DOI: 10.3303/CET2188159 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

Paper Received: 19 June 2021; Revised: 8 August 2021; Accepted: 11 October 2021 
Please cite this article as: Guo Z., Wang A., Wang W., Zhao Y.-L., Chiang P.-C., 2021, Implementing Green Chemistry Principles for Circular 
Economy Towards Sustainable Development Goals, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 88, 955-960  DOI:10.3303/CET2188159 

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS 

VOL. 88, 2021 

A publication of 

The Italian Association 
of Chemical Engineering 
Online at www.cetjournal.it 

Guest Editors: Petar S. Varbanov, Yee Van Fan, Jiří J. Klemeš

Copyright © 2021, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. 

ISBN 978-88-95608-86-0; ISSN 2283-9216 

Implementing Green Chemistry Principles for Circular 
Economy Towards Sustainable Development Goals 

Ziyang Guoa, Alison Wangb, WeiYi Wangc, Yu-Lin Zhaod, Pen-Chi Chiange,*
a School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China 
b Carbon Cycle Research Center, National Taiwan University, No. 71, Fanglan Road, Taipei City, 10672, Taiwan, ROC 
c International Business, College of Management, Yuan Ze University, No.135, Yuan-Tung Road, Chung-Li 32003, Taiwan 
d Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan 
e Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 71, Chou-Shan Road, Taipei City, 

10673, Taiwan, ROC 
pcchiang@ntu.edu.tw 

Sustainable development goals (SDGs) were proposed for harmonious development for future, this aim is highly 
consisted with the idea of circular economy (CE) which can be achieved by applying green chemistry principles 
(GCPs). In this work the relationship between GCPs and SDGs are discussed from the perspective of input 
selection and reduction, sustainable design and safety management. And it also indicated the benefits of CE 
which creates a kind of green business model. By integrating GCPs and SDGs, the specific applications of 
renewable resources towards sustainable development are introduced. Afterwards, it explores the utilization of 
bio-derived resources and energy in bamboo industry, pulping industry and carbon neutrality for CE. Finally, the 
challenges and perspectives are proposed in governance, industry and academic aspects. 

1. Introduction

The concept of Sustainable Development was first put forward by Gro Harlem Brundtland in the “Our Common 
Future” Report, defined as “the development that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability 

of future generations to meet their own needs” (Harlem, 1987). Since then, the world has gradually moved to 

the sustainable development and made huge achievements in the past decades. On the economic front, the 
global GDP growth rapidly over last decade, but our current business model is becoming less sustainable. The 
major driver contributes to the economic growth are based on the use of fossil fuels, which are non-renewable. 
In particular, with the rapid increase of the global population and the accelerating industrialization process in 
developing countries, the demand for fossil energy on human activities is also gradually increasing. In order to 
conserve natural environment, CE and green chemistry to be considered as a promising method to solve the 
increasing conflicts among the resource shortage and economic growth. Green chemistry is the study and 
deployment of a set of principles to reduce or eliminate the use and production of harmful substances for human 
and environment with chemical design, development and production. The GCP can be used as guidelines to 
decrease or eradicate pollution in circular economy model. 
The concept of circular economy was first present by two British environmental economists David W. Pearce 
and R. Kerry Turner in 1989 (Pearce et al., 1990). CE is a close-loop growth model which based on the principle 
of reduction, reuse and recycling. In Denmark, there is organizational collaboration between municipalities and 
local waste companies and knowledge institutes to explore options for textile waste collection and explore 
scenario analysis for future recycling systems which promote circular value chains in the local textile industry 
and to upgrade the recycling of textile waste. (Budde Christensen et al., 2021) In addition to helping companies 
form new green business models from upstream supply chain to downstream (B2C), the CE helps companies 
save costs while bringing economic benefits. In this paper, three case studies demonstrating bamboo production 
and consumption, bio-puling process and carbon neutrality for CE achieving SDGs by implementing GCPs.  

