Vision
3M's commitment is to actively contribute to sustainable development through environmental protection, social responsibility and economic progress. To us, that means meeting the needs of society today, while respecting the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Everything we do is underpinned by our corporate values and our day-to-day actions are guided by our Business Conduct Policies.
3M India's initiatives towards Environment and Social Responsibility
3M India has 4 Manufacturing Plants in operation in India. All these plants are certified ISO 14001: 2004 for its Environmental Management System. The initiative of obtaining this certification is purely based on 3M's Environmental Policy.
At 3M, prior to launching any new product, the product is taken through a process called Life Cycle Management (LCM) which addresses the Safety, Hazard & Environmental aspects of products from concept stage upto the disposal of the product after its usage by the end consumer. LCM is a commitment on our part to protect our environment for the benefit of the communities we live and operate in. Further, each of our plants has in place a Stake Holder Engagement Plan to ensure that concerns / views of interested parties like employees, society, customers are taken care of from the point of view of environmental protection .
As part of our normal due diligence during the purchase or sale of any piece of Land / Plant in India, we engage a third party environmental consultancy service to conduct Phase 1 & Phase 2 environmental due diligence, wherein soil samples are tested to meet ASTME Standards (Global Standard for Soil Testing). We are one of the few companies in India which follows ASTME Standards for Environmental Due Diligence
Each year, on World Environment Day, we contribute to this global effort with activities such as planting of tree saplings and promoting environmental protection awareness amongst our plant employees through an exhibition van sent by the State Pollution Control Board. To observe National Safety Day, we celebrate the entire month as Safety Health Environment Month at all our manufacturing facilities. Our main objective is to promote safety, health and environment protection to our employees, their families and our local communities.
3P (Pollution Prevention Pays) is our way to engage employees to work for Green Projects like Recycling, Reuse, Reduce Recover. Employees who come up with innovative 3P Projects, aimed at protecting the environment, are recognized by the 3M India Leadership on a quarterly basis. 3M, globally, has in place a robust Environmental Health Safety (EHS) policy which has objectives related to environmental protection and to providing safer work places at all our plant locations.
At our upcoming manufacturing facility at Pune, a substantial investment has been made towards installing a Thermal Oxidizer to burn organic vapors at the highest standard thereby ensuring that there is no pollution to the ambient environment.As part of our commitment to resource conservation, we have our own Sewage Treatment Plant and follow the pollution control board norms to reuse water for gardening purposes and other miscellaneous needs. In 2007, we invested substantial funds to revamp the Sewage Treatment Plant at our Bangalore plant.
Under the 3M Restriction of Hazardous Substance Policy (3M-RoHS), a global environmental initiative on Environmental and Health Protection, we recently made investments to purchase lead free soldering equipment to support a lead free working environment which protects both our employee and the environment.
In addition, we have a number of employee welfare activities for plant employees like educational scholarships for children, emergency loans and the like. On an annual basis, office-based employees collect books, clothes, blankets and such other items and donate them to charities. In addition, 3M Clubs (a company sponsored, employee run club to promote social interaction amongst employees) present in all the major cities in India often take on projects that are of service to the under-served in our community.
