3M, American multinational conglomerate, has set an interim target to obtain at least 50% of its total electricity from renewables by 2025 and 100% by 2050, Sustainability report for the year 2020 revealed.
Since 2002, greenhouse gases produced by 3M have decreased by 68%, report said.
On March 1, 2020 the 409 – acre campus at 3M’s global headquarters flipped the switch to become powered by 100% renewable electricity. This was the first step in a commitment to move to 100% renewable electricity in all its facilities around the world, beginning with its own headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“Over the last two decades, for example, as 3M’s revenues have doubled, we have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 70%, and moved 35% of our manufacturing sites to zero waste.” Mike Roman 3M Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer said.
As a company rooted in scientific exploration and the belief that every problem has a solution, in 2019, 3M embarked on a journey to calculate downstream Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The World Resources Institute (WRI)/World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, used by more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies, is an international accounting tool that helps businesses understand, measure, and manage their GHG emissions.
As part of this commitment, 3M joined RE100, a global corporate leadership initiative led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP (formerly known as Carbon Disclosure Project), that brings together influential businesses committed to sourcing 100% renewable electricity.
Committing to wind and solar power sources is part of 3M’s strategic focus on Science for Climate, with the aspiration to innovate to decarbonize industry, accelerate global climate solutions and improve the company’s environmental footprint. The commitment will help decrease greenhouse gases produced by 3M, already down 68% since 2002.
“By joining RE100 and switching to 100% renewable electricity globally, 3M is building Sustainability into its business growth strategy and showing that the two go hand in hand,” says Helen Clarkson, CEO of The Climate Group.
Seeing such a large manufacturer commit to ‘go all in’ on renewables to produce sustainable new products is an encouraging step forward., report said.
With this commitment, 3M has become the largest company in partner Xcel Energy’s Midwest service area of nine states to move to 100% renewable electricity. The majority of the power for 3M’s headquarters will be supplied by Xcel wind farms located near Pipestone, Minnesota.
In sunny California, a new solar farm installed on a hill above 3M’s IMPD site provides 20% of the plant’s total electricity.
The 1-megawatt solar system will produce 2.6 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year — enough to supply power to about 750 homes. The site will also sell back excess power to the grid during peak times. The 70-year-old plant manufactures roofing granules, including the award -winning 3M ™ Smog-reducing Granules and 3M ™ Cool Roofing Granules that help reduce pollution and improve public health.
The solar farm is helping advance 3M’s goal of providing 50% of the company’s electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
3M has had GHG reduction goals since 2007. To continue its industryleading efforts to reduce its own GHG emissions, they wanted to create a goal in line with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature increases below 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures, in alignment with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The 3M Company is an American multinational conglomerate corporation operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, US health care, and consumer goods.