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2. Green Chemistry Principles (GCPs) versus SDGs

Green Chemistry is the molecular science of sustainability to design chemical products/processes that aims to 
maximize the efficiency on chemical process and production and minimized the negative effect on environment 
and human health (Anastas et al., 1998). Chemical design, production, and applications may be hazardous and 
produce waste, which the GCPs aim to prevent; it is vital to ensure that the chemical development of materials 
and substances are sustainable (Burgman et al., 2018). The GCPs can be grouped into three broad categories: 
(1) input selection and reduction, (2) sustainable design, and (3) safety management. The implementation of 
these three concepts to the product life cycle, from the raw material to the finished good, should become the 
universal chemical convention. In addition to environmental benefits, green chemistry also yields economic 
benefits by reducing storage and treatment costs, minimizing energy, and preventing negative externalities (de 
Marco et al., 2018). From a broader perspective, the success of the framework relies on innovation in chemistry 
in alignment with the SDGs. 

2.1 Input selection and reduction 

Input selection and reduction includes GCPs 1 (Waste Prevention), 2 (Atom Economy), 7 (Use of Renewable 
Feedstocks), 8 (Reduce Derivatives), and 9 (Catalysis). The chemical industry has traditionally relied on toxic 
and not biodegradable petroleum feedstocks, which account for 98 % of chemical feedstocks (Mulvihill et al., 
2011). In contrast, green chemistry promotes inputs that are sustainably sourced and renewable, meaning 
ethical harvesting methods and transparent origins. The concept of atom economy is especially useful in the 
synthesis stage, where the waste of reagents should be minimized. For the environment aspect, many chemicals 
end up in the environment by intentional release during use (e.g., pesticides), by unintended releases (including 
emissions during manufacturing), or by disposal. Green chemicals either degrade to innocuous products or are 
recovered for further use (Relevant to SDGs 6, 9, 12, 14). Plants and animals suffer should less harm from toxic 
chemicals in the environment (Relevant to SDGs 12, 15). SDG focus on lower potential for global warming, 
ozone depletion, and smog formation (Relevant to SDGs 11, 13, 14), less or no chemical disruption of 
ecosystems (Relevant to SDGs 12, 14, 15) and less use of landfills, especially hazardous waste landfills 
(Relevant to SDGs 11, 12). 

2.2 Sustainable design 

Sustainable design includes GCPs 4 (Designing Safer Chemicals), 6 (Design for Energy Efficiency), and 10 
(Design for Degradation). The design of goods should lend itself to remanufacturing, degradation, and 
consequent elimination of waste (Robért et al., 2002). Modular design, or design composed of independent 
material parts which can serve a variety of purposes, enables a closed-loop system, in which materials can be 
remanufactured at the end of their life cycle. There are several metrics to objectively measure the efficiency and 
toxicity indicates the sustainability of design. For instance, the e-factor, or environmental factor, quantifies the 
amount of waste generated by dividing the total waste generated by the mass of the product (Mulvihill et al., 
2011). These tools can also indicate the extent to which green chemistry is useful for achieving specific SDGs. 
For economy and business aspects, SDG claim for higher yields for chemical reactions that consuming smaller 
amounts of feedstock to obtain the same amount of product (Relevant to SDGs 9, 12). Fewer synthetic steps 
which often allowing faster manufacturing of products, increasing plant capacity, and saving energy and water 
(Relevant to SDGs 9, 12). In order to eliminate costly remediation, hazardous waste disposal and end-of-the-
pipe treatments a cleaner production technology with a lower cost and higher efficiency without generality 
secondary pollution should be developed.  

2.3 Safety management 

Safety management includes GCPs 3 (Less Hazardous Chemical Synthesis), 5 (Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries), 
11 (Real-time Analysis for Pollution Prevention), and 12 (Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention). 
This also requires the development of a regulatory framework. Safety regulations measure the exact impact of 
harmful chemical substances and compounds alongside ensuring workers and the environment are protected. 
In addition to maintaining scientific ethicality, sound safety management is crucial ensuring responsible 
development, most pertinent to SDGs 3, 5, 9, and 12 (Mehlic et al., 2017). A systematic LCA approach is also 
a stepping stone to realizing SDG indicators, since analyzing the costs and benefits of the product, including its 
externalities, measure the extent to which the goal is achieved (Axon et al., 2018). For the human health aspect, 
SDGs focus on cleaner air: less release of hazardous chemicals to air leading to less damage to lungs (Relevant 
to SDGs 3, 7, 11); Cleaner water: less release of hazardous chemical wastes to water leading to cleaner drinking 
and recreational water (Relevant to SDGs 3, 6, 11, 14); Increased safety for workers in the chemical industry; 
less use of toxic materials; less personal protective equipment required; less potential for accidents (e.g., fires 
or explosions) (Relevant to SDGs 3, 8, 12). 

