Management System

3M's Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Management System promotes sound environmental management at our facilities worldwide. It helps us address changing customer needs and expectations as we continue to drive sustainable growth. The EHS Management System:

• includes an integrated, holistic system that anticipates and addresses long-term issues and drives continuous improvement
• promotes a strategic planning process that integrates EHS issues into business unit strategic plans
• requires each business unit to identify EHS issues, develop formal action plans, set goals and measure results
• requires a Life Cycle Management review of all new products and of existing products on a prioritised basis.

Environmental Targets for 2010

As a part of the EHS Management System, 3M's corporate-wide Environmental Targets 2010 take over where year 2005 environmental achievements left off. These assume a much broader approach to addressing environmental issues. The corporate environmental targets are stretch goals directed at reducing our environmental impact on top of significant progress already made

Global Five Year Targets 2006-2010
(Based on Year 2005 and normalised to net sales):

• 20 per cent reduction in waste
• 25 per cent reduction in volatile organic compounds
• 20 per cent reduction in energy consumption
• Double the target for Pollution Prevention Pays (3P) projects from the previous five year period of 400 projects to 800. 

Life Cycle Management

An integral part of the new EHS Management System is Life Cycle Management (LCM). Instead of only focusing on the manufacturing process to control environmental, health, safety and energy effects, the spotlight is now on products throughout their entire life cycle, from manufacturing through customer use and disposal. 3M has adopted a Life Cycle Management Policy requiring all business units to conduct LCM reviews for all new products and to conduct LCM reviews on existing products on a prioritised basis. LCM reviews of all existing products must be completed by 2010.

ISO Certification

Eight UK and Ireland manufacturing sites are accredited to the voluntary international ISO 14001 Environmental Management System standard: Atherstone, Aycliffe, Bangor, Bedford, Clitheroe, Gorseinon and Loughborough.