ISO 50001 Energy Management System – Case Study
Global – 56 sites

2022

3M Company
Utilizing standardization to double the size of the ISO
50001 & SEP Enterprise
Energy as a 3M Competitive Advantage

Case Study Snapshot
Industry

Manufacturing

Product/Service
Location
Energy performance improvement percentage (over theimprovement period)

Multiple
GlobalInclude a caption

4.7% improvement over 6 years

Total energy cost savings (over the improvement period)$24,000,000 USD

Cost to implement Energy Management System (EnMS)$3,936,000 USD

Total energy savings (over the improvement period)

1,758,000 GJTotal CO2-e emission reduction (over the improvementperiod)

301,000 Metric Tons

Organization Profile / Business Case
Since 3M’s founding in 1902, the company has expanded from a small-scale mining venture to an innovative global
manufacturing powerhouse with over 90,000 employees operating in 70 countries. Today, more than 60,000 3M
products are used in homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, and other industries.
3M is a global leader in environmental stewardship, driving energy and climate sustainability efforts through aholistic approach, helping improve every life. From establishing the Corporate Energy Management Department in
1973, in addition to over 40 years of setting sustainability targets, energy has always played a big part in 3M’ssustainable actions. The Energy Policy developed in 1991 incorporates energy conservation into our businesspractices, revised in 2020 to include design and procurement elements. As a result of this effort, operational costs
continue to lower, the carbon footprint is reduced, the energy supply reliability has increased, and brand image hascontinued to be strengthened. Since 2019, 3M’s sustainability goals include the requirement of a Sustainability Value
Commitment ensuring that all new products entering 3M’s new product commercialization process demonstrate how
they drive impact for the greater good. In 2021, 3M announced their commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050 infurther support of the Paris Climate Commitment.
ISO 50001/SEP for 3M – 3M’s journey with ISO 50001 began as a pilot venture with the joint support of the US
Department of Energy and Natural Resources Canada in 2011. 3M volunteered two facilities: 3M Cordova in Illinois,
US and 3M Brockville in Ontario, Canada. Growing from two sites in the pilot to now 56 sites globally that are ISO
50001 certified; 36 of which have taken the additional step to achieve SEP certification (certified by CanadianWelding Bureau/Korean Energy Agency and accredited by ANSI National Accreditation/ DQS GmbH).
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ISO 50001 Energy Management System – Case Study
Global – 56 sites

2022

In 2014, 3M developed the new corporate
sustainability goals in accordance with theUnited Nations Sustainable Development
Goals. The 2025 Climate & Energy
sustainability goals stipulate corporate
energy efficiency, renewable energy, andcarbon neutrality goals. 3M recognizes thatall three areas are interconnected –achievements made for energy efficiency will
drastically contribute to realizing renewableenergy and decarbonization goals (Figure 1).
Figure 1: 3M’s Corporate Sustainability goals and strategy for Energy & Climate“Not only has ISO 50001 brought external recognition to the company, but has also created asolid foundation internally for meeting our energy improvement goals.”— Freddie Pask, EMEA Area Energy Manager

Benefits
With the 56 certified sites combined, 3M Americas’ normalized energy performance has improved by 4.7% during theimprovement period of 2016-2021.
After a decade of standard maintenance, the Enterprise team has had the expertise necessary to build a robust andstandardized implementation plan. The team of four members consulted the existing sites to formulate a task listthat encompassed all the standard requirements and its appropriate tools. This reduced the implementation timelinefrom 18 months for the first site down to only 3-8 months, using only internal resources.
With the growth of adding 16 sites in 2020 and 12 sites in 2021, implementation costs were drastically reduced. From
spending $63k USD on the first site, where half the cost went towards certification audits and remaining towards
external staff and metering, to only $3k per site.
Enterprise Advantage – 3M’s focus is to develop aglobal enterprise model for 3M in the future. As of2022, there are two ISO 50001/SEP enterprisemodels: 3M Americas (North, Central & SouthAmerica) and 3M Germany (Figure 2). As legacy
sites recertified in the US and Canada region, theyjoined the Enterprise certification. There are now
five additional sites to be certified by the end of2022: 2 in US, 1 in Mexico and 2 in Singapore.
3M was able to expand the Enterprise quickly byFigure 2: 56 of 3M Global Sites are ISO 50001 certified amongst 3
leveraging our own trained internal auditors,Enterprise systems
having a dedicated central resource to assist with
implementation at each site, and providing
standardized tools, resources, and training material. The benefits of the enterprise-model are clear:• Commitment from Senior-level Executive Management• Centralized system for documents – Energy Policy, Energy Management System (EnMS) Procedures and Manual2

