(Photo: 3M’s global headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota. Credit: 3M)[/caption]
3M has committed to transition to 100% renewable electricity at all their facilities worldwide, starting with global headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota. In addition, 3M joined the RE100 initiative and set an interim target to source at least 50% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
To reach their goal, the company formed a partnership with energy provider Xcel Energy, which is based in Minneapolis. 3M is the largest company in Xcel Energy Inc.’s service area across eight Western and Midwestern states to aim for 100% renewable electricity, according to the utility.
The global manufacturing and technology company’s global headquarters in St. Paul is a 409-acre campus that has around 12,000 employees spread across 30 buildings and research labs. 3M says that most power for this location will be supplied by Xcel wind farms near Pipestone, Minnesota, about 200 miles away. The rest will come from solar sources and other wind projects in Xcel’s Windsource program for businesses.
Moving to renewable energy is part of the company’s focus on science for climate with the aim of finding ways to decarbonize industry, accelerating global climate solutions, and improving their own environmental footprint.
3M also joined the RE100 initiative, which is led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP. Since launching in 2014, the initiative now has 166 members. A report from RE100 in consultation with Capgemini published last fall found that members are more profitable than their peers. The difference was significant.
Helen Clarkson, CEO of The Climate Group, applauded 3M’s commitment. “Seeing such a large manufacturer commit to ‘go all in’ on renewables to produce sustainable new products is an encouraging step forward,” she said. “By joining RE100 and switching to 100% renewable electricity globally, 3M is building sustainability into its business growth strategy and showing the two go hand-in-hand.”
Globally, the company has 93,000 employees and $33 billion in sales.
The 4th Annual Environmental Leader & Energy Manager Conference takes place May 13 – 15, 2019 in Denver. Learn more here.
