Organizing the Move Toward Sustainability

Me Knight also espoused an unusual management philosophy for the times he believed in encouraging individual initiative, risk-taking, and the freedom to fail - qualities that promoted employee growth and satisfaction as well as the development of diverse businesses and technologies. 

3M s operations became more sophisticated - and productive - with the introduction of the Pollution Prevention Pays (3P) program in 1975. As the name suggests, the program was founded on two assumptions that pollution should be prevented rather than treated after the fact, and that such an approach made economic sense. The results of the program have borne out these assumptions. To 

3M has continued to expand and refine the 3P program. In 2001, for example, the company provided more opportunities for participation by our research and development, logistics, transportation, and packaging employees, with the addition of new award categories and criteria. 

The benefits of moving toward sustainability are not dependent on country-specific regulation. To the contrary, their impact on productivity and profitability are similar around the world. For this reason, 3M facilities worldwide are held to the same environmental standards that the company applies to its facilities in the United States (except where local standards are higher). For the same reason, all 3M manufacturing facilities making products for transnational markets are required to become ISO 14001 certified. 

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