OSTP's anastas addresses public policy forum

The Washington Public Policy Forum at the Spring National Meeting explored pathways to achieving sustainability, including emerging scientific methods and creative new technologies and practices.

One of two presenters, Dr. Paul Anastas from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) presented a philosophical glimpse of sustainability from the perspective of the current Bush and recent Clinton administrations. Anastas is the former chief of the Industrial Chemistry Branch of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Clinton administration, where he established the Green Chemistry Program.

Anastas stated that the public often hears about the broad goals of sustainability, eco-efficiency, and industrial ecology, but is often frustrated by the lack and specific mechanisms and actions necessary to achieve these goals. He said that sustainable and environmentally sound solutions are possible: "Through green chemistry and engineering, science and technology can and is being brought to bear on the major challenges to sustainability-from resource depletion to sustainable food production-and from dematerialization to environmentally benign energy production."

Anastas said that government can play an important role in serving as a catalyst for change by funding cutting-edge technology and providing incentives for further research. To make this work, industry must communicate their research needs to government, and insist on continued government research in sustainability.

According to Anastas, industry will be where "the rubber meets the road." In his two most recent books, Green Engineering and Green Chemical Syntheses and Processes, he includes case studies on how industry is meeting the challenges to sustainability while increasing competitiveness. He added at the end of his lecture only half in jest, "Remember, green is not only the color of the environment, it is the color of our money too."

The session was co-chaired by Earl Beaver and Dick Siegel, and was the combined effort of AIChE's Government Relations Committee, Environmental Division, and Center for Waste Reduction Technologies. Cosponsored by the North American Alliance of Chemical Engineers, the event was coordinated in conjunction with the Houston Air Quality Topical and the Sustainability Topical.