Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) has been awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry’s 2025 Horizon Prize for Education, recognizing its innovative approach to advancing green chemistry in higher education. The prize celebrates the GCC’s success in fostering a global community of practice that empowers educators to embed green chemistry into teaching, research, and institutional culture—preparing future scientists with the skills needed to address today’s sustainability challenges. This award recognizes groundbreaking, high-impact initiatives that are making a meaningful contribution to the advancement of chemistry education.
MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, began its relationship with Beyond Benign in 2013 with the aim to advance green chemistry education. In 2023, MilliporeSigma announced a multi-million-dollar, multi-year expanded partnership to transform chemistry in higher education, better preparing the next generation of scientists to address sustainability through chemistry by developing and implementing green chemistry and sustainable education resources.
Together, the organizations have delivered measurable global impact. The GCC has surpassed its original goal of 250 signers by the end of 2025, with more than 260 higher education institutions committed to embedding green chemistry across their programs.
MilliporeSigma has also helped strengthen Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) online platform. The GCTLC now provides 3,250+ users with 415 open-access curriculum resources that accelerate the integration of sustainability principles into chemistry education.
To date, the partnership has reached 1.9 million students through the GCC network —surpassing the 2025 target of 1.4 million. Progress also continues toward 2030 goals, including engaging 10,000 faculty and reaching 15.5 million students globally.
By supporting the expansion of green chemistry in higher education, MilliporeSigma is helping Beyond Benign shape a generation of scientists who view sustainability as foundational to innovation.
MilliporeSigma is a long-standing supporter of this work. The company embeds sustainability across its operations—from offering 4,500+ greener alternative products to supporting global access to science education—and its partnership with Beyond Benign further reinforces this commitment by accelerating the integration of green chemistry into higher education.
Beyond Benign’s Horizon Prize winner profile can be viewed on the Royal Society of Chemistry’s website. Educators interested in signing the GCC can do so on Beyond Benign’s website and register for the GCTLC platform to access its community and resources.
