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Our product development teams strive to design products using less material when they can, with an eye on reducing waste. Examples include the reusable Post-it® Pop-up Note Dispenser, which is made with less plastic than other Post-it dispensers; abrasives that cut faster and last longer, increasing efficiency with less waste; and an aircraft paint preparation that reduces paint and solvent usage.
For more examples, see the Our products section.
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Sustainable Growth Coalition.
We are one of 30 businesses and organizations that formed the Sustainable Growth Coalition (formerly the Minnesota Sustainable Growth Coalition). The Coalition’s Circularity Guiding Principles advanced in 2020. These principles center on rebuilding a stronger, more resilient economy as we look to recover from the pandemic and build equity and community inclusion into sustainability efforts. The Coalition is advancing social, racial, and economic equity by cultivating conversations across differences.
The Recycling Partnership.
The Recycling Partnership is driving systemic change in the U.S.’s recycling system. They operate at every level of the recycling value chain and use a public-private partnership model to help communities create more efficient recycling programs, companies reach their sustainability goals, and advance a recycling policy that activates the circular economy. Since more than 85% of the landfilled material 3M generates worldwide is within the United States and Canada, we understand the importance of building capacity in the U.S. One of the keys to making the circular economy work is curbside recycling — and although it might feel like access to recycling is everywhere, only half of all U.S. households have access to it at home.¹ As a result, only about half of all recyclable materials are captured.
Based on 2020 impact metrics, 3M’s continued support of The Recycling Partnership’s mission and work to transform the U.S. recycling system has contributed to a cumulative impact of 1,866 communities being supported with tools and resources to help drive local change; 88 million households reached;
Closed Loop Partners 3M initiated a relationship with Closed Loop Partners in 2014 through a $5 million commitment to invest in the collaborative social impact fund that gives cities access to the capital needed to build comprehensive recycling programs and to build access to recycled materials for use in packaging.
In 2020, 3M sponsored Closed Loop Partners’ Advanced Recycling Investor Roadmap Project. The 3M grant allowed Closed Loop Partners to expand its project scope and include an evaluation of plastic feedstock in the U.S. and Canada for advanced recycling technology companies. In November 2020, Closed Loop Partners released a first-of-its-kind public tool, the U.S. and Canada Recycling Infrastructure and Plastic Waste Map, which brings to light the diversity of plastic waste and the volumes and flows by county and state. It also highlights critical opportunities to recapture valuable plastics and re-incorporate them into manufacturing supply chains.
to improve access for families; and 348 million pounds of recyclables diverted, thereby avoiding 382,000 metrics tons of GHG, cumulatively. Many projects were delayed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, they are anticipated to launch in 2021. The Partnership expects a highly impactful year of work in 2021, with 100 active community projects, delivery of the one-millionth recycling cart, and reaching 100-million families in over 2,000 communities.
The Recycling Inclusion Fund.
In 2020, 3M provided the initial investment of $100,000 to the Recycling Partnership’s Recycling Inclusion Fund, which will direct grant dollars toward investment in recycling infrastructure and education, training, and leadership modules for communities, and research into the challenges that prevent a more equitable recycling system within the U.S.
920K recycling carts put into service 3M’s support of the project has also enabled Closed Loop Partners to evaluate additional technology companies as part of this project, increasing the number of technology processes evaluated from six to 10. This has allowed Closed Loop Partners to evaluate a broader range of technology processes in the advanced plastics recycling sector, enabling a financial, environmental, and human health impact analysis of these companies. This work supports the development of the Investor Roadmap, which will be made public in early 2021.
The Recycling Partnership is driving systemic change in our nation’s recycling system.
1The Recycling Partnership https://recyclingpartnership.org/circularity.
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Water conservation and quality in our communities.
In our communities, our sites aim to conserve water. For example, the San Luis Potosí site captures and filters rainwater for some of their on-site services. In 2016, the 3M site in Juarez, Mexico, worked with the Juarez City Water Department to receive treated wastewater for on-site services.
Packaging in our communities.
Sustainable Packaging Coalition®
The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) is a membership-based collaborative led by an independent nonprofit organization that believes in the power of industry to make packaging more sustainable. 3M’s commitment to the SPC mission includes representation on the executive committee. The executive committee provides perspective and expertise on industry trends, acts as ambassadors for the SPC, and provides strategic guidance on issues related to SPC goals and activities.
