Sustainable Green Environment and Health Improvement

Advance of chemical technology has led to improvement in various aspects of life such as enhancement of process efficiency, synthesis of functional materials and development of new drug compounds. However, with the rapid tech-nological advance and extensive chemical applications in daily life, there have been growing environmental concerns due to increasing chemical pollution. Numerous studies have also reported on the adverse effects of chemical pollution to human health. In view of the deteriorating environmental quality and adverse impact on public health, actions requiring the concerted efforts across education, policy, research, and industrial practice have been called upon to mitigate pollution and contamination for the prevention of associated diseases and health improvement. Under the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 which focuses on promotion of good health and well-being, one of the important targets put forward is to have substantial reduction on the number of deaths and illnesses resulted from hazardous chemicals and environmental pollution by the year of 2030. In recent years, issues related to environmental sustainability have been a major research agenda. Mean-while, the concepts and practice of green and sustainable chemistry have gained considerable attention due to their promising potential for chemical innovations and advancement to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs and their targets. In this chapter, the hazardous effects of chemical pollution will be reviewed. Research investigations addressing the important issues of green chemistry and sustainable environment will be summarised. Implications for health promotion and disease prevention will also be discussed.