ISO 50001 Energy Management System – Case Study
Global – 56 sites2022• Sampled sites for conducting internal and external audits• Knowledge share amongst sites (reduced cost, time, and resources)• Common energy efficiency guidelines for design, procurement, and operations

Other Benefits – The EnMS system also provides benefits that extend beyond monetary gain. As stated within 3M’s
Energy Policy, continuous energy performance improvement is encouraged by employees in their work and personal
activities. ISO 50001 and SEP provides a structured platform to make this possible. Additionally, our customers valueand commend our commitment to sustainability, improving customer satisfaction and brand image.

PlanIn early 2000, an EnMS for 3M was modelled by Georgia Institute of Technology and deployed across all 3M global
sites. The model included a dedicated corporate energy team coordinating with local energy leaders at each facility.
The central function provides awareness training,
employee reward programs, and resources for energy“Thanks to the EnMS and ISO 50001, we’vesaving projects, instilling an energy-conscious culture atformed a unified team that recognizes the3M. These existing structures became the backbone forimportance of directing, managing, andISO 50001 and instituted a rigid EnMS. For the first few
improving energy efficiency and has led tosites certified, third-party resources propelled theimplementation process until 3M had the necessary tools
an increased awareness of energy as aand procedures built.
topic within all of our plants.”—Jose Solis, LATAM Energy Manager
The Energy Review process is completed at each site andidentifies their significant energy uses. Most 3M sites
have electrical metering at the sub-station level as well for large natural gas consumers. Metering and monitoringsystems allow sites to identify inefficient processes, and plant baseloads which then lead to recognizing operational
control projects, optimization projects and equipment upgrades.

Once there are identified projects and opportunities for improvement in the energy hopper, 3M evaluates forfinancial and technical feasibility. Resources for implementation upon selection are allocated by local facilities. Local
utilities and other incentive programs reduce the simple payback, making these projects more attractive. Should theenergy-related project meet the cost-benefit requirements of the dedicated Centrally Coordinate Investment (CCI)
Fund, 3M is able to provide additional support and resources to the site.
The ISO 50001 certified sites demonstrate continuous energy efficiency improvements over the five-year
improvement period. The realized savings and sustainability goal alignment from our ISO 50001 certified sites
continue to fortify Top Management commitment for the EnMS across the organization. In 2020, 3M’s VP in
Enterprise Operations mandated that all sites contributing to 85% of global energy consumption to be certified to ISO
50001 by 2025. As of 2022, 3M has certified 67% of these sites and continues to expand over the coming years.

Do, Check, and Act
Building channels to share information and maintain consistent communication ensures that 3M achieves ourcorporate sustainability goals. Standardization of tools and resources sets 3M up for success.
The Energy Teams – Forming a concrete structure to involve individuals from top management to operators allows
3M to easily coordinate ISO 50001 implementation. Figure 3 outlines the key cross-functional teams involved in theEnterprise. Site-level energy teams typically include an Energy Leader, Plant Leadership Committee Members,Engineering/ Maintenance and personnel, LSS Black Belts, Environmental, Health & Safety Representatives, andOperators.
3ISO 50001 Energy Management System – Case Study
Global – 56 sites

2022
3M reviews the Strategic Energy
Management Plan annually toprioritize programs and meetglobal goals, utilizing input fromstakeholders, including executive
management, manufacturingdirectors, and the energy teams.
The goals include to continually
improve results, leverageengineering expertise, drive sitelevel efficiency improvements,and continue top management support.

