3M (NYSE: MMM) will highlight the unique challenges and opportunities manufacturers face in combatting climate change in a candid conversation with global peers at the Conference of the Parties (COP26) on Wednesday, Nov. 10 from 2:00-3:30pm GMT. The event will take place within the United Nations Climate Change (UNFCCC) pavilion as part of its new strategic partnership with 3M. In addition to featuring insights from international sustainability leaders, the conversation will be moderated by Sally Uren, CEO of Forum of the Future, a leading international sustainability nonprofit. The discussion will be available for live and post-event public viewing on UNFCCC’s YouTube channel.
“Through our established commitments, global manufacturing footprint and technology solutions, 3M is helping to drive positive impact on climate change—impact that we can further expand and amplify through connections at COP26 and our new partnership with UNFCCC,” said Gayle Schueller, 3M Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. “By working with the UNFCCC and across its partnership network, we can share our insights as well as our challenges, emphasizing there is no singular approach to addressing climate change and encouraging new peers to join us in working toward a more sustainable future.”
Laszlo Svinger, Vice President and Managing Director at 3M Middle East & Africa said: “As a science company that strongly believes in the power of partnership in shaping a greater tomorrow, we are committed to working collaboratively with public and private sectors to make a positive impact on climate change. In Middle East & Africa, we will leverage our partnership with UNFCCC in addition to local partnerships to realize our sustainability ambition.”
3M will work with the UNFCCC and its partnership network to drive collective action on climate change, social and environmental responsibility, and the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs).Following COP26, 3M and UNFCCC will collaborate on engagements at key global climate events for the next three years.
Earlier this year, 3M announced it plans to invest $1 billion over the next 20 years to accelerate its environmental goals, including new commitments to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, reduce water use 25% by 2030, enhance the quality of water returned to the environment after use in manufacturing, and reduce use of virgin fossil-based plastic by 125 million pounds(nearly 56,700 metric tons)by 2025. To help advance these goals, 3M has set interim targets to reduce water use 10% by 2022 and 20% by 2025, and decrease its carbon emissions 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2040(using 2019 as a baseline). 3Mhas a strong history of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and recently achieved Scope 1 and 2 absolute emissions levels that are more than 70% below a 2002 baseline. While continuing to drive immediate progress on these and its other existing sustainability commitments, 3M looks to broaden its positive impact through cross-sector collaboration at COP26 and its partnership with UNFCCC.
Last week, 3M, in collaboration with the American Chamber of Commerce in Dubai (AmCham Dubai), hosted an exclusive conference titled ‘Sustainability: The Business of Saving the World’, featuring a series of insightful discussions at the USA Pavilion in the Opportunity District of Expo 2020. The event, which brought several sustainability and industry experts together, focused on scaling public and private sector cross-collaboration towards a more sustainable future, and is currently supporting 3M’s efforts around climate change.
For more information on 3M’s ongoing efforts to improve the environment, visit 3M.com/sustainability.