3M, the global firm known for its innovative products (more than 60000 products worldwide) has windmills powering 3M at e-city! It has a manufacturing unit located at e-city. At their Bangalore factory, 85% of the power is procured through windmills – a clean energy source that is wheeled from Gangarakatte Village, Shikaripura Taluk, Shimoga District and distributed through BESCOM Grid. This power does not require any new infrastructure in their e-city campus. The power is supplied through the current BESCOM Infrastructure. This has helped them in reducing the Carbon Footprint of the site.

The unit is focused on including sustainability of energy, waste, and water in every aspect of their operation and processes. 3M works on projects involving waste minimization, reduction in air emission, water use reduction, waste-water reduction, energy conservation, GHG emission reduction through 3P Project.

3P stands for ‘Pollution Prevention Pays’ – the program has been preventing pollution and saving 3M money for over 40 years, by eliminating or reducing sources of pollution in 3M products and processes. The program has been recognized the world over for its innovation in environmental management by focusing on pollution prevention, rather than pollution control. This prevention approach has become a standard practice at 3M. The company is engaged in a continuing effort to eliminate pollution at the source through product reformulation, process modification, equipment redesign, recycling and the recovery of waste materials for resale. These efforts are generally the result of employees that view pollution prevention as a personal responsibility rather than a job requirement.

Bangalore comes under water stressed areas which requires them to have water conservation projects to educate employees on water conservation. In-house sewage treatment unit treats waste-water from the canteen and the same is treated and reused back in chillers and for flushing. These projects have helped in reducing the water consumption by 42% in 2014.

Solid waste generated at the factory is baled into cubic blocks and sent to a cement kiln for co-processing which has resulted in reduction of HSD consumption by 90% and Carbon emission by 85%. Landfill material reduced by 62% and till date 500 MT has been sent to cement kilns for co-processing , thereby supporting cement industry as well in reducing their fossil fuel consumption.

An important point to note: No disposables are used anywhere in the campus and disposables have been replaced with steel utensils which is also economical.