Green Chemistry wins the 20/20
The headline reads “Research reveals Green Chemistry can help industry save $65.5 billion by 2020.” But that is the bottom line as well! What started as a by-product of the United States of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 is now a revolution of sorts.
Who doesn’t want to reduce costs and waste! And this becomes especially significant when it comes to the chemical industry or indeed industries that use chemicals in its processes. Conventionally, the industry has used petroleum-derived feed-stocks. Compared to these non-renewable materials, the newer “green” materials offer greenhouse gas emissions along with lesser toxicity. These renewable feed-stocks are produced through biological processes or thermal and chemical processes applied to cellulosic materials, such as wood, agricultural waste, or non-food plants like switchgrass — all of which are less costly than the purchase of petroleum products. Of course, the alarming rise in the cost of petrol and derived products has also accelerated the growth of this alternative industry.
Analysts say that the estimated worldwide value of the chemical industry is a staggering $4 trillion. With that large a value, comes a large saving as well. A small drop in that high valued ocean can result in over $40 billion in cost savings! And that does not even include liabilities from having non eco-friendly processes and adverse environmental and social impacts. It’s all about reducing our carbon footprint while increasing the bottom line!
This is exactly the reason why Green Chemistry is no more a thing of the future, but a growing part of industry today. In fact, Cleantech market intelligence firm has forecasted that the total saving through green chemistry will amount to $65.5 billion by 2020. That is just the savings. The Green Chemistry industry will be a market opportunity that will grow from $2.8 billion in 2011 to $98.5 billion by 2020.
This is something nobody should ignore anymore.