Sharing knowledge.
Collaboration has many forms. Our packaging team is committed to sharing its knowledge with the external community to create a collaborative network that will accelerate packaging circularity. This is demonstrated by engaging and participating in industry panels as well as guest lectures at universities and colleges. In 2020, we collaborated via online or virtual meetings. For example, 3M Chief Sustainability Officer Gayle Schueller participated in a panel called “Setting Long-Term Sustainability Goals and How to Get There” as part of the American Packaging Summit. She discussed packaging’s role in sustainable business growth and reducing environmental impact.
Waste reduction in our communities 3M Impact 3M Impact is a skills-based service program where employees lend their business skills, experience, and energy to make a difference in global communities, while also developing leadership, problem-solving, and interpersonal communication skills. Every 3M Impact project aligns to our Strategic Sustainability Framework of Science for Circular, Science for Climate, or Science for Community.
In 2020, prior to the global spread of the COVID-19 virus, a 3M Impact team worked with Mexico Recicla, the largest solid waste management organization in Mexico City. Mexico Recicla delivers comprehensive and strategic solutions that advance the circular economy and create economic, environmental, and social impact in the Americas. The 3M Impact team assisted with the development of a two-year action plan to help the organization become truly circular and a B-certified enterprise. 3M helped amplify the Mexico Recicla story through the eyes of their stakeholders to advance their social, economic, and environmental impact.
To learn more about 3M Impact, see the Communities section.
By 2017, nearly 80% of total water consumed in three out of five buildings was treated or recycled water.
In 2020, the site completed the remaining two buildings and expects to save 10 million liters (2.6 million gallons) of water.
See additional information in the San Luis Potosí site spotlight.
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Looking forward.
We will continue applying our scientific expertise to improve the lives of our employees, our customers, and people throughout the world. Our Strategic Sustainability Framework directs our efforts to areas where we can make the biggest impact.
Within the Science for Circular pillar of this framework, we will continue to focus on initiatives that will create a more circular economy, driving solutions in our operations, in our products, and in communities everywhere.
In our operations, 3M will continue to mitigate waste to landfill through the reduction, reuse, and recycling of our surplus materials; act on key projects to increase global water quality and efficiency, aligned to our 2021 commitments; and work with suppliers to reduce or reuse surplus materials from packaging of our raw materials.
For our customers, we will develop and launch products that will help them reach their sustainability goals by increasing our use of recycled raw materials. We will create reusable, renewable, and/or recyclable products and packaging, aligned to our 2021 commitment. We will continue to implement our packaging roadmap throughout 2021 and beyond to improve circularity in our packaging. We will help reduce our customers’ water usage and waste through the use of our products.
We will continue to adapt our Packaging Sustainability Roadmap to support emerging global policies and regulations, such as single-use plastics and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as it relates to packaging. EPR is an environmental policy approach in which a producer’s responsibility for a product or package is extended to the post-consumer stage of its life cycle.
Within our communities, we will continue to focus on advocacy, support, and collaborations in our efforts to fuel a global circular economy. 3M will continue to focus efforts on improving water availability and quality through collaboration with water leaders in communities where 3M operates.
Get updates and learn more about our ongoing work aligning to the 3M Strategic Sustainability Framework.
We will continue to adapt our Packaging Sustainability Roadmap.
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Our commitment 3M has long been a leader in addressing both challenges and opportunities presented by climate change and energy conservation.
Our proactive leadership is best defined by five areas of action: • Executive-level commitment to these important topics and our related principles, policies, commitments, and risk-mitigation planning efforts, including membership in RE100, the global corporate initiative committed to 100% renewable electricity by 2050.
Climate and energy.
Science-based innovation to address climate change and conserve energy • Industry-leading efforts to measure and reduce our own greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions • Extensive public policy engagement on both climate change and energy conservation • A decades-long track record of improving energy efficiency at our sites • Serving our customers through a wide range of innovative products that help them improve energy efficiency and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Executive-level commitment.
We are committed to innovate to decarbonize industry, accelerate climate solutions, and improve our environmental footprint. This commitment is part of the Science for Climate pillar of our Strategic Sustainability Framework.
