Oct. 10, 2007 With consumer demand for environmentally preferable products on the rise, more businesses are seeking graduates with backgrounds in green chemistry and colleges and universities are moving to accommodate them.

The American Chemical Society, which certifies more than 600 college chemistry programs, lists only about a dozen that teach green chemistry. But that number is steadily growing, the Associated Press reports.

Businesses are interested in green chemistry because it can help them make or save money in the development, manufacturing, disposal, and cleanup of products, according to Paul Anastas, director of Yale University's Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering.

For example, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. is developing new ways of making drugs that eliminate millions of pounds of waste, and S.C. Johnson & Son Inc.'s has reformulated some consumer cleaning products, the article notes.

For more on the role of green chemistry in product development and design, read CNet's recent profile of John Warner, director of the Center for Green Chemistry at the University of Massachussets.