Procedures
3M’s Sustainability Report, Scope & Profile
Report Scope
3M develops its Sustainability Report on an annual basis. This report was
published in 2009 and contains data collected over 2008 (from January 1, 2008
through December 31, 2008). The most recent previous Sustainability Report was
published in 2008 and contained data relating to 3M’s operations in 2007. 3M’s
report is a global report including all 3M-owned manufacturing locations and
leased facilities worldwide, including joint ventures and partially owned
subsidiaries where we have operational control. 3M reports information on these
sources on an “operational control basis”—reporting the full data on the
entities when the 3M possess operational control. 3M does not include outsourced
manufacturing locations in its Sustainability Report. The social metrics
included in the report relate to all 3M employees. All data discussed in the
report is global data. However, in some instances, data is not available on a
global basis. When this is the case, the scope of the data is identified within
the report content.
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Base Year & Other Adjustment
3M generally does not adjust its base year data to reflect changes in 3M’s
organizational structure when tracking environmental metrics. As a result, 3M
sets environmental targets that are normalized or indexed to production (i.e.
lbs emitted / dollar sales) to ensure the environmental progress we report
publicly is not unduly influenced by changes to our organizational structure.
However, in the case of our greenhouse gas emissions data, 3M follows the
World Resource Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s GHG Protocol.
Consequently, we readjust our greenhouse gas emissions base year data in the
case of business acquisitions and divestitures.
3M adjusts base year data when tracking social metrics.
In every case, 3M adjusts base year and other years’ data if data-collection methods change or data errors are identified. Any significant changes in the measurement methods and /or data values applied to key environmental and social information from previous years are documented within the report’s content. Significant changes are defined by 3M’s sustainability report as changes greater than 3% of the original data point. In the case of minor changes (changes less than 3% of the original data point), the data point is modified to reflect the minor changes in measurement method or data.
In addition, in 2005, 3M adopted a new definition of waste to drive the company’s waste reduction efforts towards more sustainable solutions, such as pollution prevention. Please see the Reducing Waste section of the report for more information on this change.
In 2007, data entry errors were identified at four 3M manufacturing facilities through internal and external auditing. The correction of these errors led to a 5.8% increase in 3M’s 2006 reported VOC emissions and a 1.2% increase in the company’s reported waste generation. In 2008, there were no significant changes to 3M’s sustainability data.
3M’s annual report and investor relations web site documents any changes to financial data. Several of 3M’s environmental goals are normalized per dollar sales. 3M does not adjust sales data for inflation.
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Report Profile
3M applies the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) reporting principles
whenever possible. Any deviations from these principles are documented in the
GRI Content Index.
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Further Information
Further information concerning 3M’s sustainability reporting can be
obtained by contacting 3M Corporate Public Relations at
1-888-3M HELPS(1-888-364-3577) or through the Web.
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