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3. Use of renewable resources for Circular Economy

Compare to the “take-made-dispose” linear industrial model, the CE more focus on reclamation. The circular 
economy is an economical model that is designed to be recoverable, renewable and to maximize the usability 
and value of various products, components and material. The use of renewable resources as inputs not only 
accord with the three aforementioned concepts but also closes the material loop which is the key step for CE. 
This input can be used in industries, turned into fuel and produces, and released back into the atmosphere in 
the form of CO2 via photosynthesis. In turn, the final output from non-renewable resources cannot be 
reabsorbed, accumulating in the atmosphere instead. Consequently, renewable resources satisfy each part of 
green chemistry and are critical to analyse for their properties, applications and uses. There are three case 
studies which used renewable input are introduced below.  

3.1 Bamboo production and consumption for Circular Economy 

Bamboo is a rapidly-growing grass which has strong potential for integration into the CE through applying GCPs 
as a material as shown in Figure 1. Bamboo is not only productive, cellulose rich, has little moisture but also 
tolerates a variety of growing conditions given precipitation (Ceballos et al., 2015). Bamboo reaches peak 
strength during full maturity, which is only 3 - 5 y depending on the species. Moreover, the natural fibres in 
bamboo, or cellulose, can form biodegradable composites as a superior alternative to petroleum-based 
polymers and materials. Considering these characteristics, the versatility of bamboo lends itself to a multitude 
of applications and incorporation into various industries. Particularly, the abundance of biomass in bamboo and 
many environmental benefits make it a viable material for biorefinery. In fact, bamboo-based bioethanol is more 
environmentally friendly than petrol emissions by 45 - 93 % (Wang et al., 2014). It is also more sustainable than 
wood biomass, which supplies roughly 13 % of global energy, but is dwindling in supply. Bamboo has a multitude 
of inherent benefits demonstrating from the aspects of social wellbeing, environmental conservation and 
economic grow. Bamboo naturally continues to grow after harvesting without the need to replant seeds and 
does not cause soil depletion or deterioration. As a material, the strength of bamboo is comparable to that of 
steel and concrete (Sharma et al., 2014). Moreover, every portion of the bamboo can be utilized, including the 
waste. This lends bamboo to a variety of uses and translates to resource efficiency (Sharma et al., 2014). The 
CE can not only help the economy reach a new development node, but also make industry, society and the 
environment reach a balance toward SDGs. 

Figure 1: Bamboo industry for Circular Economy: production and consumption 

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3.2 Bio-pulping process for Circular Economy 

Circular economy is an appropriate way for development of pulp and paper industry which have intensive 
resources consumption and environmental pollution. The concept of CE emphasizes effective management of 
resources from cradle to grave. As shown in Figure 2, straw was used as input in bio-pulping process where 
enzyme was used and paper products were produced after thermal and mechanical process. (GCP 7, 9). Then 
the pulp waste was utilized in the production of biogas or it can be burned for energy production. The generated 
power and biogas can be applied for paper products again. (GCP 1, 6) The fly ash from power plant can be 
effectively utilized as fertilizer for corps. After harvesting crops, grain and straw can be obtained where straw 
can be used as the input of the bio-pulping process to close the loop. On the other hands, crops and straw as 
bio-feedstock can convert into energy by combustion to CO2 in atmosphere. Finally, the emitted CO2 will be 
consumed via photosynthesis of crops. (SDG 2, 3, 13, 15). 

Figure 2: Paper and pulping industry for circular economy 

Recycling 1 t of straw can reduce 0.9 t of CO2 emission, produce 0.55 t of pulp (is equivalent to reducing 0.5 t 
of CO2 emission) and produce 0.325 t of organic fertilizer (is equivalent to reducing 0.4 t of CO2 emission). CE 
can contribute to the development of science biotechnology cooperate with other social sectors including 
ecological sciences, construction engineering, sociology, financial economics, territorial and urban planning. 

