Chemistry and sustainable development - Towards an eco-compatible organic chemistry

A fundamental component of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, organic chemistry, or the chemistry of carbon compounds, has undergone prodigious development over the past century, mainly thanks to the discovery and development of new molecules. Its impact on our society is visible, multiple and positive. Today, it is rightly an integral part of our daily lives, through a variety of products that are essential to our health (food, medicines...) or that make a major contribution to improving our quality of life (materials, cosmetics...). What's more, it plays an active part in our economic development. However, its heavy dependence on oil as a source of raw materials poses a considerable threat to its future. Already, the sector is confronted with the rapid and inexorable rise in oil prices, caused by a growing global demand for energy; but it also has to forestall the programmed short-term exhaustion of non-renewable fossil resources. On the other hand, this chemistry often conveys a negative image to society, in terms of health and safety as well as the environment, and all the more so when it is at the origin of or associated with ecological and/or human disasters. Everyone still remembers the thalidomide tragedy of 1961 (a hypnotic sedative whose (S)-enantiomer very quickly showed significant teratogenic effects in pregnant women) and the excessive use of pesticides such as DDT (a powerful insecticide whose persistence is estimated at 1 to 10 years), implicating the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries in turn. The most high-profile industrial accidents – such as those at Feyzin (France, 1966), Seveso (Italy, 1976), Bhopal (India, 1984), Basel (Switzerland, 1986), Protex (France, 1987), La Mède (France, 1992) and the explosion at the AZF plant in Toulouse (France, 2001), as well as problems linked to the management of chemical discharges and waste and the accumulation of greenhouse gases, have only served to accentuate this crisis of confidence. In recent years, however, the chemical industry has undergone profound change, controlling most of its products' life cycles (production, handling and recycling) and striving to integrate the principles of sustainable chemistry, known as eco-compatible chemistry or green chemistry –, i.e. chemistry that is more concerned with the environment and seeks to prevent pollution while remaining competitive – thus becoming a major player in sustainable development.