1998
- Paul Anastas and John C Warner publish the 12 principles of green chemistry.
1999
- Journal launch: Professor James Clark’s vision leads to the launch of Green Chemistry, backed by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
- The first issue is published, following 18 months of market research, consultation and planning with the RSC and a supportive editorial board led by James Clark (scientific editor) and Roger Sheldon (editorial board chair).
Detailed successes
Innovative features
Introduction of "green boxes" in published papers to explain the significance of green chemistry research in plain language.
Early 2000s
- Community building: The Green Chemistry Network is established, engaging thousands of scientists in developing cleaner chemical processes.
- Collaboration: Collaboration with major industries and supermarkets to adopt environmentally friendly processes and packaging.
2000
- The 2000 Royal Society of Chemistry Annual Congress takes place in Manchester, UK, with the theme ‘Towards Sustainability’, including a symposium on various aspects of the subject.
2001
- The first UK Green Chemistry Awards are announced by the RSC.
- The first International Symposium on Green Chemistry is held in Swansea, Wales, organised by the RSC and the Green Chemistry Network.
- Green Chemistry’s first official impact factor is announced, at 2.11.
2002
- Colin Raston becomes the new chair of the editorial board.
- Professor Kenneth Seddon introduces the first special issue on ionic liquids in Green Chemistry.
2004
- Publication rate increases to 12 issues per year. "Green boxes" are no longer used.
- Walter Leitner becomes the new scientific editor.
2005
- The Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognises the contributions of Yves Chauvin, Bob Grubbs and Richard Schrock to the development of olefin metathesis as an inevitable tool in modern synthetic chemistry – explicitly highlighting the green chemistry potential of olefin metathesis.
2006
- Martyn Poliakoff becomes the new chair of the editorial board.
2007
- Introduction of RSC Open Science, allowing authors to make their articles openly available. Authors publishing in Green Chemistry now have the option of paying a fee in exchange for making their accepted communication, research paper or review article openly available to all via the web.
- Start of the Green Chemistry sponsored lectures at international conferences.
2008
- Green Chemistry celebrates its tenth year of publishing with special editorials:
2012
- Walter Leitner becomes the new chair of the editorial board.
2013
- Green Chemistry celebrates 15 years with special blog features.
2014–present
- Sustained leadership: The journal maintains its leading position, continually improving and expanding its relevance.
- Global impact: Ongoing contributions to global sustainability efforts, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
2016
- Green Chemistry celebrates 25 years of the green chemistry field with a series of editorials.
- Publication rate increases to 24 issues per year.
- The journal starts to recognise outstanding reviews in editorials.
2023
- Javier Perez-Ramirez becomes the new chair of the editorial board.
2024
- Green Chemistry celebrates its 25th anniversary.