3.3 Carbon neutrality for Circular Economy 

The energy structure nowadays is highly relay on petroleum feedstocks. Although the emergence of renewable 
energy brings light to the solution shortage of resources, energy storage is the bottleneck of low-carbon energy 
application and development. In the sustainable organic fuel for transportation (Figure 3) concept (Pearson et 
al., 2009), the overflowed or off-peak electricity produced from solar, wind, hydro and nuclear energy are used 
to avoid waste in energy in carbon neutrality cycle (GCP 1, 6, 7, 12). The electricity was introduced for hydrogen 
production: H2O → H2 + 1/2 O2. Then the hydrogen reacts with CO2 through CO2 +3H2 → CH3OH + H2O to 
synthesis methanol which is a bio-derived fuel. The consumption of CO2 in this process is a good commitment 
for being carbon-neutral (SDG 3, 9, 13, 15). In addition, specific catalyst is essential in the hydrogen production 
process to overcome the reaction energy barrier (GCP 8, 9). Methanol as alternatives of petrol is able to provide 
energy for transportation via CH3OH + O2 → CO2 + H2O. The CO2 from transportation sector was emitted into 
atmosphere, which can take part in photosynthesis to give oxygen under the sunlight and biomass. Following 
by gasification of biomass to give syngas which is a mixture of CO and H2, it can be converted into liquid fuel or 
further transformed to hydrocarbon (such as dimethyl Ether (DME) and olefins). CO2 from transportation and 
other emission source (power plants and industry) can also be collected via carbon capture and utilization 
(CCSU) process. The captured CO2 is recycled for further usage or directly used back in synthetic fuel processes 

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https://doi.org/10.1680/coma.14.00020


where to close the loop of circular economy cycle. CE can minimize natural disasters caused by energy 
consumption and excessive carbon emissions while reduce the cost consumption of enterprises and increase 
their revenue through additional products which contributes to the development of green economy and green 
business. 

Figure 3: Carbon emissions neutrality for circular economy: sustainable organic fuel for transportation 

4. Conclusion: challenges and perspectives

The major uses of green chemistry can be implemented and utilized in the area of energy, global change, 
resource depletion, food supply, and toxics in the environment. In addition, green chemistry will be essential in 
developing the alternatives for energy generation (photovoltaics, hydrogen, fuel cells, bio-based fuels, etc.) as 
well as continue the path toward energy efficiency with catalysis and product design at the forefront. In this 
paper, three case studies demonstrating bamboo production and consumption, bio-puling process and carbon 
emissions neutrality for CE achieving SDGs by implementing GCPs.  
By implementing GCPs for CE achieving SDGs is significant for ensuring resource sustainability, carbon 
neutrality, and construction of ecological civilisation. At present, however, there is no circular economy 
governance system aimed at achieving SDGs. Immature recycling industries and technological systems are 
hard to achieve SDGs. Moreover, the green and low-carbon lifestyle has not yet formed due to lack of guidance. 
The overt environmental information of corporate is not complete, which is unable to meet the information 
sharing needs of building a circular economy.  
Therefore, for the governance, it is required to establish national governance framework for a new waste 
management policy including sustainable production and consumption, resource efficiency maximization and 
environmental impact minimisation at every stage of the product and service lifecycle for CE. For the industry, 
it needs not only to manage materials and products on a life-cycle basis and adopt the Extended Producer 
Responsibility (EPR) policy, but also to promote SDGs by establishing CE business model – RESOLVE 
(Regenerate, Share, Optimize, Loop, Virtualize, Exchange). For the academic sectors, it is necessary to 
implement “Green Chemistry for Green Industries”, reducing the use/generation of hazardous substances, while 
ensuring their performance, cost and safety. To strengthen the energy and resource sustainability, the intelligent 
recycling system based on smart device, Internet of things (IOT), big data and intelligent sanitation system for 
CE should be developed. In addition, the performance of the existing system should be evaluated and enhanced 
by applying system engineering models and system assessment tools (e.g., Green Screen for Safer Chemicals). 
In the future, the synthetic chemist will need to use atom efficiency as the synthetic route, while the process 
chemist has to utilize the waste generated as the product to be made. It is evident that the more successful 
chemical manufacturing companies can exploit the economic, legislative and public image advantages through 
use of a clean technology based on green chemistry principles. Also, the more successful chemistry researchers 
and educationalists can appreciate the value of green chemistry in innovation, application and teaching.  

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