Green Chemistry Challenge Eligibility and Scope

To be eligible for an award, a nominated technology must meet the scope of the Green Chemistry Challenge Program by meeting each of these six criteria:

It must be a green chemistry technology with a significant chemistry component.
It must include source reduction.
It must be submitted by an eligible organization or its representative(s).
It must have a significant milestone in its development within the past five years.
It must have a significant U.S. component.
It must fit within at least one of the three focus areas of the program.

If you have a question about whether your technology meets the scope of the program, please email us at greenchemistry@epa.gov or call (202) 564-8849.

1. Green Chemistry Technologies

Green chemistry technologies are extremely diverse. As a group, they…

Improve upon all chemical products and processes by reducing negative impacts on human health and the environment relative to competing technologies
Include all chemical processes: synthesis, catalysis, reaction conditions, separations, analysis, and monitoring
Make improvements at any stage of a chemical’s lifecycle, for example, substituting a greener feedstock, reagent, catalyst, or solvent in an existing synthetic pathway
May substitute a single improved product or an entire synthetic pathway
Benefit human health and the environment at any point of the technology’s lifecycle: extraction, synthesis, use, and ultimate fate
Incorporate green chemistry at the earliest design stages of a new product or process
Employ a significant change in chemistry, although they may also incorporate green engineering practices

2. Source Reduction

For this program, EPA defines green chemistry as the use of chemistry for source reduction.

According to the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (PPA), the term “source reduction,” also known as Pollution Prevention or P2, means any practice which:

reduces the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the environment (including fugitive emissions) prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal; and
reduces the hazards to public health and the environment associated with the release of such substances, pollutants, or contaminants. The term includes equipment or technology modifications, process or procedure modifications, reformulation or redesign of products, substitution of raw materials, and improvements in housekeeping, maintenance, training, or inventory control.

The term does not include any practice which alters the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics or the volume of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant through a process or activity which itself is not integral to and necessary for the production of a product or the providing of a service.

Additionally, the Agency interprets P2 as including practices that reduce or eliminate the creation of pollutants through increased efficiency in the use of water, energy, raw materials, or other resources, or that may protect natural resources through conservation.

3. Eligible Organizations

Companies, individuals, academic institutions (including state and tribal universities), non-profit and not-for profit organizations and their representatives are eligible for Green Chemistry Challenge Awards for outstanding or innovative source reduction technologies. Members of the Federal government, including U.S. departments, agencies, and laboratories are NOT eligible to receive this award. However, they can be a partner in the research as long as they are not the main investigators.

4. Significant Milestone

A green chemistry technology must have reached a significant milestone within the past five years. Some examples are: critical discovery made, results published, patent application submitted or approved, pilot plant constructed, and relevant regulatory review (e.g., by EPA under TSCA, FIFRA, or CAA; by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under FFDCA) initiated or completed, and technology implemented or launched commercially.

5. Significant U.S. Component

A significant amount of the research, development, or other aspects of the technology must have occurred within the United States. If the only aspect of the technology within the United States is product sales, the technology may not meet the scope of the program.

6. Focus Areas of the Green Chemistry Challenge

Green chemistry technologies fit into at least one of the three focus areas below. Technologies that do not fit within at least one focus area may not fall within the scope of the program.

Focus Area 1: Greener Synthetic Pathways

This focus area involves designing and implementing synthetic pathways or processes that minimize environmental impact from a lifecycle perspective. The use of green chemistry and/or lifecycle metrics are expected.

Examples include:

The use of feedstocks that have low hazard and are renewable (e.g., biomass, triglycerides).
The use of novel greener reagents or catalysts (such as biocatalysis and combining multiple modes of catalysis).
Reducing the impact of solvent use on human health and the environment – either by solvent replacement, reduction, or complete elimination.

Focus Area 2: Chemical and Process Design for Circularity

This focus area involves designing greener chemicals and materials that have both function and a viable path for reclamation and reuse after the product has reached end-of-life of primary use. The latter would theoretically possess physiochemical characteristics that keeps substances out of landfills. The products should be made and managed in a manner consistent with the principles of green chemistry and engineering, and the energy, materials and reagents used to recirculate should be quantitated.

Examples include:

Design and selection of functional materials that are durable, have reduced environmental impact, improved ability to be readily reused or recycled and are compatible with circular processes.
Design processes for readily reusing or recycling materials to keep chemical components active in the economy for as long as possible. Development of methods to promote efficient recycling of polymeric materials are also in scope.
Create closed-loop system where chemicals and materials are continuously reused, remanufactured, and recycled.

Focus Area 3: Design of Safer and Degradable Chemicals

This focus area involves designing and implementing functional chemicals and materials that minimize or eliminate hazardous substances or provide avenues for improved degradation into non-toxic degradants. The evaluation of different types of hazards to humans, and the environment or the rates of biodegradation are expected.

Examples include chemicals and materials that:

Minimize toxicity for one or more toxicity types (endpoints) without trade-offs in other end points (e.g., reduce carcinogenicity but increase hormone disruption).
Are inherently safer because they reduce the likelihood or severity of adverse effects when unintended exposures occur (e.g., accidental spills or releases).
Minimize environmental persistence by increasing degradability under different conditions (e.g., eliminate the use of polyfluorinated compounds, which have high persistence and toxicity).
Are safer for the atmosphere (e.g., do not deplete ozone, form smog, etc.).

7. Enforcement Record for Sponsoring Organization and Its Subsidiaries

The Green Chemistry Challenge Awards is considered to be a high visibility recognition by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As a result, the EPA will not recognize any organizations if the organization or their subsidiaries have any major current or recent environmental violations.

Please check within your organization to determine if there has been any recent violations. You may also access the EPA enforcement database to determine if the sponsoring organization and its subsidiaries have had any recent violations:

Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO)

2025 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Nomination Package (pdf) (589.64 KB)