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3M: New Products Will Have ‘Sustainability Value Commitment’

3M, parent company of Top 40 supplier 3M Promotional Markets (asi/91240), is making an effort to get greener in 2019 and beyond. At the United Nations Climate Change Conference this week, the Minnesota-based company said that, starting next year, every new product it makes will come with a “Sustainability Value Commitment.”

3M said that it launches approximately 1,000 new products each year. About one-third of its revenue comes from products released in the past five years. As such, should the sustainability initiative take hold for the long haul, a substantial portion of 3M products entering the market over the next decade will come with the green commitment.

In defining the Sustainability Value Commitment, 3M said it will entail new products being gauged on things like reusability, recyclability, energy, water savings, responsible sourcing, and/or renewable materials appropriate to the specific product. 3M noted the initiative includes products with a primary purpose of solving environmental or social challenges, such as improving air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing worker and patient safety. 3M said it will measure the progress and impact of its commitment and report on it annually. The eco initiative will apply to all five of 3M’s business groups: Health Care, Consumer, Electronics & Energy, Industrial and Safety & Graphics.

“As a large and diverse global science company with customers spanning many industries and global markets, we have the opportunity to make an even greater impact in sustainability,” said Gayle Schueller, 3M’s vice president and chief sustainability officer (pictured on the left).

While the Sustainability Value Commitment is new, 3M said that its focus on lessening environmental impact is not. The company pointed to its Pollution Prevention Pays program that began in 1975 and its 2025 sustainability goals that include water, climate, and energy targets as evidence of long-standing eco-mindedness. Also, for 19 consecutive years, 3M has been listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

Even so, 3M was at the center of a recent environmental lawsuit in Minnesota. Earlier this year, 3M settled with the state for $850 million – money that will go to support water quality programs.

With estimated North American promotional product revenue of $93 million, 3M Promotional Markets ranks 18th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest suppliers in the industry.