San Francisco, CA — A new group and web-based tool aim to help companies assess the sustainability of chemical products and processes.

The iSUSTAIN Alliance has launched with the release of its Green Chemistry Index v2.0. The online tool allows companies to examine existing products or assess products and processes in the planning stages.

Companies can plug in information about the materials that go into a process, the materials that come out of the process (final product and wastes), and the conditions during the different stages of the process.

The tool generates a sustainability-based score, based on metrics taken from the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry, including health and environmental impact of raw materials and products, energy use, waste generation, safety of processes and more.

Users can create alternative scenarios for one product or process to see how changes in materials or types of processes affect the overall sustainability score.

A limited version of the Green Chemistry Index is free for public use, and a version that allows users to store and manage multiple scenarios, among other features, is free for academic use and costs a fee for an individual or corporate membership.

The iSUSTAIN Alliance was formed by Beyond Benign Foundation, a green chemistry education and training non-profit; Cytec Industries, a global specialty chemicals and materials company; and Sopheon, which provides product lifecycle management software and services.

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