Sustainability in Chemical Education - A Global Young Chemists Survey

In 2020, young chemists of the German Young Chemists' Network (GDCh-JCF) designed a survey to get a snapshot of how their peers perceive the importance of sustainability in chemical education. With the help of the International Younger Chemists Network (IYCN) and the European Young Chemists' Network (EYCN) they were able to reach around 500 young chemists from 46 countries. Roughly half of the responses came from people that represented the German education system. Although the results need to be taken with a grain of salt as stated in the disclaimer (see .pdf document), they paint a picture of a desperate need for more sustainability topics to be covered by chemical education globally, particularly in Germany. More than 90% of young chemists globally call for more detailed coverage of sustainability topics while the current adequacy is only rated as good or better by a quarter of all respondents. A significant portion (>50% inside of Germany and >30% outside of Germany) does not feel prepared to contribute to the sustainability strategy of a company despite >80% rating the sustainability startegy of a company as an important factor for their career choice.