11.18.21
The Green Chemistry and Commerce Council (GC3) has released a new report documenting significant growth in green chemistry marketed products, both sales and consumer demand.
The report – developed in partnership with NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, North Carolina State University, the Dynamic Sustainability Lab at Syracuse University, and Duke University – shows an unprecedented rise in sales and consumer demand.
GC3 member organizations were instrumental in providing expert insight for the analysis, and the report included case studies from Apple, Beautycounter, Cargill, Checkerspot, Lowe’s Companies, Nike, Seventh Generation, and VF Corporation.
The sector’s growth points to a potential boon of job creation and economic growth. The analysis shows that one job created in the green chemistry industry, on average, creates eight additional jobs, and for every dollar of value-added created, over $6 of value-added are created throughout the US economy.
Green chemistry products’ share in the market rose from 10.1% to 14.3% between 2015 and 2019 compared to products without green chemistry marketing. Sales continued to climb through the coronavirus pandemic, despite expectations of turbulence. This points to a sustained rise in customer demand for green chemistry products, and the habits of younger consumers promise a sustained rise beyond 2021.
The analysis also found green chemistry products delivered 62% of market growth 12.6 times faster than its conventional counterparts. In eight out of 10 categories, growth in green chemistry product sales outpaced the growth of their respective categories. Not only are consumers driving growth, but government policies like the European Commission’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and investor expectations are pushing green chemistry forward as well. Some 84% of business leaders surveyed for the report say they’ve increased their investment in green chemistry research and development, with 98% anticipating a further rise in investment over the next five years.