?

As the threats of global warming and peak oil become more apparent, 'green' has become a buzzword in the media. We hear about 'going green' all the time, and companies have started to advertise their green practices. However, it all tends to sound idealistic and nebulous instead of specific and practical. So, I got to asking- what are companies really doing to make their businesses and practices sustainable? Can we see the effects of green chemistry in our lives now?

First, we must answer, what can companies do now? Much of green chem is theoretical and far from application, but there are still ways to effectively green a company. Foremost is the use of alternative or biofuel to cut back on fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas production. Also, they can purchase carbon credits for their electricity (as can you!). Though they still get the same electricity as before, they can pay to offset the electricity made with fossil fuels. More specifically to industry, companies can reduce solvents and hazardous catalysts in production and find ways to reduce wastes, either by redesigning the process or by reusing the waste products.

Pfizer, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies, created an entire program for green chem, the first of its kind in the pharmaceutical industry, to "develop sustainable, environmentally sound and cost effective processes" (1). They actively redesigned their processes to avoid wastes. In production of Lyrica, a drug treating pain from diabetes and shingles, they avoided 5 million gallons of solvent per year and over 150 tons of a nickel catalyst. With Vfend, an antifungal drug, they reduced waste by 25,000 tons per year by using innovative and advanced chemistry: "an ultra-efficient synthesis of a key intermediate; and the development of a novel, highly selective coupling reaction" (1). In previous years, they've won awards for applying green chem to Viagra and Zoloft, and currently, they're working on a reagents guide to select more environmentally friendly reactants in their production. They even have a separate 'green buildings' program to make their facilities more efficient! By actively working to reduce their company's footprint, they cast a hopeful light over an industry known for its hazardous waste.

Very close to us, Hercules also has been doing work to make their company more environmentally friendly, adopting a 'zero harm' goal. They recently created an adhesive free of hazardous formaldehyde made with soy flour and their own polymer chemistries. For those efforts, they won a Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for "Development and Commercial Application of Environmentally Friendly Adhesives for Wood Composites" (2). For a company right down the road, it's exciting to learn that they, too, actively want to reduce hazards and help their industry toward a sustainable future.

Granted, much of this work remains in chemical companies with a not-so-hidden purpose to increase shareholder value. However, influential steps, no matter the intentions, are still influential, and using new chemistry in chemical companies is the most logical beginning. We can understand parts of their innovations with our chemistry knowledge, especially as we learn to use sometimes-dangerous solvents and catalysts in our own labs. And after working too long by a fume hood, we can certainly appreciate advances made to reduce worse hazards in industry!

[1] "Green Chemistry Program." Pfizer. 2008. 2 Feb. 2008 .

[2] "Hercules Receives Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award." Hercules. 26 June 2007. 2 Feb. 2008 .

[3] "The Green 50." Inc.Com. 2008. 11 Feb. 2008 .