Figure 3: Hierarchical Representation of Energy Management TeamsEnergy Performance Derivation and Validation – 3M measures energy performance utilizing three key factors:
measured energy use normalized for weather, production, and/or occupancy; energy savings from energy projects
implemented; and the effectiveness of the EnMS. These factors are included on the energy dashboard for eachfacility and are part of each site’s management review.

Figure 4: Corporate quarterly energy dashboard for global sites

The baseline year for energy modelling is 2015 with atimeframe of 1 year (the reporting period is from 2016 to2021). RETScreen Expert energy modelling software provide
a top-down verification, while a bottom-up approach isused to tabulate savings through completion of energy
actions. SEP Measurement and Verification Protocol andIPMVP international standard is used to verify energy
performance. The effectiveness of the EnMS is measured bycompleting an EnMS scorecard at each site. The EnMS isevaluated during top management reviews, internal audits,
quarterly corporate reporting (Figure 4), and monthly teammeetings.

Projects and Actions – As a site’s EnMS matures and the low-hanging fruit are addressed, the local energy team will
host Energy Treasure (Kaizen) Hunts to identify unique opportunities, from operational controls to more unique
CAPEX projects. 3M recognizes that most of the energy is used for process and space heating. Therefore, the focus
for projects have been around chillers, boilers, steam systems and process equipment.
••••• Investigating adsorption chillers and nonchemical treatment for cooling towers• Improving the building envelope efficiency• DC to AC motor conversions and drive upgrades• Continue lighting retrofit upgrades to metal
halide and high-pressure sodium lights

Subscribing to steam trap monitoring services
Li-ion batteries for material handling equipment
Optimizing controls in manufacturing processes
Upgrading end-of-life infrastructure to energyefficient technologies

Renewable Energy – Establishing sources for renewable energy including purchased power agreements and 3M
owned on-site generation has been in focus for the last several years. 3M has surpassed the goal for 2020 of 25% by
providing 47.6% of global electricity from renewable sources in 2021, and plan to achieve our goal of 50% by 2025
ahead of schedule.
Operational Control – Documentation systems such as the Energy Corrective Action/Preventative Action (EnCAPA),
the EnMS manual, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), and associated checklists guide our energy program with4

ISO 50001 Energy Management System – Case Study
Global – 56 sites

2022

continuous improvement in mind. 3M strives to adopt engineering and administrative controls in addition to energy
projects. Examples include ensuring preventative maintenance is compliant for significant energy uses andestablishing 3M-wide standardized 12hr, 24hr, and 48hr shutdown checklists for trained personnel.
Communication – Sites utilize a plethora of avenues to motivate employees, increase awareness, and promoteengagement such as energy bulletin boards, employee badge informational cards, layered process audits, poster
campaigns, leak detection tags, energy treasure hunts, quarterly energy newsletters, annual Earth Day celebrations,energy fairs, and lunch-n-learn activities. At each site, there is an employee suggestion system integrated to the Lean
Six Sigma Tier board process.
The Enterprise team provides energy and ISO 50001/SEP awareness training for new employees and site visitors, and2-year refresher training for existing employees. The Corporate Energy Team provides online webinars, quarterly
newsletters, and energy dashboards to show progress towards our corporate energy goals and introduce emerging
technologies to the site energy leaders. Top management provides support through promoting different initiatives
like presenting ISO 50001 certification during company-wide meetings.

Figure 5: Threshold requirements forenergy metering

Energy Manual 81: Energy Design Requirements and Guidelines –Consideration for energy has been integrated in our design and procurement
activities through the implementation of an award-winning 3M Energy
Manual 81 released in January 2021. This manual prescribes best practices
and guidelines for common workspaces, utilities and process systems found at3M. Manual 81 also requires metering installments for new equipment
exceeding specific thresholds (see Figure 5). The sourcing standard also
stipulates that 3M is committed to increasing energy and resource efficiency
in manufacturing and supply chain. It is also communicated to our supplierson the 3M Supplier Direct website.

