Embedding environmental sustainability in the undergraduate Chemistry curriculum: A moral imperative to combat climate change

In spite of increasing attention devoted to the importance of embedding sustainability in university curricula, few Australian universities include specific green chemistry units, and there is no mention of green or sustainable chemistry concepts in the majority of units. In this position paper, I argue that all universities should embed sustainable chemistry within all chemistry units, because it is the morally correct stance for all teachers to work to minimise the harm of climate change. Attitudes of chemistry lecturers towards integrating sustainability into their teaching have been probed, and it was found that the personal environmental perspective of the staff member is critical to their attitude. Importantly, academic staff whose research has an environmental component were more likely to incorporate sustainability into their teaching, while others struggle to find ways to do this, even when they believe it is important. Resources are required to assist academic staff without a green chemistry research program to incorporate sustainability into their teaching and several suggestions are provided.