Merck, has entered an expanded partnership with global green chemistry education nonprofit Beyond Benign.

• Helps grow Beyond Benign’s flagship programs to 175 institutions and 4,000 faculty members globally, reaching one million students annually
• Partnership to support Beyond Benign’s online learning platform and higher education program

DARMSTADT, GERMANY — Merck, has entered an expanded partnership with global green chemistry education nonprofit Beyond Benign. With plans for a multi-year contribution to the organization, Merck is helping transform chemistry education to better prepare next generation scientists with skills to address sustainability through chemistry. It is the largest funded partnership made under the company’s Employee & Community Engagement program.

“We share Beyond Benign’s passion and commitment to making green chemistry an integral part of chemistry education,” said Meeta Gulyani, Head of Strategy, Business Development and Sustainability for the Life Science business sector of Merck. “This partnership underscores our common goal to increase global access to science and science education while reducing environmental impact.”
Together, Merck and Beyond Benign will provide expanded access to resources and support needed to apply greener practices in chemistry education. This is key to reducing environmental and human health impact while simultaneously accelerating sustainable science. Merck’s contribution will enhance capacity for Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) online platform and expand global access to resources and trainings for more than 4,000 faculty members worldwide.1 It also advances Beyond Benign’s goal of providing 25 percent of the 22,000 graduating chemists annually in the U.S.2 with green chemistry knowledge by 2025.
“In many countries, sustainability is not considered a core concept in undergraduate and graduate chemistry education,” said Dr. Amy Cannon, Co-founder and Executive Director, Beyond Benign. “Merck’s support allows us to impact higher education systems worldwide, helping educators to upskill future generations to make more sustainable choices that improve human health and the environment through the reduction or elimination of hazardous substances.”
Merck’s partnership with Beyond Benign also supports the company’s goal to achieve human progress for more than one billion people through sustainable science and technology by 2030.
Chemistry educators interested in signing Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) program can do so by visiting Beyond Benign’s GCC webpage, or by contacting Dr. Natalie O’Neil, Beyond Benign’s Director of Higher Education, at [email protected] for any questions.

References

1. The GCTLC online platform is being developed and launched in partnership with the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute (ACS GCI).

2. Chemistry | Data USA. (n.d.). Datausa.io. Retrieved from: https://datausa.io/profile/cip/chemistry

About Merck
Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics. More than 64,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From providing products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2022, Merck generated sales of € 22.2 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as MilliporeSigma in life science, EMD Serono in healthcare, and EMD Electronics in electronics.

About Beyond Benign
Beyond Benign, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, envisions a world where the chemical building blocks of products used every day are healthy and safe for humans and the environment. Beyond Benign’s mission is to foster a green chemistry community that empowers educators to transform chemistry education for a sustainable future. Beyond Benign is working to equip educators from K-20 with the ability to teach chemistry and STEM through a lens of sustainability grounded in the 12 principles of green chemistry. By providing educators with tools, training and a peer support network, educators are equipped to train the next generation of scientists and citizens with the skills and knowledge to create and choose products that are safe for human health and the environment.

Co-founded in 2007 by Dr. John Warner, the co-founder of the field of green chemistry, and Dr. Amy Cannon, who holds the world’s first Ph.D. in Green Chemistry, Beyond Benign has an extensive history of service. Over the past 15 year, Beyond Benign has trained over 6,500 K-12 teachers in sustainable science and green chemistry, designed over 200 open-access lessons, reached over 35,000 youth and community members through outreach, & partnered with over 110 universities to transform chemistry education. Together we can catalyze the development of green technological innovations that result in safer products and processes in support of a sustainable, healthy society.
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