As a science-based company, 3M uses the World Resources Institute (WRI)/World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard to set GHG emission reduction targets. For this reason, we are acting on the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C to set our goals and actions.1 This report, prepared by 91 authors from 40 countries and based on over 6,000 scientific references, finds that limiting global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial temperatures would require “deep emissions reductions” and “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.” Achieving this goal also would “reduce challenging impacts on ecosystems, human health, and well-being.” 1 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC (Report). Incheon, South Korea: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 7 October 2018.
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Public policy engagement 3M supports the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations for helping businesses disclose climate-related financial information. We recognize the need for increased focus on and transparency of financial risks related to climate change. Our climate risk process, as described in the following section, includes disclosures recommended by TCFD.
3M endorses voluntary approaches to GHG emissions management. Any mandatory GHG emission reductions should be developed through international negotiations and follow these policy principles: • Apply broadly to countries or groups of countries and GHG emission sources • Be guided by science-based decision-making • Utilize a consistent, market-based approach • Encourage investment and protect intellectual property to facilitate technology breakthroughs • Include provisions for carbon emissions trading and/or alternative investment and compliance programs • Provide full credit for early reductions in GHG emissions • Balance multiple country-level priorities, including energy reliability and independence, national security, and economic growth and employment • Include provisions that promote the efficient allocation of emissions reductions and assure all sectors contribute to reduction targets, with the effect of allowing fair competition and avoiding market distortions within industrial sectors or across national boundaries 3M is actively engaged in public policy development to address climate change concerns. In addition, we’ve remained committed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 2005.
Risk-mitigation planning.
Severe weather and long-term trends could affect 3M’s operations and supply chain. To address these and other risks, 3M maintains a formal Enterprise Risk Management Analysis to review enterprise-level risk. Additionally, 3M has a Business Continuity and Planning Process as well as a Corporate Crisis Management Program to coordinate the efforts of local crisis management teams maintained at each 3M site and subsidiary.
3M is actively engaged in public policy development to address climate change concerns.
Corporate and local plans consider the risk of natural disasters, infectious disease, employee safety, protection of assets, customer service, and other business continuity requirements. See 3M’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Item 1A for risk factors applicable to the company. Additional details on our climate risk process can be found in the following table.
Photo credit: ©FAO/Alessia Pierdomenico.
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Climate risk process.
Governance The highest level of climate risk governance is the responsibility of the 3M Science, Technology & Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors. The committee oversees the twin demands of developing products to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers while ensuring that those products cause no harm to people or to our planet. The committee’s roles and responsibilities include reviewing the company’s policies and programs on sustainability and assisting the Board in identifying and analyzing significant emerging science and technology, disruptive innovations, sustainability, materials vulnerability, and geopolitical issues that may impact the company’s overall business strategy, global business continuity, and financial results.
Specific to enterprise risk, the 3M Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has the responsibility to discuss policies and procedures with respect to risk assessment and risk management, the company’s major risk exposures, and the steps management has taken to monitor and mitigate such exposures. For the purpose of discussing climate-related risks, “substantive financial impact” means an event or circumstance that would individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial condition or operations of 3M and its subsidiaries and affiliates taken as a whole.
Integration into enterprise risk 3M operates in more than 70 countries and derives approximately 60% of its revenues from outside the United States. Our company’s results are impacted by the effects of, and changes in, worldwide economic, political, regulatory, international trade, and other external conditions.
Climate change, as well as related environmental and social regulations, may negatively impact 3M or its customers and suppliers in terms of availability and cost of natural resources, sources and supply of energy, product demand and manufacturing, and the health and well-being of individuals and communities in which we operate.
Additional details on our enterprise risk assessments can be found in the Enterprise risk and 3M Value Model sections of this report and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Item 1A.
Timeframes Short-term, 0–1 years Medium-term, 1–5 years Long-term, 5+ years.
Board oversight 3M’s Science, Technology & Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors assesses and advances strategic growth areas, long-term investments, and inspired innovation opportunities.
The 3M Audit Committee of the Board of Directors discusses policies and procedures with respect to risk assessment and risk management, the company’s major risk exposures, and the steps management has taken to monitor and mitigate such exposures.
Frequency on Board’s agenda 3M’s Science, Technology & Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors meets with the frequency, and at intervals, it determines necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities, but in any case, not less than three times a year.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors meets with the frequency, and at intervals, it determines necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities, but in any case, not less than four times a year.
