Prof. Klaus Kümmerer is a leading international expert in sustainable chemistry and sustainable pharmacy, recognised for pioneering the concept of “Benign by Design”, which promotes the development of chemicals and materials with reduced environmental impacts. His research focuses on green and sustainable chemistry, the environmental fate of chemicals, resource efficiency and the design of more environmentally compatible pharmaceuticals and chemical products. He studied chemistry at the Universities of Würzburg and Tübingen, Germany, and obtained his PhD from the University of Tübingen in 1990. After serving as Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Environmental Hygiene at the University of Freiburg, he became Professor of Sustainable Chemistry and Material Resources at Leuphana University Lüneburg in 2010, where he has played a leading role in establishing sustainable chemistry as a research and educational discipline. Since 2017, he has also served as Director of the Research and Education Hub of the International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3). His contributions have been recognised with the Wöhler Award for Sustainable Chemistry from the German Chemical Society in 2023 and the Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2024. In 2025, he received honorary doctorates from Ghent University and the University of Helsinki.
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