Attention to energy, climate, raw materials, health and safety, water and education. The mission of 3M is to translate science into solutions that improve the lives of people and the planet.
3M confirms itself as a leading company in terms of sustainability: starting this year, in fact, all the new products that will enter the marketing process will respect the Sustainability Value Commitment, an internal evaluation system that will allow us to certify the impact that each product will have on the environment. In this perspective, there are three main lines of action of the company of St. Paul, outlined by the CEO Mike Roman: "Science for Circular", a model according to which the design solutions will use fewer materials, in the perspective of a circular economy; "Science for Climate", linked to a particular focus on innovation linked to the "decarbonisation" of industry, and "Science for Community" with the aim and hope of giving a signal to create a better world thanks to science. A concrete commitment, with 91.000 employees around the world, of which 10.000 of the Research and Development area, directly involved in the rigorous process of introducing new products which, from the early stages to the final development and in each area, from electronics to health, respect the environment.
The company has made a concrete commitment to the issue of energy sources: the headquarters in St. Paul, in the United States, will in fact be powered exclusively by energy derived from renewable sources. The goal of 3M is that all activities be powered by 100% from renewable sources, with an intermediate target, within 2025, of 50%. In this long-term strategic framework, 3M will join RE100, a global group that brings together more than a hundred companies engaged in the use of energy from renewable sources.
As a participant in the United Nations Global Compact, 3M also supports the 10 principles listed within it in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and the fight against corruption. The mission of 3M is to translate science into solutions that improve life: in fact, the company has a long-standing commitment to sustainability. With the 3P program, "Pollution Prevention Pays", started in the 70 years, 3M has started a journey that has translated itself into concrete actions respecting the environment and hundreds of product and process improvements, thus forming the foundations of a culture permeated the organization, and in the 2015 14 objectives have been established to be achieved by the 2025 on energy and climate, raw materials, health and safety, water and education and development:
Energy and climate
- Improve energy efficiency, indexed to 30% sales;
- Increase to 25% of the total electricity consumption, the share of renewable energy (already in the 2018 for 30% the electricity was derived from renewable sources);
- Ensure that greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to 50% compared to 2002, at least, by increasing activities (objective already achieved in the 2018 with the reduction of 68%);
- Help 3M customers reduce their 250 greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to CO2 by using 3M products
Raw material
- Invest to develop more sustainable materials and products to help 3M customers achieve their environmental goals
- Reduce production waste, indexed to sales, by an additional 10%
- Reach the "zero waste" in the 30% of production sites
- Leading the sustainability supply chain through the traceability of raw materials and control of supplier performance
Health & Safety
Provide training to 5 millions of people around the world on worker and patient safety
Water
- Reduce the global use of water, indexed to sales, by an additional 10%
- Involving the 100% of the communities in which 3M operates in areas with water problems in programs for the shared management of water resources
Education and development
- Invest resources and products in educational, community and environmental programs
- 100% participation in employee development programs to advance individuals and organizational skills
- Double the possibilities in talent management to build a diverse workforce.
Thus the commitment of 3M in the area of sustainability continues: it is no coincidence that the company from 19 years is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and in the 2018 EcoVadis has included 3M in the «Gold» category, among the very first companies in the world ( 1% of the ranking) in terms of social responsibility (environment, social, ethics and logistics chain) for all industrial categories. Further confirmation for 3M also comes from Eu5 RepTrak of Reputation Institute (Ri), which places 3M at the 42th place. EU5 RepTrak® 2018 - first published in the 2018 - is considered the largest cross-country corporate reputation study. Based on over 87.000 individual assessments among consumers in the five most industrialized European countries - Italy, Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom - it analyzes 140 multinational companies assessing their emotional bond with stakeholders, their behavior towards the companies themselves, the intention to buy, the chance to recommend and the willingness to work there. Among the first factors assessed to define the reputational impact, the importance of social responsibility activities.