CM5092 CHEMICAL SUSTAINABILITY - AN ASIAN PERSPECTIVE

The primary objective is multicultural. The Singapore economy is highly integrated with the World. Many graduates will find themselves working with colleagues from other countries and/ or cultures because they are employed by multinational companies, whether Singapore owned or not, or posted overseas, or simply have colleagues from overseas. Being able to adapt to work with people from such different backgrounds will be an increasingly important skill for the future workforce. The secondary objective concerns sustainability. It is now almost universally accepted that human activity must be sustainable. As many processes and raw materials must be considered in terms of Chemistry, considerations of Chemical Sustainability will be fundamental to the operations of all industries in the future. This course will encourage students to think about these ideas broadly. The burning of forests in Indonesia to clear land to produce palm oil, a chemical feedstock has been the cause of the haze over several decades. The experience that Singapore has had with the haze over the years shows that issues arising from sustainability do not respect national boundaries, making this course highly appropriate for offering on an international basis.