Global energy management system implementation: 3M case study

Having had a corporate energy management program in place for many years, 3M recognized that the project by project approach to managing energy could be improved. In 2002, 3M developed a new approach using concepts from the EPA Energy Star™ Guidelines for Energy Management and the Management System for Energy (MSE 2000) program that had been developed by Georgia Tech. Energy champions and energy teams were established at each major facility with guidance for their roles and responsibilities provided through the corporate energy management group.

3M developed an internal program to recognize facilities that had successfully implemented the new approach and met corporate goals for improved energy performance. The concept of being able to offer certification and recognition from a reputable third party led 3M to participate in the development of the ISO 50001 and 500021 standards through an industry collaborative led by the U.S. Department of Energy. 3M facilities were among the first to pilot the new programs and 3M continues to include ISO certification as one of the strategies to achieve corporate energy goals.

The 3M facilities that are presently certified to ISO 50001 and ISO 50021 have improved energy performance 10.5% over the past three years, exceeding corporate goals. These facilities have saved 700,000 million Btu of energy from being used and 104,000 metric tons of CO2e from being emitted. The average energy cost savings at each of these facilities was greater than $1 million USD.