3M Canada has become the first organization in Canada to receive ISO 50001 Enterprise Level Certification as part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, including energy management initiatives to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse emissions.
This milestone was achieved after two more 3M Canada facilities received their ISO 50001 certifications earlier this year – a manufacturing plant in Morden, Manitoba (the first ISO 50001 certification in the province) and a commercial building in Montreal, Quebec – joining four other 3M Canada facilities already certified.
“The enterprise certification allows us to better coordinate the various energy management initiatives we already had in place that are helping us significantly reduce our energy use and the effects on the environment,” said Andrew Hejnar, energy manager at 3M Canada. “ISO 50001 ensures that we have a very structured system in place that touches all aspects of our operations and allows us to replicate good ideas from one facility to the others.”
Early adopter
3M was an early adopter of the ISO 50001 standard, with its Brockville, Ontario tape plant receiving one of the first certifications in North America, along with Superior Energy Performance (SEP) platinum certification, in 2011. Since then, 3M Canada facilities in London, Ontario and Perth, Ontario have also been ISO 50001 certified, while the company’s Personal Safety Division plant in Brockville is expected to achieve ISO 50001 and SEP certification early next year.
“It’s through initiatives like ISO 50001 and SEP certification that 3M can achieve its ambitious global sustainability objectives,” said Richard Chartrand, executive director of energy and electronics business group and executive sponsor, sustainability. “The energy management systems we develop and use will play a large part in reaching our goal of reducing our energy consumption by three per cent a year over each of the next 10 years, which means an overall reduction of 30 per cent by 2025.”
Certification benefits
Hejnar notes that facilities which have implemented ISO 50001 have achieved energy savings that are, on average, 25 per cent greater than other 3M facilities with energy management systems but are no certification. In the case of the Brockville tape plant, energy costs were reduced by $350,000 in the first two years after certification.
“Everyone at every level in the company undergoes basic energy management training as part of ISO 50001, so we all understand we have a role to play in helping 3M be even more energy efficient and a greener corporate citizen,” said Hejnar.
