Order Reprints

By Joe Boomgaard | TBL
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The developers of the Michigan Green Chemistry Clearinghouse website intend for it to be used by a wide range of users looking for more information about materials chemistry, whether in food or industrial processes, for example.

GRAND RAPIDS — As more consumers demand information about what goes into the products they buy, more companies have started tracking specifically what materials go into products.

They want to mitigate, as much as possible, the impacts those materials could have for the user or on the environment after the products’ useful lifecycle.

Coupled with a general push for more sustainable products, consumers and companies want to avoid potential problematic materials that could cause negative health impacts when they’re developing their personal care products, chairs or automobiles, for example.

In reaction to these trends, companies must identify the chemicals that comprise their products through formal programs (e.g. Design for the Environment) or independent analyses. Companies want to shift to benign chemicals that avoid any potential risks down the road.

The movement for “green chemistry” caught on in the office furniture industry in particular, and OEMs have begun asking questions of their supply chain to get a better handle on the situation.

The new Michigan Green Chemistry Clearinghouse being developed by a host of West Michigan partners aims to help businesses and the general public gain a broader understanding of the issue.

“Green chemistry considers that it’s the chemical that has the negative impact on the environment or human health. Its impacts could occur at any stage of the lifecycle, but they’re locked in in the design stage,” said Clinton Boyd, Ph.D., senior scientist at Sustainable Research Group LLC, the technical director of the clearinghouse project.

The Aquinas College Center for Sustainability serves as the project manager for the clearinghouse. The Grand Valley State University chemistry department, which won one of the state’s first awards for green chemistry education, is developing the educational programming, while the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor had been tapped for public outreach, said Deborah Steketee, Ph.D., director of the Center for Sustainability. Blue Sphere Solutions developed the website and open-sourced content system.

“This is a unique partnership to move us forward on the cutting edge of the sustainability effort,” Steketee said. “Innovation and science are coming together in service for sustainability.”

The web-based Michigan Green Chemistry Clearinghouse, www.migreenchemistry.org, was set to go online around the time this publication went to press, but the partners shared a sneak peek at a recent West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum meeting. While the site doesn’t have specific lists of benign chemicals, it serves to connect interested people with experts and current research, Steketee said.

“People will come for different motives and reasons, but these are all business opportunities,” she said. “It’s an economic development tool as well as a learning tool about green chemistry.”

The site will have available a range of chemical assessment tools, which should prove valuable to manufacturers, Boyd said, noting the principles of green chemistry apply to all types of businesses. Some manufacturers might not synthesize chemicals, but they all have choices about which chemicals go into their products at various stages of the process — all of which influence how sustainable or “green” a product is, Boyd said.

Developing a common format and content useful for diverse audiences ranging from the general public, businesses, education and government proved to be challenging, he said.

“It’s meant to be an informational portal to professional resources on green chemistry in Michigan. It will not be just another website out there,” Boyd said. “One key goal is to focus on chemistry and Michigan, but at the same time, we recognize that we’re not an island unto ourselves. We want to be the leaders of that (green chemistry) community nationally and internationally.”

Boyd said the website will also feature interactive forums, and he will deliver free webinars and other educational opportunities geared toward the various targeted users.

“How (the website) looks depends on our members. If they use it only as informational, that’ll be great. But if there’s interaction, that would be ideal,” he said.

Earlier in the planning stages, the partners said they hoped the business community — particularly larger manufacturers that already have a grasp on green chemistry — would use the clearinghouse as a tool when reaching out to their supply chains.

Dave Rinard, director of global environmental performance for Steelcase Inc., said the tool could be especially valuable in helping find information on green chemistry that’s already been vetted. With myriad sources available, he said he would appreciate some help in taking the guesswork out of identifying proven research.

“One of the issues we’re facing today that’s huge in everyone’s mind starts from materials chemistry — looking at and understanding the chemical makeup of all the materials that go into products and (trying to) screen out those that are problematic for whatever reason,” Rinard told TBL. “It’s incredibly difficult because there’s not a clean agreement on some substances. There are government lists, organizational lists, activist lists — everyone has a list, and they are more or less scientifically founded in some cases.

“Then there’s the whole subject matter of just because (a chemical) is present, doesn’t mean there was an exposure. And if there was no exposure, is there any harm? A lot of that is an unsettled field. I think all businesses are wrestling with that.”

  Order Reprints

TAGS:

• clinton boyd
• dave rinard
• deborah steketee
• grand rapids
• michigan green chemistry clearinghouse