Partnership Examples
Restoring Threatened Forests in China
The mountains of southwest China are home to rare giant pandas, red pandas, golden monkeys, elusive snow leopards, more than 685 bird species, as well as 12,000 species of trees and plants. Many of these species are unique to this area, which has become one of the world's most critically threatened biodiversity hotspots. The 3M Foundation gave $3 million to Conservation International to protect endangered wildlife and restore the threatened forests. Reforestation also will help address climate change.
Putting Emission Reduction Credits to Good Use
Under U.S. environmental laws, 3M has been able to earn emission reduction credits for reducing its air emissions beyond environmental regulatory requirements. In most cases where 3M has done this, we either sold these credits and contributed the profits to environmentally beneficial projects, or contributed the emission-reduction credits themselves to state and local governments for air-quality improvements.
Over the past three years, proceeds from the sale of emission reduction credits were donated to several nonprofits, primarily in the state of Minnesota, for environmental programming. Grants were made to:
- Belwin Nature Center -- Environmental Education Dock Replacement Project
- Deep Portage Learning Center -- Birds, climate and teacher education program.
- Dodge Nature Center -- Sustainable energy education project.
- Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center -- Climate of change education program.
- EcoEducation -- Urban Environmental Education Initiative
- Harvard University -- Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard Medical School.
- Long Lake Conservation Foundation -- Biodiversity curriculum project.
- University of Minnesota Raptor Center -- Raptor learning adventures exhibit development.
- Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center -- Human connection to nature's timing curriculum development.
