What does it mean that “something is green”? The fundamentals of a Unified Greenness Theory

Abstract

Can the exact science of chemistry use such an abstract concept as “greenness”? What does “something is green” or “greener” even mean? Is there only one correct interpretation of being green? Where is the line between science and philosophy? Is the current theory still sufficient? The answer to these and other questions is the proposed Unified Greenness Theory (UG-theory). This concept is intended to be a solid foundation for all activities undertaken in the field of green chemistry, regardless of whether the ultimate goal is synthesis or analysis, and even to reach beyond chemistry. One of its assumptions is the unification of the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry, 12 Principles of Green Analytical Chemistry, and other collections of principles, into a set of new cardinal statements of more primary and universal nature (Unified Principles of Greenness). For this purpose, new terminological solutions were proposed, the most primal components of greenness were identified, and a way to describe basic concepts using the language of mathematics was proposed. The idea of green chemistry is presented as an element of a larger whole, the idea of “white chemistry”, which combines greenness with red and blue colours indicating functionality.