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The Framework Manual introduces, in a structured way, various facets of green and sustainable chemistry, with the intention to foster learning, reflection and scale up action based on a common global understanding of the concept. It features an organizing framework that unpacks various topics relevant for green and sustainable chemistry literature. The Manual is setting objectives and guiding considerations from green and sustainable chemistry, as well as an innovation and research framework are offered to stimulate stakeholder action at various levels and in different settings. Ultimately, the Manual seeks to promote innovation that unveils the full power of chemistry, and is compatible with, and supports implementation of global sustainable development goals and targets. The range of topics covered in the Manual have been identified following a review of the green and sustainable chemistry literature, the 2019 UNEP report on best practices in sustainable chemistry, and the second edition of the Global Chemicals Outlook (GCO-II). Resources permitting, the Framework Manual will be complemented by specific manuals, covering selected topics of interest to stakeholders. The Manual is structured alongside the elements of the conceptual framework “Advancing sustainability through green and sustainable chemistry” which was developed through a consultative process and is introduced below. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 address the question of: “Why” is green and sustainable chemistry needed and “What” does it aim to achieve, and in which specific innovation areas. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 focus on enabling tools and measures to advance green and sustainable chemistry (the “How”). These action-enabling elements range from promoting life cycle approaches, to strengthening research and innovation policies and programmes. An important cross-cutting topic is the need to scale up awareness raising and education initiatives at all levels that bring the green and sustainable chemistry agenda to potential actors, through formal and informal education.

The health risks associated with living in houses insulated with asbestos are unknown. Loose-fill asbestos was used to insulate some houses in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). This study published in The Lancet compared the incidence of mesothelioma and other cancers in residents of the ACT who did and did not live in these houses.

Buyer’s guide from Havard University for specifying furniture and materials free from flame retardants in university procurement