3M is an American multinational conglomerate that offers solutions that contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The company took part in the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh to showcase its solutions to help its customers drive the systemic change needed to advance climate solutions and adapt to a changing environment.
Daily News Egypt interviewed Maxime Bureau — 3M’s Director of Government Affairs and Sustainability in Europe and MENA — to find out more about the company’s role and its participation at the conference.
Can you elaborate on 3M’s activities and your participation at the CO27?
3M is one of the world’s largest science and technology companies that believes science helps create a brighter world for everyone. By unlocking the power of people, ideas, and science to reimagine what’s possible, 3M’s global team uniquely addresses the opportunities and challenges of customers, communities, and the planet.
3M operates across nearly every global industry; our products are used by billions worldwide and are at the heart of global action to reduce CO2 emissions.
We offer solutions that contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, provide scientific expertise to help our customers achieve their own sustainability goals, and act as a vital partner to the UNFCCC. All of this provides us with the opportunity to collaborate with others to make an impact, and our purpose, promise, and passion make us committed to leveraging the COP27 to do so.
What is your take on the successful completion of the COP27?
As a globally diverse, material science company, our aim is to achieve carbon neutrality across our entire business by 2050. Besides adapting to innovative scientific capabilities across industries, the collaboration between public and private sectors is important to drive climate change innovation and create a more sustainable future, which is why we were so excited to be a part of the COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh this year.
The event was one-of-a-kind and very well organised. We look forward to furthering conversations such as this with our customers and stakeholders as we head towards the COP28 scheduled to take place in the UAE in 2023.
What was the significance of the COP27?
As the world begins to experience the widespread impact of climate change increasingly each day, 3M is providing solutions to help its customers drive the systemic change needed to advance climate solutions and adapt to a changing environment.
We are pleased that science is a key focus at the COP27 this year. We are passionate about unlocking the power of people, ideas, and science to reimagine what’s possible.
While climate change requires a multi-faceted approach, we firmly believe that science underpins many solutions for achieving a cleaner, greener, decarbonised world.
Without the efforts of the UNFCCC and events like the COP, powerful cross-industry discussions may not take place. These need to happen to shine light on the major issues and push for answers and actions. To be able to collaborate in the way that a platform such as COP provides, we are looking to perform alchemy. Humans working with humans will build the right path together— a path based on math.
What do you think of the Egyptian organisation of the activities of this summit?
It’s great to see the world reunite in the fight against climate change, and we thank the Egyptian authorities for providing the platform. We champion the need for science-based innovation to address climate change and conserve energy, and we are pleased that science is a key focus at the COP27 this year in Egypt.
Over the last week, there have been valuable conversations on the ground on the potential climate crisis and its urgency. In light of this, we have seen companies directing themselves toward collaboration and several other initiatives, reaffirming their commitment to the global climate agenda.
The public and private sectors must act urgently to innovate. In Egypt, we have seen governments, businesses, civil society groups, and others pushing and forging ahead towards greater progress.
What are the proposed solutions to solve the problem of climate change?
For a company of our size and scale, it’s not easy to achieve carbon neutrality. While we’re leaders on many aspects of climate change, we need to bring together partners, members of our supply chain, and peer companies so we can find solutions together.
What is your last message to the COP27’s participants?
3M is one of the world’s largest science and technology companies, operating across nearly every global industry. Our products are used by billions of people around the world and are at the heart of the global action to reduce CO2 emissions.
