Green or sustainable chemistry or both?

The evolution of green chemistry started in response to numerous and severe environmental problems in the late 1980s and has grown to be a guiding concept since the end of 1990s. The definition and the twelve principles of green chemistry resulted in a paradigm shift from the control of the hazards approach to prevention, by lowering or preferentially eliminating the hazards all together. Sustainable development on the other hand was poorly defined in 1986, since the requisite to accurately predict the needs of future generations has been impossible to meet, due to the rapid and sometimes explosive rate of scientific and technical advances. It was recently proposed that sustainability should be based on resource and waste management, including all chemicals and energy used by society. In addition, it should be independent of economic and social aspects, as the stake holders could have vested interests, in order to make profits by businesses or to be elected/re-elected by politicians and political organizations, in unsustainable solutions. The catalytic conversion of cellulose in agricultural residues to gamma-valerolactone, via the formation of levulinic and formic acids, was evaluated with respect to the definition of sustainability and green chemistry - most of the components were green and sustainable.