Green Chemistry / Green Engineering / Sustainable Information Technology: Common concepts and differences.

These days the terms green and sustainable are proliferating. The positive aspect concerning the extensive use is that sustainability receives an increasing interest in society. It has become a key concern for consumers and industry. However, coming to understand its implications in the context of daily life is difficult. Important fields in the context of sustainability are e.g. Green Chemistry, Green Engineering, sustainable information and communication technologies, just to name a few scientific topics. The principles of these fields will be presented in the paper. Furthermore, the interaction of these concepts as well as the differences will be addressed. The inclusion of green / sustainable foci in education will be vital in the future. While tremendous benefit has been derived from vision and value statements on the need for sustainability, scientists and engineers understand that change will only occur when sustainable technologies are implemented in industry and disseminated throughout society. To accomplish this transition, the three main areas: academia (education), industry and governments must work more closely together