Clean water is elemental and essential for life. And meeting increasing global water demand with a diminishing supply is one of the world’s most pressing issues. We continue to work toward reducing our water consumption and toward releasing fewer pollutants in the water.
We’ve been reducing the release of pollutants into water systems for more than three decades through our Pollution Prevention Pays (3P) program. In addition, certain wastewater receives a high degree of treatment to reduce its environmnetal impact, and we continually invest in projects and equipment that will make our wastwater clearner still.
In general, our production processes are not water intensive. However, we recognize that water use is an important global issue. That’s why we launched a formal program to track and manage water use on a corporate level in 2005. We’re working to reduce our water consumption through recycling and improvements to our buildings and manufacturing processes.
In 2010, we set a new goal to develop water conservation plans for 3M facilities when they are located in water scarce and stressed areas. Last year we developed plans for all of our locations in those areas.
In 2007, employees in Sumare, Brazil, implemented a project to reduce water use by nearly 16 million gallons of water and $200,000 annually by using a reverse osmosis process to treat and reuse wastewater.
Transforming Wastewater
3M India’s Bangalore facility treats its wastewater on-site and uses the sanitized water to irrigate its grounds. Doing so reduces the facility’s water use by 1.5 million gallons annually and cuts water costs by half.
Removes up to 72% more dirt and water than other traditional carpet matting, helping to improve overall interior appearance, extending life of floor surfaces, reducing interior maintenance cost, and helping to reduce costly slip-and-fall accidents, not only near entrances but within building interiors as well.
