Green engineering approaches the design of products and processes by applying financially and technologically feasible principles to achieve one or more of the following goals: (1) decrease in the amount of pollution that is generated by a construction or operation of a facility, (2) minimization of human population exposure to potential hazards (including reducing toxicity), (3) improved uses of matter and energy throughout the life cycle of the product and processes, and (4) maintaining economic efficiency and viability. Green engineering can be an overarching framework for all design disciplines.

The concept of green engineering began between 1966 and 1970 during the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development under the name: "The Ten Ecological Commandments for Earth Citizens". The idea was expressed visually as the following cycle starting with the first commandment and ending with the tenth:

The idea was then presented by Peter Menke-Glückert at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Conference at Paris in 1968. These principles are similar to the Principles of Green Engineering in that each individual has an intrinsic responsibility to uphold these values. The Ten Ecological Commandments for Earth Citizens is thought by Dr. Płotka-Wasylka to have influenced The Principles of Green Engineering, which has been said to imply that all engineers have a duty to uphold sustainable values and practices when creating new processes.

Green engineering is a part of a larger push for sustainable practices in the creation of products such as chemical compounds. This movement is more widely known as green chemistry, and has been headed since 1991 by Paul Anastas and John C. Warner. Green chemistry, being older than green engineering, is a more researched field of study and began in 1991 with the creation of the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry.

On May 19, 2003, Paul Anastas along with his future wife, Julie Zimmerman created the 12 Principles of Green Engineering. This expanded upon the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry to not only include the guidelines for what an environmentally conscious chemical should be in theory, but also what steps should be followed to create an environmentally conscious alternative to the chemical. Environmentally conscious thought can be applied to engineering disciplines such as civil and mechanical engineers when considering practices with negative environmental impacts, such as concrete hydration. These principles still were centered around chemical processes, with about half pertaining to engineers. There are many ways that both the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry and 12 Principles of Green Engineering interact, referred to by Tse-Lun Chen et al. as "cross connections". Every one Principle of Green Engineering has one or more corresponding "cross connections" to Principles of Green Chemistry. For example, principle 1 of green engineering is "Inherent Rather than Circumstantial", which has cross connections to principles 1, 3, and 8 of green chemistry.

On May 19, 2003, during a conference at the Sandestin Resort in Florida, a group consisting of about 65 chemists, engineers, and government officials met to create a narrowed down set of green principles relating to engineers and engineering. After 4 days of debating and proposals, the Sandestin Declaration was created. This declaration established the 9 Principles of Green Engineering, which narrowed down the focus to processes engineers can abide by, with a focus on designing processes and products with the future in mind. The resulting 9 Principles were later supported and recognized by The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy (Los Alamos National Laboratory), and the ACS Green Chemistry institute.

Green engineering follows nine guiding principles:

In 2003, The American Chemical Society introduced a new list of twelve principles: