GREEN MOTION: a new and easy to use green chemistry metric from laboratories to industry

Abstract

Green Chemistry metrics is a field of major importance. For a chemist who wants to demonstrate he has environmentally friendly processes or to design processes in better compliance with the twelve principles of Green Chemistry, we designed a metric tool named GREEN MOTION™. It enables the assessment of the health, safety and environmental impacts of manufactured ingredients for the flavour and fragrance industry on a 0 to 100 scale. The safer and less impactful the process, the higher is the rating. In this article, the seven concepts underlying GREEN MOTION™ are explained and data obtained from the assessment of all chemical products and natural extracts produced by MANE are illustrated with a focus on vanillyl ethyl ether synthesis. This article puts forward a novel approach designing a new green metric that enables the measurement of the overall safety of a product, its impact on the environment and on the health of the people producing or using it. It offers a new continuous improvement tool which can be applied from laboratories to the chemical industry.