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EHS Management


Employee Health & Safety

3M's Environmental, Health and Safety Management System

3M's Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Management System promotes sound environmental management at our facilities worldwide. It helps us address changing customer needs and expectations as we continue to drive sustainable growth. The EHS Management System:


  • Builds on the strengths of our previous environmental, health and safety efforts.
  • Includes an integrated, holistic system that anticipates and addresses long-term issues and drives continuous improvement.
  • Promotes a strategic planning process that integrates EHS issues into business unit strategic plans.
  • Requires each business unit to identity EHS issues, develop formal action plans, set goals and measure results.
  • Requires a Life Cycle Management review of all new products and of existing products on a prioritized basis.

As a result of good planning and priority setting, resources can be efficiently allocated to maximize EHS improvement.


Managing EHS with Suppliers


In addition, 3M recently instituted a more formal process as part of its Sourcing Policy that sets standards for its suppliers in the areas of environmental, health and safety, transportation and labor and human resources. The new standards apply to the selection and retention of all suppliers that provide goods or services to 3M worldwide and establish a framework that 3M considers important to a safe and healthy workplace, to the maintenance of fair and reasonable labor and human resource practices, and to the management of manufacturing and distribution operations to minimize adverse impact to the environment. The 3M program integrates several assessment tools, and 3M has embarked on a program to assess key suppliers using these tools. 3M continues to explore ways to improve its supplier management program.