The Italian Chemical Society has recently joined the Stockholm Declaration on Chemistry for the Future, an international policy document that calls on the scientific, industrial, and political communities to fundamentally rethink the role of chemistry in contemporary society. SCI’s endorsement represents a significant commitment toward a more responsible, sustainable science—one that is attentive to the ethical, environmental, and social implications of its choices.

The declaration was officially presented on May 23, 2025, at the Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, during the 198th Nobel Symposium entitled Chemistry for Sustainability: Fundamental Advances. The initiative is the result of collaborative work by around thirty leading international figures, including academic scientists and industry representatives, coordinated by the Stockholm University Center for Circular and Sustainable Systems (SUCCeSS). Among the key contributors are renowned scientists such as Paul Anastas (Yale University), a pioneer of green chemistry, and Nobel Laureate Ben Feringa, who helped articulate a shared vision: chemistry must become a driver of solutions, not part of the problem.

A new vision for 21st-century chemistry

The Stockholm Declaration aims to transform chemistry from a purely technical discipline into a strategic science capable of addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges: climate change, energy transition, public health, resource scarcity, and pollution. To enable this transformation, the declaration is structured around five core principles:

1. Designing chemical products and processes that are inherently safe, circular, and sustainable;
2. Recognizing that inaction poses greater risks than acting responsibly;
3. Embedding concepts such as sustainability, safety, and systems thinking into educational curricula;
4. Ensuring accessibility and transparency of chemical data for independent scientific evaluation;
5. Adopting public policies that encourage safe and sustainable practices, while disincentivizing the use of harmful substances.

This is not merely about steering research in a new direction—it is about redefining the social role of chemistry, building a bridge between scientific knowledge and collective responsibility.

The full text of the Stockholm Declaration is available at: www.stockholm-declaration.org/read-the-declaration