Systems thinking, the molecular basis of sustainability and the planetary boundaries framework: Complementary core competencies for chemistry education

Chemistry education plays a key role in the professional training of science professionals, yet chemistry concepts are often presented as isolated facts, disconnected to the pressing sustainability challenges facing humanity and the planet. We review recent initiatives to orient chemistry education toward sustainability, focusing on systems thinking, the material or molecular basis of sustainability, and the Planetary Boundaries framework as three interconnected and complementary key competencies that can connect knowledge in chemistry to the sustainability of Earth and societal systems. Consideration of structure–activity relationships in the evolution of refrigerant design over the past two centuries illustrates how students can apply a systems perspective of the molecular basis of sustainability to understand the consequences of structural choices of refrigerants for Earth system processes in the Planetary Boundaries framework.