Every stage of a product’s life cycle has an environmental impact, starting with extraction of raw materials, continuing through processing, manufacturing, and transportation, and concluding with consumption and disposal or recovery. Technology and chemical science are challenged at every stage. Redesigning products and processes to minimize environmental impact requires a new philosophy of production and a different level of understanding of chemical transformations. Environmentally friendly products require novel materials that are reusable, recyclable, or biodegradable; properties of the materials are determined by the chemical composition and structure. To minimize waste and polluting by-products, new kinds of chemical process schemes will have to be developed. Improved chemical separation techniques are needed to enhance efficiency and to remove residual pollutants, which in turn will require new chemical treatment methods in order to render them harmless. Pollutants such as radioactive elements and toxic heavy metals that cannot be readily converted into harmless materials will need to be immobilized in inert materials so that they can be safely stored. Finally, the leftover pollution of an earlier, less environmentally aware era demands improved chemical and biological remediation techniques.