Faced with challenges such as climate change, ecological degradation and societal inequities, many corporations, nations and organizations have pledged to improve their environmental performance within a few decades.
Actions such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero, eliminating pollution due to plastics, protecting and restoring ecosystems and reducing social and environmental inequities due to manufacturing activities and products have become more prevalent. Satisfying these pledges is essential for addressing the existential crisis of global environmental change and is a promising development. However, meeting these goals in a manner that is economically feasible, socially desirable and ecologically viable requires systematic methods, models and tools to guide the transformation.
The Center for Transitioning to a Net-Zero Emissions Chemicals and Materials Industry addresses the issues associated with the inevitable and urgent transitioning of the Chemicals and Materials Industry to a sustainable net-zero, nature-positive and people-positive future.
NetZ-CMI helps corporations and organizations meet their pledges through the development of models, methods, tools and best practices that assist with the formidable reinvention of the chemicals and materials industry. We consider innovations in new products, manufacturing processes, supply chains, raw materials, business models, corporate strategies, economic policies, societal change and nature-based solutions.
If done right, such a transformation can help a corporation, organization or nation not only protect the environment, but also guide innovation, increase market share, encourage competitiveness, restore ecosystems and provide societal benefits to current and future generations.
Goals and objectives
To address the fundamental questions that underpin the CMI transition to net zero.
To establish close collaboration across CMI companies to pursue use-inspired research and guide action toward a net-zero future.
To prepare undergraduate students, graduate students and practicing professionals for the needs of a changing workforce and a net-zero future for CMI.
Cross-disciplinary collaboration
Advances needed for a successful transformation of the CMI cut across disciplinary boundaries ranging from chemistry, chemical engineering, systems engineering, sustainability science and engineering, ecology, business management, economics, social science and policy. It also requires collaboration between diverse stakeholders. Academic research is necessary to develop the underlying theory, methods, models and tools. Industry needs to guide academic research to incorporate practical considerations so that the outcome of academic research is industrially relevant.
Research
The research scope of the proposed center, as well as the educational thrusts that will support it, are well reflected in the vision and mission of the four schools of the College of Global Futures:
- Reinvention of the future technologies and business.
- Sustainable engineering driving the core prospects of industry.
- Understanding the nature and advancing the solution of problems for inherently complex and adaptive systems.
- Mitigate impacts of microplastics and other pollutants in our oceans.
The proposed center also generates research and educational outputs that benefit other programs at ASU. These resources are shared across the university’s colleges and research institutes, thus complementing and reinforcing ASU leadership in various areas. This includes the following:
- Future cities (e.g., urban cooling, materials for the built environment, materials for the human wellbeing at home, in the workplace and in city spaces).
- Conservation (e.g., preservation and sustainability of large ecosystems).
- Decarbonization of energy systems (e.g., electrification of chemical processes).
- Food systems sustainability of food systems (e.g., production, processing and supply chains).
Software
- Interactive maps from “Nature-Based Solutions Can Compete With Technology for Mitigating Air Emissions Across the US”.
- Ecologically-Based Life Cycle Assessment (an updated version with more current data is being developed).
- Software from our research may be requested by sending an email to [email protected].