Green Chemistry Roundtables

IN HER RECENT Comment (C&EN, Oct. 10, page 51), ACS Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Madeleine Jacobs noted that ACS members are proud that the society is the leader in green chemistry and engineering through the ACS Green Chemistry Institute (GCI). There are many reasons to be proud of this achievement, and one of them is the ACS GCI Roundtables. These three roundtables are agents for change, helping to bring more sustainable practices to industrial sectors that make the chemistry-based goods and services we all need and use. The longest-standing roundtable is the Pharmaceutical Roundtable ( www. acs.org/gcipharmaroundtable ). After discussions among several potential members, the roundtable was formed in 2005 when three pharmaceutical companies—Eli Lilly & Co., Merck & Co., and Pfizer—and GCI agreed to meet on a regular basis to address common green chemistry topics. From the beginning, membership was open to all pharmaceutical companies. Membership fees, tailored to a company’s annual sal...