HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – October 11, 2023 – 3M demonstrated a collaborative pilot program for water-stressed ponds and direct air capture technology at Climate Week in New York. In a series of engagements, the company explained how its science is driving climate innovation and advancing the improvement of its own operational footprint.
“At 3M, we recognize the urgency of delivering scalable climate solutions across diverse industries,” said Dr. Gayle Schueller, 3M senior vice president and chief sustainability officer. “Climate Week NYC gives us the platform to develop and strategize alongside other climate champions, prioritizing how we can accelerate the implementation of science-based solutions to this pressing global issue .
At UNGA’s CEO Water Mandate half-day corporate water management event on Wednesday, September 20, Dr. Schueller discussed 3M’s participation in the company’s first pilot program. Net Positive Water Impact (NPWI) for the Water Resilience Coalition (WRC). The company will collaborate to reduce water stress in target basins across three dimensions: availability (quantity), quality and access, applying learnings from the NPWI pilot workshop it held during World Water Week in August. The WRC program will also evaluate how best to assess the NPWI, informing a guidance document that will be published in January 2024 and made available for businesses around the world to implement.
“The Water Resilience Coalition’s Net Positive Water Impact program will provide critical information for our work in 100 priority water-stressed basins around the world, and the resulting guidance documents will help expand global adoption of our ambitions,” said André Villaça Ramalho, Water Resilience. Coalition Coordinator. “As a leading member, 3M provides critical support and expertise to the coalition, accelerating measurable watershed outcomes and building long-term water resilience.
Accelerating 3M’s global reduction in water consumption
The NPWI pilot program builds on work within 3M to reduce overall water consumption (aiming for a 25% reduction by 2030) and return higher quality water to the environment after use in the framework of operations. 3M is accelerating progress toward these goals through process improvements and installing new technologies and has achieved a 16.8% reduction in water consumption by the end of 2022 (compared to 2019 levels ).
“3M is proud of our global leadership in innovating new ways to apply science to accelerate our environmental commitments,” Schueller said. “With the expertise of 3M scientists and the company’s continued investment, we will maintain momentum toward our water goals at our facilities and empower others to do the same, including through collaboration with global partners like WRC.
Introducing climate innovation at Climate Week New York
In addition to the CEO Water Mandate event, 3M spent Climate Week in New York highlighting new developments in key areas of climate innovation, including direct air capture (DAC) technology, and bring together stakeholders from across sectors to discuss how materials science can accelerate climate solutions.
On Wednesday, September 20, 3M presented Svante Technologies, Inc. (Svante) at the Nest Climate Campus. Cory Sauer, global head of carbon capture at 3M, shares the stage with Claude Letourneau, president and CEO of Svante, to discuss how the two companies are accelerating the development and scalability of DAC solutions, which can trap carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere and sequester it. he. In collaboration with Svante, the global leader in solid sorbent carbon capture and removal, 3M is developing a proprietary material called Sorbents-on-a-Roll (SOAR). Sheets of this nanoengineered material must be stacked in parallel layers in Svante’s carbon removal filters.
3M is currently ramping up its production of SOAR material, which will enable this material to be incorporated into filters for DAC field testing in 2024. Leveraging each company’s capabilities, including 3M’s ability to produce technology of advanced filtration at scale, 3M and Svante believe this will be the case. It is possible to capture millions of tonnes of CO2 from various DAC installations around the world.
At its own facilities, 3M is strengthening its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. 3M’s greenhouse gas emissions are down 79% from 2002 levels, including a 38% decrease from at 2019 levels. One driver of this progress is the company’s accelerated transition to renewable energy. The company has committed to using 100% renewable electricity in its operations by 2050 and has reached 51.9% by the end of 2022, well ahead of initial forecasts.
On Thursday, September 21, 3M hosted a dialogue at the Fast Company Innovation Festival on the opportunity to scale climate solutions across industries. The session focused on technologies needed for climate mitigation and adaptation – but currently overlooked – and where and how to achieve meaningful implementation of these technologies on a global scale. Understanding that achieving net zero emissions will require profound economic transformation and global collaboration, 3M convenes a panel of influential leaders on the topic, including:
Dr. Gayle Schueller, 3M Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer
Dr Jonathan Foley, Executive Director of Project Drawdown
Kani Keita, director of TPG Rise Climate
Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
To learn more about 3M’s commitments to climate innovation and how 3M solutions improve lives around the world, visit www.3M.com/ESG.
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