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Discover free lesson plans, experiments and activities to explore how chemistry can help us tackle climate change and build a more sustainable future
Based on the UN's sustainable development goals, our Sustainability in chemistry series brings together tips, ideas and curriculum-linked resources to connect your existing chemistry lessons with sustainability.
Develop your students’ understanding of the greenhouse effect, and investigate the chemistry behind efforts to reduce or capture greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
In association with Nuffield Foundation
Use this demonstration to illustrate the greenhouse effect and the role of carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Includes kit list and safety instructions.
Reinforce your students’ understanding of the cause of the greenhouse effect using this lesson plan with a demonstration and activities for 16–18 year olds.
An activity worksheet to test student understanding of global warming.
Ensure your students have a firm understanding of the chemistry behind climate change
Can soil help address climate change?
Locking Earth’s excess carbon dioxide away by turning it into rock
From hydrogen fuel cells to solar power, use these resources to find out chemistry can help us cut emissions and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
Explore how cars can be fuelled using low-carbon technology, including hydrogen and hybrid power, in this lesson plan with activities for 16–18 year olds.
The portable and safe storage of hydrogen will be fundamental to the success of fuel cell-powered cars
In association with Nuffield Foundation
Try this spectacular demonstration to make a rocket using a plastic drink bottle fuelled by hydrogen and air. Includes kit list and safety instructions.
Switching off coal and oil
Batteries are essential to the devices we depend on every day. They’re also key to new green technologies, including solar power and electric vehicles. But how do they work? And what impact do they have on the environment?
Closing the loop in lithium-ion battery recycling from electric cars
Find out how lithium-ion batteries work, and the issues surrounding their manufacture and disposal
In association with Nuffield Foundation
Use this practical to demonstrate the chemistry behind rechargeable batteries, using a lead–acid accumulator cell. Includes kit list and safety instructions.
Test your 11–14 students’ knowledge of separation techniques; elements, mixtures and compounds; periodic table trends
Inspire your students to explore the science of recycling and learn how chemical scientists are creating more sustainable materials to reduce waste and pollution.
Can science solve it? This article includes teaching resources
Forget bags and straws. Disposable period products are a much great contributor to the amount of plastic littering our environment
Recycling plastic bottles prevents the plastic from going to landfill, saves energy and reduces our dependency on oil. But what do we have to do to put the bottle back on the supermarket shelf?
Put chemistry into context and encourage your 11–14 students to use their critical thinking skills with these classroom activities
In association with Nuffield Foundation
Try this class practical to make a plastic using potato starch and investigate the effects of adding a ‘plasticiser’. Includes kit list and safety instructions.
What’s the environmental impact of our clothes throughout their life cycle?
Examine the environmental impact of our clothing with these resources
From microplastics to acidification due to carbon dioxide emissions – our oceans are under pressure. But chemical scientists are at the forefront of work to reduce and repair the damage. Find out more about the problems facing marine environments and investigate acidification hands-on.
As plastics fill up and pollute our oceans, recognising their value rather than thinking of them as disposable could help us deal with what has turned into a large, global problem
A booklet aimed at students aged between 14 and 16 years. The text is supported by questions, tables of data and diagrams.
Carbon dioxide produced by human activity is acidifying the ocean at an unprecedented and alarming rate
In association with Nuffield Foundation
Form a weak acid from the reaction of carbon dioxide with water in this class practical. Includes kit list and safety instructions.
Find out how we can use chemistry to improve access to clean, safe drinking water and learn about desalination, water analysis and the water cycle.
In association with Nuffield Foundation
Try this simple practical to show that seawater contains a mixture of different salts. Includes kit list and safety instructions.
In association with Nuffield Foundation
Compare the solids and gases dissolved in tap water and seawater in this class practical and demonstration. Includes kit list and safety instructions.
Video resources showing the simple distillation of liquids using a Liebig condenser.
Get hands on with H2O, changing states of matter and the water cycle. These experiments and investigations involve water in the context of space
Sustainable agriculture means providing enough nutritious food for everyone while protecting our climate and environment. Find out how chemical scientists are helping to develop new approaches to farming and reducing food waste, and investigate the chemistry behind the food we eat.
Many foods contain toxins such as oxalic acid. How do we balance the risks and benefits to health?
The pros and cons of NaCl
In association with Nuffield Foundation
Try this class practical or demonstration to extract food-grade iron from breakfast cereals using neodymium magnets. Includes kit list and safety instructions.
Ida Emilie Steinmark investigates a compound found inside some of our favourite foods, but unable to be enjoyed by everyone
From practical experiments to a directed activity related to text (DART), try these activities for 11–16 year olds to investigate the chemistry of vitamins.
Measure the level of ‘saturation’ of fats and oils using iodine, exploring the relation to obesity, with this lesson plan and experiment for 16–18 year olds.
Elinor Hughes investigates some of the latest developments in recycling food waste
Seaweed may not be the silver bullet to farming’s methane problem
This scientific case-study highlights the importance of organic synthesis in more efficient food production.
In association with Reckitt Benckiser
A collection of information sheets and presentations that look at the nature of soil particles and the nutrient requirements of plants.
Kick-start your lesson and inspire your students using these short summaries of scientific research linked to curriculum topics, featuring quick questions to get students thinking and talking about chemical ideas.
From monitoring the chemistry of our oceans to developing new, biodegradable plastics, chemical scientists are working to reduce our impact on the environment and make change possible.
Explore the job profiles below or visit A Future in Chemistry to find out more.
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