Sustainability and Growth

Early on, the most obvious benefit of sustainability - at least in terms of business success - was its emphasis on cost-reduction through better management of resources. In recent years, though, another benefit has arisen products that help customers achieve their own goals for sustainability are more likely to succeed. In other words, sustainability efforts can create a competitive advantage. 

In some cases, the advantage of a sustainable product is specific and readily observable by the customer, such as a Post-it Recycled Paper Notes, made with 100 percent recycled paper fiber (20 percent post-consumer waste). 3M paint replacement films, which allow automobile and aircraft manufacturers to reduce their use of paints and solvents, are an example of an industrial application where the customer is striving to achieve its own sustainability goals. 

In other instances, the benefit in the marketplace is more general, and reflects customers perceptions of 3M as a responsible manufacturer. 3M earns this reputation (and reinforces it) through its use of Life Cycle Management (LCM), its reporting, and its careful attention to environmental marketing claims. 

With 500 new products introduced each year, 3M has a continuous flow of opportunities for improving its environmental, health and safety performance. To make the most of these opportunities, 3M requires that all new products undergo LCM review prior to commercialization. Business units also conduct LCM reviews for existing products on a prioritized basis. In these reviews, product development teams address the environmental, health and safety opportunities, and issues present at each stage of a product s life - from development and manufacturing, through distribution and customer use, to disposal. 

A Chemical Data Management System (CDMS) and other material tracking systems allow 3M to track the procurement and use of chemicals and other materials that may contain chemicals throughout the product lifecycle. The CDMS is also used to generate Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs), which help assure product safety. 

---