Coming Up
Workshop on Ethics in Chemistry at EuChemS 2026, Antwerp
September 2nd 2024 – Symposium “Ethik in der Chemie” (Ethics in Chemistry, in German)
This online symposium, organised by German chemistry scholars who acknowledge the meaning and impact of science ethics education, was highlighting existing and future teaching approaches, discuss curricular initiatives, and provided networking opportunities for those who wish to team up to promote tertiary education in ethics in chemistry. Several working party members were participate actively in this event. Hans-Georg Weinig (GdCh) published an article in “GDCh-Nachrichten, 72, Nov 2024, which you will find here: https://www.euchems.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Nachr-Chem-2024-Weinig-Ethik-in-der-Chemie.pdf. An English translation here.
Past Meetings
July 7-11th, 2024 – The EuChemS WP “Ethics in Chemistry” at the European Chemistry Congress (ECC9) in Dublin
November 3rd, 2023 – Thematic Meeting (online): Chemistry and Ethics – Theory and Practice
Hartmut Frank talks about the translation of the philosophical foundations of ethics into professional practice such as the chemical science and research context. He indicates that “a new paradigm in science teaching is to be developed, integrating scientific-intellectual-analytical and philosophical-ethical, and spiritual aspects“. One of the conclusions of the presentation and the subsequent vivid discussion is that “A higher level, stronger emphasis of international and interdisciplinary cooperation needs to be achieved“.
October 5th, 2023 – Ahmet Üzümcü’s speech at the “30th Anniversary of the Signature of the CWC” event in Berlin
Ahmet Üzümcü’s reflects on the responsibilities – including social and ethical ones – that come with leading an organisation like the OPCW. Read a transcript of his speech here.
August 20-25th 2023 – IUPAC / CHAINS 2023 in Den Haag / The Hague (NL): World Chemistry Congress “Connecting Chemical Worlds”
Activities of WP members:
- Hans-Georg Weinig – OPCW representative
- Jan Mehlich – Talk: “Responsible Chemistry: Addressing Dual-Use Potentials in Chemical Research and Innovation”
Further relevant activities and events:
- Remarkably, the program features a parallel session track on “Ethics, Education & Society” over the full five days of the congress, and a section of the same name in the poster exhibition.
- A group of IUPAC delegates forms the “Commission on Ethics, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion“. Its mission is “to provide advice, recommend best practices, and develop policies to ensure that IUPAC promotes and embraces ethics, diversity, equity and inclusion in the workspace, in publications, and in education in chemistry“.
May 26th 2023 – Thematic Meeting (online): Ethics and Sustainable Pharmacy – Some lessons learned (at the University of Freiburg)
Michael Müller (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg) explains the role of systems thinking as the key difference between a technology-oriented green chemistry approach and a philosophy-based sustainable pharmacy approach.
February 24th 2023 – Thematic Meeting (online): Teaching Ethics in Chemistry – Latest efforts and developments
Luigi Campanella reports how he uses the Good Chemistry course material in his teaching efforts. Tom Boersen and Jan Mehlich inform about their project to develop a Responsible Chemistry course in a challenge-based learning fashion.
December 9th 2022 – Thematic Meeting (online): Chemists’ Contribution to the Sustainability Landscape
Peter Mahaffy (The King’s University, Edmonton) discusses the ethical responsibility of chemists in the context of sustainable development.
October 14th 2022 – Thematic Meeting (online): The Chemical Space
Guillermo Restrepo introduces his look at the history and contemporary development of chemistry practices and their impact.
August 30th – September 1st 2022 – The WP Ethics in Chemistry at the 8th European Chemistry Congress (ECC8) at Lisbon, Portugal:
- Working Party Meeting
- Panel discussion: Diversity and Inclusion in Chemistry (second section in this Chemistry in Europe Newsletter article)
- Presentations by Guillermo Restrepo (“The chemical space and some ethical consequences of its uneven growth”) and Jan Mehlich (“Teaching Responsible Chemistry: A Challenge-Based Learning Framework for the Implementation of RRI Courses in Chemistry Education”)
2022, June 24th: Tackling transformation barriers towards ethical behavior in academia and business – A live interview with Prof. Dr. Erhard Meyer-Galow
Thematic Meeting (online) of the Working Party
2022, May 4th: Ethics and the Evolution of Consciousness
Thematic Meeting (online) of the Working Party (Minutes)
2022, February 22nd: The Pros and Cons of a Professional Ethos (‘Oath’) for Chemists
Thematic Meeting (online) of the Working Party (Minutes)
2019, October 7th/8th: Ethical Issues related to Chemistry – Education, Research, Specific Applications
Programmatic Symposium of the EuChems WP Ethics in Chemistry, The Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2018, August 26th-30th: WP’s ‘Ethics in Chemistry’ Meeting
Minutes of the WP’s ‘Ethics in Chemistry’ Meeting at the 7th EuChemS Chemistry Congress at Liverpool (UK)
2017, July 6th/7th: WP’s ‘Ethics in Chemistry’ Symposium
Program and Minutes of the WP’s ‘Ethics in Chemistry’ Symposium at the Seat of the Italian Chemical Society (host: Luigi Campanella)
2016, September 13th: Plenary Assembly
Constitutive session on the occasion of the 6th EuChemS Chemistry Congress, Sevilla (ES), FIBES–Conference Centre
Agenda
Minutes
2015, September 25th-27th: Ethics in Chemistry
Programmatic Symposium, Frankfurt/Main (Germany), Goethe Universität Frankfurt
Program
Protocol
2012, August 29th: Ethics in Science – Chemistry and Ethics
4th EuChemS Chemistry Congress, Prague (Czech Republic)
2010, August 31st: Ethics, Chemistry and Education for the Environment
3rd EuChemS Chemistry Congress, Nürnberg (Germany)