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3M and the environmental group ForestEthics were at loggerheads for years over 3M's use of clear-cut, old-growth logging to get paper for Post-it notes and other products.


ForestEthics even stuck big yellow "Post-it Destroys Forest" notes on cars of 3M employees parked at the company's Maplewood headquarters during 2014 protests and had an airplane tow a "3M Do the Right Thing For Forests" banner over Target Field in Minneapolis during Major League Baseball All-Star Game festivities.


Then last year the company and the group 

. Among its promises, 3M agreed not to use paper from sensitive forests that contain endangered species in places like Brazil and Indonesia.


It was a victory for ForestEthics, which had pressured 3M since 2009 charging the company's suppliers used practices that destroyed important forests around the world and violated human rights. But the deal also gave a boost to 3M's standing among environmental groups. ForestEthics praises 3M now for starting down a path of "respecting human rights and doing real sustainability" in paper and pulp.


The deal also showed how environmentalists and corporations can find middle ground in the battles over business practices and values. Many companies swear sustainability is part of their culture, but increasingly they're being called out on it. 3M and other companies are finding that good things can come from that kind of pressure. 


"We were impressed that our values were well aligned," Gayle Schueller, 3M's vice president of global sustainability, said of ForestEthics. "They were instrumental in helping us with messaging and they helped us with our pulp and paper policy."


Most companies appear to be making good faith sustainability efforts, even without the pressure of government regulations, said Alfred Marcus, a University of Minnesota business professor who recently wrote a book about sustainability in the fuel and food industries. Part of the motivation stems from reputation, if not the bottom line.


"I think it's something every company has to address, companies of any reputational standing in the world today," Marcus said.


Still, he said consumers and watchdogs should examine the depth and sincerity of initiatives and "be a little bit skeptical but encouraging."


At General Mills, sustainability goals extend beyond its offices to its business partners. The Golden Valley-based food maker plans to reduce not only the company's own greenhouse gas emissions but those of the farmers, truckers and other businesses the food maker deals with.  


General Mills recently announced it will invest more than $100 million in energy efficiency and clean energy within its own facilities worldwide. That's a significant but not a huge sum for a company with about $17.5 billion in annual sales.


"We got to do our part to make sure that Mother Nature continues to provide what we need," said Jerry Lynch, the company's chief sustainability officer. "Our consumers and customers they want to make sure they're buying from companies who take this seriously."


Sustainability initiatives often have a clear economic payoff, too, Lynch added. More efficient transportation, for instance, not only reduces greenhouse gases but saves money.


General Mills is also tapping into the organic food movement, including sourcing products from an additional 250,000 acres of organic production globally by 2020. Last fall, the company bought Annie's, a rapidly growing natural and organic food company.


Richfield-based Best Buy has recycled more than 1 billion pounds of consumer electronics since 2009. Meanwhile, the consumer electronics retailer monitors products for the presence of minerals illegally sourced and traded by armed groups responsible for human rights violations. And Target has been working with Walmart to get beauty and personal care products manufacturers to reduce waste and packaging and address the effect chemicals in such products on health and the environment. 

Few companies likely face as many sustainability issues as Cargill, from child labor in third-world countries to animal welfare in the U.S. The Twin Cities-based agri-business giant operates in 68 countries and has annual sales of about $120 billion. 


Many of Cargill's customers look to it to be a partner in sustainability, said Mark Murphy, Cargill's top executive for corporate responsibility and sustainability.


In August, the company said it aims to be the most trusted source of sustainable products and services. Cargill has committed to supplying eggs from cage-free chickens and pork from pigs free of gestation cages. 

The company has also pledged to eventually end deforestation across its agricultural supply chain. Last November, the environmental group Rainforest Action Network praised Cargill's stand on deforestation. But now the group says Cargill isn't taking the actions to fulfill its promises. Cargill disagrees.


Confrontations with companies can often be initially caustic but most do want to do the right thing, said Eddie Scher, a spokesperson for ForestEthics.


"With just about every company we work with us, well-intentioned people take seriously our concerns from the minute we reach out to them," he said. "And in very large companies, people from across the board correct things to change behaviors companies have on sustainability."


Sustainability is part of running a business well and should put a company at an advantage, not disadvantage, noted 3M's Schuler.


"The sustainability, the environmental piece, the social piece and economic can all come together," she said.

Business and Economic News

Martin Moylan

Author

Many companies swear sustainability is part of their culture, though those claims are increasingly likely to be questioned. 3M and other companies are finding good things can come from that pressure.

Companies pushed to go green find sustainability pays off

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