From green to white: updated review of assessment tools 2026

The growing focus on sustainability and safety in analytical laboratories has led to the development and adoption of new tools and approaches that can be traced back to the principles of green and white analytical chemistry. This review provides a critical overview of the main tools employed in analytical chemistry to reduce environmental impact, improve efficiency, and simultaneously ensure high analytical performance and operator health protection. Continuous updating and ongoing research have allowed us to increase, over the last two years, the number of tools present in the literature, focusing not only on green analytical chemistry, but also on performance and practicability. The latest tools, however, do not only concern these principles of green and/or white chemistry, but other parameters of analytical importance such as reliability, carbon footprint, stability and innovation. This manuscript focuses on the latest tools, analysing advantages and disadvantages, approaches, innovations, and ease of use.