Corporate officer’s oversight In addition to the members of the 3M’s Science, Technology & Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors, the 3M CEO has the highest level of direct responsibility for assessing and managing climate-related issues. The CEO carries on the company’s history of proactive leadership in addressing both the challenges and the opportunities presented by climate change and energy conservation.
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Climate risk process.
Identification and assessment Managing risk requires integrating a multidisciplinary, company-wide risk identification, assessment, and management process. The vice president and general auditor, Corporate Auditing, whose appointment and performance is reviewed and evaluated by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, is responsible for leading the formal risk assessment and management process within the company.
Climate-related risk is also assessed as part of our analysis of physical risk to our manufacturing sites. For example, our analysis of physical risk to our manufacturing sites from sea level rise is based on modeling for 1.5°, 2°, and 4°C temperature increases. Based on our analysis of physical risks to individual 3M manufacturing sites, none are deemed to create overall enterprise risk due, in part, to the diversity of 3M’s global capabilities and our robust business continuity plan.
Frequency of monitoring 3M continually evaluates aspects of risk. The vice president, general auditor, consulting with the company’s senior management, annually assesses the major risks facing the company and works with those executives responsible for managing each specific risk. The vice president, general auditor periodically reviews with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors the major risks facing the company and the steps management has taken to monitor and mitigate those risks. The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors meets not less than four times a year.
3M will assess climate-related risks as a part of our analysis of physical risk to our manufacturing as climate modeling advances and as acquisitions or divestitures require. 3M’s business continuity planning process and our Corporate Crisis Management Program review and help manage risks facing the company’s physical operations and supply chains. Programs are reviewed at least annually. In addition, the 3M Science, Technology & Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors meets not less than three times a year.
In addition to our Board of Directors’ Committees, climate risk is reviewed throughout the year within our executive-level Innovation Steering Committee and our Science for Climate Leadership Team.
Risk factors Regulatory 3M continually evaluates aspects of regulatory risk during regular business interactions, including new product development and continuous business improvement. 3M’s operations are affected by national, state, and local laws around the world. 3M has made (and plans to continue making) necessary expenditures for compliance with applicable laws. 3M is also involved in remediation actions relating to environmental matters from past operations at certain sites.
Technology 3M’s four business groups bring together common or related 3M technologies, enhancing the development of innovative products and services and providing for efficient sharing of business resources. We have operations in over 70 countries, bringing together a combination of our 51 unique Technology Platforms to produce over 55,000 products, which are sold in nearly every country. Risks related to technology would be identified and mitigated through our New Technology Introduction (NTI) framework, New Product Introduction (NPI) process, and continuous improvement program.
This product diversity enables 3M to identify unique solutions to help solve our customers’ challenges. In 2020, 3M invested $1.88 billion in research and development to build upon our existing technologies to find innovative solutions to our customers’ challenges. This unique combination of diversity and investment enables 3M to remain on the cutting edge of science while supporting our customers’ future needs as the climate changes. In addition, since 2019, we require each new product entering our NPI process to have a Sustainability Value Commitment demonstrating how it drives impact for the greater good.
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Climate risk process.
Risk factors (Cont.) Legal The company’s future results may be affected by various legal and regulatory proceedings and legal compliance risks, including those involving product liability, antitrust, intellectual property, environmental, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, and other matters. The outcome of these legal proceedings is often difficult to reliably predict. For a more detailed review of this topic, see the discussion in Note 16 “Commitments and Contingencies” within the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Market Results are impacted by the effects of, and changes in, worldwide economic, political, regulatory, international trade, and other external conditions. 3M operates in more than 70 countries and derives approximately 60% of its revenues from outside the United States. The company’s business is subject to global competition and geopolitical risks that are beyond its control, such as disruptions in financial markets, economic downturns, government actions impacting international trade agreements, imposing trade restrictions such as tariffs and retaliatory countermeasures, government deficit reduction and other austerity measures in specific countries or regions, or in the various industries in which 3M operates.
Reputation Around the world, customers rely on 3M to provide innovative solutions to advance companies, enhance homes, and improve lives. We are defined by more than just what we make — we are defined by how we do business: the 3M Way, always striving to make the right choices for our company and our customers and protecting our reputation in all we do in accordance with our Code of Conduct.