Top Topics – Ethics
In June 2026, the GDCh established an Ethics Committee. The GDCh is also involved, either on a temporary or permanent basis, in various bodies dedicated to combating chemical weapons. For example, it is a member of the German working group on ‘Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Biological and Chemical Weapons’. The working group was founded in 1997 and is supported by various organisations. One of its aims is to deepen knowledge of biological and chemical arms control through dialogue between the scientific community and practitioners.
The GDCh is also represented on the Advisory Board of the BMBF-funded “Competence Network on Chemical and Biological Weapons (CBW Competence Network)”, which began its project work in April 2022. Among other things, the network is working to strengthen the standards against chemical and biological weapons (CBW).
From 2016 to 2021, the GDCh was represented on the OPCW’s Advisory Board on Education and Outreach. The OPCW is an independent international organisation that monitors compliance with and implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and establishes the framework for the destruction of chemical weapons.
The GDCh has established the new Commission on ‘Ethics in Chemistry’. It aims to promote dialogue on responsibility, sustainability, scientific standards and the use of AI in chemistry. Initial projects include a reflection platform, teaching materials, workshops and a digital lecture series. To read Karin Schmitz’s article (Free Access) in the GDCh app: https://gdch.app/article/neue-gdch-kommission-ethik-in-der-chemie.
New findings from biographical research provide figures on persecuted chemists, laboratory assistants and students, and reveal their fates. These people were absent as a counterbalance when the GDCh was founded. See Helmut Maier’s article in Nachrichten aus der Chemie und auf der GDCh-App (Zugriff für Mitglieder unter https://gdch.app/article/verfolgung-emigration-widerstand-4143366)
The GDCh has established the new Commission on ‘Ethics in Chemistry’. It aims to promote dialogue on responsibility, sustainability, scientific standards and the use of AI in chemistry. Initial projects include a reflection platform, teaching materials, workshops and a digital lecture series. Read Karin Schmitz’s article (Free Access) in the GDCh app: https://gdch.app/article/neue-gdch-kommission-ethik-in-der-chemie.
Joint press release from the Umbrella Organisation for Geosciences (DVGeo), the German Mathematical Society (DMV), the German Physical Society (DPG), the German Chemical Society (GDCh) and the Association for Biology, Life Sciences and Biomedicine in Germany (VBIO).
Researchers in the natural sciences should be aware of the criteria governing the motives behind their research and its consequences. Ethical aspects are evident in examples such as atomic bombs, genetic engineering and rare earths. See Klaus Merz’s article in Nachrichten aus der Chemie und in der GDCh app (access for members at https://gdch.app/article/wissen-wie-zu-handeln-ist-4138912)
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there have been fears that the warring parties might use chemical weapons. As chemists, we have a special responsibility to prevent the production and use of chemical weapons. The GDCh is active in various areas to raise awareness of this issue. See the article by Karin Schmitz in Nachrichten aus der Chemie or on the GDCh app (Free Access): https://gdch.app/article/gegen-chemische-kampfstoffe-4133151
At a joint event with the Leopoldina and the German Research Foundation, the issue of dual-use – that is, the use of research findings for both intended applications and misuse – was discussed in 2021. A further event with representatives from the German Chemical Society (GDCh) followed in 2022.
After the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had confirmed the repeated use of poison gas in Syria, including in February 2018, the German Chemical Society (GDCh) strongly condemned the attacks. “We are appalled that, once again and time and again, people are being killed or injured by chemical weapons,” emphasised Dr Matthias Urmann, then President of the GDCh, in a press release entitled Chemists condemn the use of poison gas in Syria.
Europe’s chemical societies, including the GDCh, reaffirmed their commitment to the Seville Declaration, which was issued in 2016. The declaration, which was signed by 36 chemical societies in Europe, states: “We, the member societies of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (now the European Chemical Society, EuChemS), condemn the use of chlorine in Syria and other parts of the world and call on the international community to bring those responsible for the misuse of chlorine to justice.”
Under the leadership of the OPCW, more than 30 scientists and representatives of chemical societies drew up the ‘Hague Ethical Guidelines’, which were adopted in September 2015. Three representatives of the GDCh were also involved in drafting them. The Board of Directors of the GDCh supports the Hague Ethical Guidelines.
“Hague Ethical Guidelines” (English), German translation of the ‘Hague Ethical Guidelines’
In April 2015, a commemorative event in Ypres, Belgium , the people who lost their lives there 100 years earlier during the first major use of poison gas in the First World War and in subsequent attacks were commemorated. The chemical community was represented by the then-incumbent presidents of the GDCh and EuChemS, Thomas Geelhaar and David Cole-Hamilton, and the then Past President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, David Phillips.
In 2015, the study Chemists in the Third Reich, written by the historian of science Helmut Maier on behalf of the GDCh, was published. In doing so, the German Chemical Society (GDCh) is committing itself to coming to terms with the history of its predecessor organisations. The book, which runs to over 700 pages, offers a detailed and independent study of the functions and structures of the DChG and the VDCh from 1933 to 1945. In addition to describing the structures established at that time, the book also traces and examines individual life stories as a cautionary reminder for future generations.
Anyone wishing to become a member of the GDCh must sign the GDCh code of conduct. Among other things, it states: “All GDCh members are aware that, as scientists, they bear a particular responsibility for the impact of their professional activities on people and the natural world. (…) They shall comply with the laws and international conventions applicable to their work, its results and its effects, and shall oppose the misuse of chemistry, e.g. for the production of chemical weapons and narcotic substances. In the development, application and dissemination of chemical knowledge, they are committed to the truth and do not resort to any dishonest methods.”