HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 04-26 Celebrating sustainability and growth, one Post-It Note at a timeClfIWAIGI V'
Celebrating sustainability and growth, one Post -It Note at a time
Celebrating sustainability and growth, one Post -It Note at
a time
By: DAVID FONDLER I dfondler@pioneerpress.com
April 26, 2014 1 UPDATED: 2 years ago
Last week's Earth Day brought a buzz of activity to the 3M campus in Maplewood.
The industrial company was celebrating its 10th year of EPA Energy Star certification. Amid a series of
presentations and displays in the campus' main building, workers in one corner assembled solar -
powered LED lights to be shipped to an Ethiopian village.
Others huddled around the room's centerpiece, a white Tesla Model S, admiring the brightly lit
dashboard display and the empty "frunk" (front trunk), where it seems the all -electric sports car's engine
should be — but isn't.
3M's partnership with Tesla extends to providing about a dozen parts, from adhesives for body panels to
battery -pack components to nontraditional wheel weights that are cut and stuck on in various lengths
from a heavy roll of metal alloy sticky tape to balance the wheel.
It turns out that in a lot of car models, parts such as plastic body panels are added with tape, which
happens to be a signature 3M product. The partnership with California automaker Tesla goes back
about five years, the typical development cycle for a new auto model, said Fred Koerschner, global
operations manager with 3M's automotive division.
In contrast to the flashy Tesla, the solar -powered lights being assembled seemed the epitome of
environmental simplicity. The back panels are recycled plastic lawn signs, draped with a mirror film,
strung with LED lighting strips and powered by a lithium ion battery that will be recharged every day
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under African skies.
Celebrating sustainability and growth, one Post -It Note at a time
Working with New Vision, a West Virginia charity, 3M plans to ship 300 of these lights to the village of
Koba Adi, where homes still use kerosene for light, said Oredola Taylor, who was overseeing the
assembly operation.
The 10 -year Energy Star certification is a record for a U.S. industrial company, said Steven Schultz, 3M's
corporate energy manager.
Consumers may know Energy Star from stickers on some of the appliances they buy.
But on an industrial level, Schultz said, receiving the certification requires the commitment of upper
leadership and buy -in from the entire organization toward reducing energy consumption and pollution
production.
Energy Star is a U.S. thing, but 3M wants to extend the buy -in worldwide, and "that's a little more
challenging," Schultz said.
The point person for all this is Gayle Schueller, 3M's vice president of global sustainability.
A physicist who began as a self-proclaimed 3M "lab rat" 20 -plus years ago, Schueller was picked to
head a 3M Center for Excellence started by CEO Inge Thullin in February 2013, focused, she says, on
"going beyond our walls, our own fenceline and taking a global approach."
In an interview on Earth Day, Schueller described her role and the company's in this endeavor.
What is meant by "sustainability" from 3M's viewpoint?
"We've always been focused on making sure that we're doing the right things. In 1975, we set up what
was then a landmark program, around what we call the `3P Program': Pollution prevention pays.
"We look at waste reduction, energy reduction, greenhouse gas emissions, water, all different types of
pollution prevention. And we track the impact of it both from a financial perspective and an
environmental perspective.
"In 2013 alone, employees implemented 252 projects, saving $8.8 million and 62,000 metric tons of
CO2.
"What we're looking for with this Center of Excellence is really helping our customers, helping them
make conscious decisions that reduce their impact or make positive impacts in the world."
By customers, do you mean the businesses that buy your industrial products?
"Absolutely, but it also extends to our consumer channels as well. We've reinvented the Post -it Note;
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Celebrating sustainability and growth, one Post -It Note at a time
reinvented Scotch Magic tape, reinvented scouring pads, all with greener and more environmentally
sustainable messaging and content.
"We've reformulated the adhesive completely, going to a plant -based adhesive, a fully renewable
material going into to our Post -it Notes, arguably the most iconic brand at 3M.
"We think about two types of approaches from a sustainability advantage: one is how we make it, and
two is how it is used."
As a global company, how have kept your sustainable commitment uniform in the face of
differing environmental regulations, for example in China?
"We are an extremely global company with operations in over 200 countries. We've been in China for
quite some time. We have a very active and engaged workforce there including a significant laboratory.
"One of the programs we have recently launched in China is all about residential water. Water is the No.
1 concern of consumers globally from a sustainability perspective, and in China it's even more dramatic
"Water is recognized as a global challenge with only local solutions."
What about on the industrial side?
"Part of our engagement is to try and understand what our customers face; what are their specific
challenges ... The three areas our team is focused on most relate to water quality, air quality and food
safety."
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