Green Chemistry is an inventive science based on fundamental research towards the development of new sustainable chemical processes. There is a great need to create a new type of chemistry focused on a new production system, in order to prepare the younger generation to get a greener future.

The globalization pushes the chemistry community to adopt ethical issues. In this prospect Green Chemistry can achieve the approval of the society by teaching students to be confident in science and at the same time by convincing people that it is possible to attain technological development with respect and care for the environment we live in. This is why it is of foremost importance that education and fundamental research remain strictly connected, so that democracy and development can grow and progress side by side.

This book has been prepared to extend the knowledge of Green Chemistry not disregarding, however, the industrial interest. It is the result of the effort to put together and share the expertise of leading practitioners in the field of Green Chemistry.

The Interuniversity Consortium ‘Chemistry for the Environment’ is a non-profit organisation established in 1993 in Italy. At present it includes 31 member universities and 80 research units.