Since the proposal of the Green Chemistry concept by Dr. P . T. Anastas, the EPA has maintained various policies to spread Green Chemistry, including environmental assessments of hazardous chemicals by the federal government; relevant research and education; support for environment-related industries, such as prevention programs and energy saving; the Presidential Green Chemistry challenge awards; and support for the reduction in use and generation of hazardous substances. The EPA also developed and distributed a tool to provide information about the results of the policies related to Green Chemistry, including Green Chemistry Expert System (GCES) and Green Chemistry Assistant (GCA).

GCES is composed of five modules that enable industries to identify information for evaluation and prediction, leading to the selection of safer Green Chemistry alternative chemicals. First, the Synthetic Methodology Assessment for Reduction Techniques module receives inputs such as information about chemicals, number of reactions, and yield of reactions; identifies properties of the chemical reaction process; and estimates and assesses the amounts of products and wastes. Second, the Green Synthetic Reaction module makes it possible to identify reaction information to synthesize chemicals in a safer and less hazardous way, with the input of basic information about chemicals. Third, the Designing Safer Chemicals module proposes compound designs and analyzes toxic mechanisms, which supports the prediction of structures that can reduce toxicity. Fourth, the Green Solvent/Reaction Condition module makes it possible to identify information on the physical-chemical properties of about 600 different solvents, as well as the reaction conditions for some alternative chemicals that have been confirmed. Fifth, the Green Chemistry Reference module has been designed to search and identify reports and data related to studies on Green Chemistry [3].

A web-based program developed collaboratively by the EPA and St. Olaf College, GCA has functions to calculate the theoretical yields of reactions, using chemical reaction equations, and the appropriate amounts of chemicals that are required for reactions; this avoids the need to use chemicals during design. In addition, it provides information on about 60000 chemicals and about 600 solvents through a search function linked with GCES database [4].

State governments and a number of colleges in the US have made various attempts to establish an infrastructure for Green Chemistry, alongside the US federal government. Massachusetts state has established and operates the Toxics Use Reduction Institute, in collaboration with industries and government agencies, in line with the Toxics Use Reduction Act for research and public relations on the reduction in the use of hazardous chemicals. To reduce hazardous chemicals, the institute has been running various environmental protection programs, including continuous education for industry and the general public, reduction technology, funding, a chemical fact sheet provided by the Toxic Use Reduction Science Advisory Board, and evaluation of research on alternatives to hazardous chemicals like hexavalent chrome and diethylhexyl phthalate. It provides related information, too. The institute has also developed Pollution Prevention Options Assessment System, an Excel-based program that has the function of calculating the harmfulness scores of chemicals, based on the collected toxicity information, in order to help users to understand objectively and easily and to allow them to evaluate comparatively [5].

Massachusetts Institute of Technology of the US has formed a network of research organizations, academics, and research institutes related to Green Chemistry. This network has constructed a database focusing on data from major journals and has been running the Green Alternatives Purchasing Wizard, which provides information about hazardous chemicals. This is part of an eco-friendly purchasing policy to minimize waste and prevent pollution, in line with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The wizard is a web-based program that was developed for cost reduction purposes achieved through reduction in hazardous wastes and environmental loads from research institutes. It also provides information about alternative chemicals, their advantages and disadvantages, and sources; it is linked to a purchasing system called Systems Applications and Products to facilitate purchases (Figure 1) [6].

Clean Production Action (CPA) is a project run by the Tides Center, a non-profit profit organization that financially supports innovative and creative groups in the US. In order to provide Green Chemistry solutions to the design and production of sustainable eco-friendly products, for the safety of products and materials, and for rapid and effective methods of toxicity evaluation, CPA has produced Green Screen, composed of four categories—environmental fate, eco-toxicity, human health, and physical- chemical properties—and 17 detailed evaluation items, presented in four types, as benchmark 1 to 4, based on the evaluation results [7].

The EPA of Denmark developed a web-based program in 2003 to search for hazardous chemicals and alternatives, based on a case report called a catalogue of example of substitution of hazardous chemicals, which in 1989 provided information on alternatives to 162 hazardous chemicals and actual cases that utilized alternatives. The program provides information, collected from Danish businesses, about alternative chemicals and technologies, the Occupational Health Service, and the Danish Working Environment Authority. The program provides information on 311 actual cases in 83 companies where alternative chemicals were used and encourage more active use of alternative chemicals in industry [8].

In 2009, the Ministry of Environment of Korea formed a forum composed of representatives from industry, academia, and research institutes in recognition of the strengthening international regulation of hazard and risk controls of chemicals; the ministry proposed a measure for the advance of chemical management to move toward a Green Chemistry system in order to improve the chemical management system in Korea and to support the chemical industry. Accordingly, the “green shift” to move toward Green Chemistry has ultimately been pursued in the direction of advancing management of the risks of hazardous chemicals; of safety management, people’s health, and environmental protection from chemicals and chemical products; of advances in the management of chemical information; of the construction of mutual communication and cooperation systems between interested parties;and of the attainment of two goals: “health and environmental protection” and “improvement of the competitiveness of the chemical industry” [9].

As a part of this project, the Ministry of Environment of Korea has run the Next-generation Eco-innovation (EI) project since 2011, with the goals of constructing the infrastructure for Green Chemistry in industrial facilities in Korea and of improving foreign trade competitiveness. The project also had “the research group on Green Chemistry management techniques” along with four sub-organizations, led by the Korea Environment Corporation, in order to construct the Green Chemistry policy/application support system. In particular, the project has been developing a search program for related alternative chemicals for small and medium-sized businesses that have difficulty being competitive because of difficulties in accessing information about the regulation of chemicals and the regulation of alternative chemicals in Korea and other countries. The program has enabled them to identify and search for information about reliable alternative chemicals and rapidly changing international chemical regulations. The project has collected information about alternative chemicals based on domestic and international journals, research data, and particularly patent data. It has analyzed this information, verified it with the help of experts in the field to secure the reliability of data, and then presented it. In addition, successful cases of the application of alternative chemicals to actual processes were focused on in the process of collection and presented in order to increase the applicability of alternative chemicals. At present, information on a total of 341 alternative chemicals by use and 75 application cases have been collected and provided. The program can be downloaded from the next-generation EI research group homepage and the homepage of TO21 Co., Ltd.; it is distributed to companies free of charge (Figure 2).