Green Chemistry and Engineering Activities
Green chemistry is the design of chemicals, products, and processes that minimize the use or generation of hazardous substances. Green engineering considers all stages of the lifecycle of a material, product, process, or system and aims to reduce pollution and minimize risk to human health and the environment without sacrificing economic viability and efficiency. For more information, see TRI Green Chemistry and Green Engineering Reporting.
Advancements in green chemistry and engineering allow industry to prevent pollution in innovative ways. Ten of the codes that facilities use to report pollution prevention to TRI are specific to green chemistry and green engineering activities, although these practices may fit under other P2 reporting codes as well. The figure below shows the TRI chemicals with the highest number of green chemistry and green engineering activities reported over the last five years, by sector.
Note: In this figure, metals are combined with their metal compounds, although metals and compounds of the same metal are listed separately on the TRI list.
- Since 2019, facilities have reported 4,907 green chemistry and engineering activities for over 170 TRI chemicals and chemical categories.
- The fabricated metals manufacturing sector reported the highest number of activities, reporting 25% of all green chemistry and engineering activities between 2019 and 2023. For example:
- A fabricated metal parts manufacturer that works with vehicle manufacturers reports that it now sources raw materials with lower lead concentrations based on customer demand. [Click to view facility details in the TRI P2 Search Tool]
- Machinery manufacturers used green chemistry and engineering to reduce or eliminate their use of TRI solvent and reagent chemicals. For example:
- With customer support, a pump and motor manufacturer switched to a new high runner paint that contains significantly less xylene than their previous paint. [Click to view facility details in the TRI P2 Search Tool]
Additional Resources
Source reduction practices such as green chemistry prevent or reduce the creation of chemical waste, which is preferable to pollution control technologies or waste management activities that address waste after it has been created. These resources have more information on green chemistry and green engineering:
- EPA’s TRI Toxics Tracker: green chemistry and green engineering examples for a specific chemical and/or industry.
- Solvent Substitutions Reported to TRI: an interactive resource that allows users to find information about specific substitutions for TRI-listed solvents to other solvent chemicals, mixtures, or solvent-free processes.
This page was published in August 2025 and uses the 2023 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2024.