Process Integration and Dashboarding – With the COVID19 pandemic and meetings going online, 3M sites aroundthe globe increased their focus on energy dashboarding
and making energy visible. The local teams have broughtprocess variable data from 3M systems and otherrequired data to build energy performance indicators andnormalized site models into Microsoft Power BI (Figure6)/Grafana software dashboards.
Tools & Resources –3M’s has adopted many changes overthe decade-long ISO 50001 journey to integrate the EnMS
Figure 6: Energy goals road mapping dashboard
into the business practices. It was of benefit to leverage
existing corporate tools and resources for ISO 50001
implementation. This includes the Management of Change (MOC) processes, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 systems, andour corporate energy data and project databases. An Enterprise-wide SharePoint system was developed to house theEnMS tools & resources, providing easy access and document control. The 3M-developed Energy Review andPlanning Tool (ERPT), Site Energy Data System, and Energy Cost Reduction Projects (ECRP) are key to maintaining theEnMS.
Peer-to-Peer Group – As legacy sites adopted to the new IOS 50001:2018 standard and onboarding sites were lacking
experience in managing the ISO 50001 EnMS. In response, the Enterprise team created an Microsoft Teams “ISO5ISO 50001 Energy Management System – Case Study
Global – 56 sites

2022

50001/SEP Help Room” as a platform to connect the Enterprise site energy leaders, exchange challenges and bestpractices, and introduce new technologies for early adoption. This also helps the Enterprise team recognize emerging
gaps in the EnMS and address them through bi-weekly meetings.

Transparency
Our Energy Policy is proudly presented at the entrance of our buildings alongside Quality, Health and Safety, andEnvironmental policies. 3M’s progress and success stories are published in annual sustainability reports and isrepresented though numerous awards and organizations:••

RE100; CE100; Water Resilience Coalition – corporate partner
Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) – Award of Excellence in Energy Management for Corporate (2019); NationalAward for Canada (2019); Corporate Insight Award for US and Canada Enterprise (2021)• US DOE Better Plants – Challenge and Low Carbon Pilot Corporate Partner; 2021 Better Project Award: Steam
Trap Monitoring (3M Brookings); 2022 Better Practice Award: Manual 81 (Corporate)• Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) – founding member of AEE (1977); presented at multiple East, West andGlobal conferences, reaching large audiences annually• Dow Jones Sustainability Index – 3M included for 19 consecutive years (1999-2018)• Carbon Disclosure Project – ranking A- in climate change for 2016; ranking B in climate change for 2021
• Pilot program for The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) – in collaboration with Natural Resources
Canada, Canada Brockville PSD, US Cottage Grove & Mexico SLP sites participated as part of Clean Energy
Ministerial• BASF Canada – 2022 Customer Sustainability Awards Programme• Energy Efficiency National Partnership (EENP) – Best Practices Award (3M Singapore Tuas, 2019)
International Energy Agency (IEA), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Energy Workshops, Singapore
Manufacturing Federation (SMF) and Singapore
National Environment Agency – present EnMS
“ISO 50001 was one of the core elements of 3Ms
success stories for 3M’s key accounts

What We Can Do Differently
Things 3M would has done differently with theEnMS implementation and maintenance:
••
•
•••
•

energy management roadmap. We envisaged
benefits by operationalizing it for impact tosustainability metrics, improve competitivenessthrough lower costs, and raise employee
awareness on efficient energy usage. We arereaping its benefits.”

Standardize processes and systems early
on to make implementation easier—Ranjit Thakur, Global Disruptive Technology & Energy
Implement a dedicated energy/Management Leader
sustainability role at the high energyintensity manufacturing sites
Establish metering capabilities to better understand real-time site energy consumption
Early implementation of ISO 50001 at high energy-intensity sites to advance the corporate targets
Continuously collaborate with internal groups such as corporate engineering, facilities, and Environmental,Health and Safety groups to integrate energy into existing processes
Early development of an Energy Manual to include best practices and standardized company guidelines
Explore different methods to secure funding for energy and sustainability projects

Strengthening the Enterprise system for ISO 50001 and SEP has built a strong foundation for the 3M sites to achieve
their individual goals that ultimately supports the corporate energy targets. In sharing these best practices and lesson
learned, 3M hopes to grow together towards a sustainable future.
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