3M – the patron promoter of the United Nations Global Compact SDG Ambition, collaborated with the American Business Council in Dubai (AmCham Dubai), to host an exclusive conference dubbed as ‘Sustainability: The Business of Saving the World’ resonating with its staunch commitment towards investing USD 1 billion in the next 2 decades to enhance novel environment targets.
3M and AmCham Dubai’s ‘Sustainability: The Business of Saving the World’ symposium
The 1-day long event highlighted an array of discussions and vision-driven conventions at the USA Pavilion in the Opportunity District of the Expo 2020 Dubai. The Expo 2020 Dubai is a platform that is presently fetching the globe together for sustainable reforms. The symposium targeted enhancing private and public sector inter-partnerships towards an increasingly sustainable future and took place adjacent to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, COP26.
Senior Vice-President of 3M EMEA, Lars Hanseid, inaugurated the session elaborating 3M’s sustainability approach of applying science to enhance lives. The talk was succeeded by the Senior Vice-President and Chief Sustainability Officer at 3M, Dr Gayle Schueller.
Meghan Gregonis, the US Consul General in Dubai, also graced the symposium to deliver a keynote speech revolving around the importance of public-private partnership to forestall the present situation.
The authoritative assortment of sustainability leaders and influencers shared their perspectives from international and local establishments in two-panel sessions moderated by Cara Nazari, the MD of the American Chambers of Commerce
Vice-President and MD at 3M Middle East & Africa, Laszlo Svinger, stated that 3M believed in wielding the power of collaboration and partnerships to create a better future and meet the firm’s UN SDG commitments by including everybody. Expo 2020 Dubai facilitated the perfect platform for firms like 3M to join together and tactically brainstorm a future with purpose, Svinger said. To accomplish this in the MENA region, the firm strived to collaborate with companies, multilateral organizations, countries, educational entities, and consumers, Svinger stated.
MD of the American Chambers of Commerce, Cara Nazari, stated that the organization’s endeavours were approaching beyond the dimensions of mere discussions and facilitated a cross-societal dialogue. Nazari stated that the organization possessed all the essential elements for drafting a better tomorrow, which was portrayed in the ‘Sustainability: The Business of Saving the World’ symposium. The amalgamation of business, communities, and governments, are irresistible, and hence everybody must strive to draft a path that works in the best interest of the world, to deliver foundations for a better future, Nazari said.
91% of the respondents in the 3M State of Science Index 2021, an independent research study that was newly extended to include the UAE, agreed that the whole world must work unitedly on scientific solutions to solve challenging issues, that include dealing with the likes of climate change and future pandemics.
3M has led to a wide-ranging worldwide response to nation-specific requirements since the commencement of the pandemic. In the dawn of 2021, the firm’s global innovation trailblazer declared novel environmental goals to aid in the alleviation of climate change, enhance water quality, reduce waste, and accomplish cleaner air including:
- Investing around USD 1 billion in the next 2 decades to accomplish net 0 carbon emissions by 2050, minimize water utilization by 25% at all its facilities, and give-back enhanced quality of water to nature after using it in its operations.
- Plummeting dependency on virgin fossil-centric plastic by 125 million pounds in the next 4 years.
3M has already started establishing technologies in all its facilities across the globe, including the Middle East to hasten these environmental targets. The firm will constantly strive to collaborate with consumers, global partners, and governments to deal with the challenges linked with climate change and utilize its science-centric style to fabricate new solutions and products.
