A standard analytical method as the common good and pollution abatement measure

A standard method can be considered as a common-good “resource,” and the solution to “the commons” problems usually lies in societal self-organization. The multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was applied to model complex phenomena, such as the standard selection for imidacloprid determination. In this process, the standard was self-selected by the analytical chemistry society. The results show that analytical chemistry is a subject of rapid development that is not reflected in the modernity of standard methods. A standard method candidate, selected by the analytical society, better fulfills the green (analytical) chemistry principles. The proper standard selection is the most suitable way to control analytical laboratory-related pollution. We suggest more involvement of the analytical society in the standard method management for making analytical chemistry more sustainable and also for the management of analytical chemistry-related pollution.