american chemical society acs and you leading the way to a sustainable future dr. e. ann nalley,...

American Chemical Society

ACS and You Leading the Way to a Sustainable

Future

Dr. E. Ann Nalley,

Cameron University

&

Dr. S.K. Airee,

University of Tennessee - Martin.

.

Sustainability

• Sustainability is often on people’s lips nowadays. Everybody seems to have an idea of what it means, and yet it is an elusive concept. Before giving some definition, let us search for what it includes.

• For one, sustainability is about the future, making sure that humanity does not follow a path to crisis and doom. We need to take responsibility for our actions toward future generations, and with this responsibility comes a moral imperative. In other words, sustainability is a good to be sought, and not just for us but also for our children and beyond.

• Sustainability is also about the environment. None of our activities would be sustainable if it led to environmental demise. So, in sustainability is contained another responsibility, that toward nature. It includes operating within the limits imposed on us by the environment.

American Chemical Society 8/10/09 2

Assembling the pieces, we see that the concept of Sustainability implicates our actions,future generations, the environment, responsibility, and limits.

The challenge before us is to identify, and engage in, those responsible actions thatmake the environment an integral part of our economy and respect environmental limits,so that we and future generations can continue to live on this spaceship called Earth.

My favorite definition of sustainability:

"Sustainability is the ultimate relation of action and consequence.“

(Kirsten Childs, in Sustainable Architecture - White Papers, 2004)


Two aspects of Sustainability


1) Not the same as carrying capacity.Carrying capacity is a static concept that fits non-evolving ecological systems.Human activities progress by successive inventions. Problems due to excess are notgenerally solved by reduction but are most often overcome by new tools and newresources. As the proverb goes: “Necessity is the mother of all inventions.” This leadsto the concept of Sustainable Development.2) Three-pronged approach.


ACS Vision & Strategic Goals

Vision: Improving people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry

Goal 1 Provide indispensable resourcesGoal 2 Engage Global Community

Goal 3 Address Global Challenges - ACS will be a global leader in enlisting the world’s scientific professionals to address, through chemistry, the challenges facing our world.

Goal 4 Communicate with the PublicGoal 5 Advocate for the ProfessionGoal 6 Maintain Financial Health

The ACS Strategic Plan for 2009 and Beyond is available online at: http://strategy.acs.org


Sustainability Stakeholders Steering Group (S3G) Charter

Promote ACS sustainability leadership through facilitation, coordination, and communication among ACS stakeholders and members:

1. Foster cooperation and collaboration on related ACS projects and activities;

2. Identify gaps in existing activities where ACS is positioned to contribute, leveraging our unique strengths;

3. Identify external partners for collaboration, to include other organizations and government agencies; and

4. Suggest mechanisms for member engagement and communication throughout ACS.


Key Sustainability Stakeholder Committees

• Committee on Environmental Improvement (CEI), • Committee on Science (COMSCI), • Corporation Associates (CA), • Divisional Activities Committee (DAC), • ACS Green Chemistry Institute (ACS GCI), • Local Sections Activities Committee (LSAC), • Meetings and Expositions (M&E), • Society Committee on Education (SOCED), and • Other committees/groups as appropriate


Sustainability – Highlights of Recent Activities

1. ACS Network Group – Developed to engage students, members, and other stakeholders in the discussion on sustainability issues. https://communities.acs.org/groups/sustainability-stakeholders-group

2. Inventory of the Society Initiatives – ACS committee, local section, division and staff activities.

3. Sustainability Website – In development to provide a knowledge portal for scientists working on issues pertaining to sustainability.

4. Sustainability Logo – Identifies and brands ACS sustainability efforts.

5. National Meeting Programming – Supporting “Chemistry for a Sustainable World” theme in San Francisco, March

2010, including student programming.


ACS Sustainability Activities – The Big Picture

Maintain Financial Health

Reducing the burden on ACS and global

resources

Advocate for the Profession

Advocating for science-based sustainability

Communicate with the Public

Promoting role of chemists in public understanding of

sustainability

Engage Global Community

Bringing chemists together more

sustainably

Provide Indispensable

Resources

Resources for chemists to address

sustainability

Chemistry for a Sustainable World

Addressing Global Challenges

Virtual meetings, communities around sustainability challenges

Community outreach

Symposia, presentations, publications,

education

Public policy statements, advocacy, expertise

e-communications, e-resources


You Are An ACS Sustainability Stakeholder!

Join the discussion on the ACS Network at

https://communities.acs.org/groups/sustainability-stakeholders-group

How Can Student Chapters Participate?

• Become a Green Chapter

• Sponsor Sustainability projects in your university and your community.

• Include Sustainability in National Chemistry Week

• Host joint activities with high school chemistry clubs

• Participate in Earth Day celebrations.

• Nominate local industries for the Presidential Green Chemistry Award

• Present Promotion of Excellence Awards to industries or groups in the community that make significant contributions to sustainability


We want your suggestions and participation in the program. You are an important part of the ACS Future!

THANK YOU

AND

QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS!


american chemical society acs and you leading the way to a sustainable future dr. e. ann nalley,...

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