GREEN MOTION: a new and easy to use green chemistry metric from laboratories to industry

Green Chemistry metrics is a field of major importance. For a chemist who wants to demonstrate he has environmentally friendly processes or to design processes in better compliance with the twelve principles of Green Chemistry, we designed a metric tool named GREEN MOTION (TM). It enables the assessment of the health, safety and environmental impacts of manufactured ingredients for the flavour and fragrance industry on a 0 to 100 scale. The safer and less impactful the process, the higher is the rating. In this article, the seven concepts underlying GREEN MOTION (TM) are explained and data obtained from the assessment of all chemical products and natural extracts produced by MANE are illustrated with a focus on vanillyl ethyl ether synthesis. This article puts forward a novel approach designing a new green metric that enables the measurement of the overall safety of a product, its impact on the environment and on the health of the people producing or using it. It offers a new continuous improvement tool which can be applied from laboratories to the chemical industry.