3M

Sustained Excellence
3M
St. Paul, Minnesota

3M, a diversified technology company with a worldwide presence in many product markets, operates manufacturing facilities in 37 countries around the world. This is the fourth time 3M has received ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence recognition. The award honors the company's efforts to expand its energy management program and realize significant energy savings through an array of successful strategies. Key accomplishments include:

  • Exceeding its goal of reducing energy consumption by 4 percent in 2007 by achieving a 6.4 percent savings, saving $10.6 million in 2007 and more than $100 million since 1990.
  • Achieving a worldwide reduction in the company's total greenhouse gas emissions of 54 percent from a 1990 base year and working to achieve its aggressive greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal established under EPA's Climate Leaders program.
  • Launching an initiative to work with raw material suppliers upstream to reduce the energy and carbon footprint of the products they sell to 3M.
  • Working with customers downstream to help them reduce their energy consumption, particularly during the introduction of new 3M products.
  • Successfully exporting its U.S.-based energy management program as a model for international operations and requiring that 3M businesses and country subsidiaries outside the United States produce a plan for achieving their share of the corporate energy efficiency goal.

In addition, 3M's Optical Systems Division made an important contribution to the development of EPA's new ENERGY STAR specification for televisions. The new specification addresses the energy used while the TV is on and being viewed, in addition to when it is in standby mode. 3M brought vital information and extensive TV expertise to the ENERGY STAR specification process and provided invaluable assistance in the development of a technology neutral, on-mode specification that will save billions of kilowatt hours in the coming years-all while offering U.S. consumers the very best in terms of feature-rich, high-quality TVs.