Inside 3M’s Innovation Machine with Amanda Yates

Speaker A: Foreign. Welcome back to the Sustainable Design Lab podcast.

Speaker B: I'm Brody Van Den.

Speaker C: And I'm Chris Bradley. And today we're filming live from the 3M, um, Innovation center in Minneapolis. Now, 3M is one of the most innovative companies in the world. They've truly been cultivating innovation for over a hundred years. Some of the biggest innovations that we use in packaging, including things like tape, were invented here. So it was fun to be able to tour the Innovation center and speak to leaders here. And so excited to bring you into those conversations.

Speaker A: We got a chance to talk to Amanda Yates, she's a senior director of Global sustainability here at 3M to learn how they're integrating sustainability within their R and D and innovation pipeline, what that looks like for them, how their sustainability goals are going, and how that contributes to their customer sustainability goals. So it's a great conversation.

Speaker B: So let's get into it.

Speaker A: M. We just got a chance to walk through the Innovation center before this conversation. It was incredible. I could have spent another three hours in there asking all the questions I wanted to ask. But last week, I got a lot of things going on today, so we gotta keep moving. You know, one of the things that stood out to me was how much material science is happening behind the scenes here at 3M. Um, for listeners who haven't had the pleasure of being here with us, can you describe what this space represents and the role that it plays inside 3M?

Speaker B: Yeah. So the world of innovation here is really our playground for materials science and for technologies. It's the home to the 49 technologies that we have on our periodic table, which you probably got to see. And really, I think what it does is allow individuals to come and really understand not only the role of technology, material science, but how they interact together and how one technology combined with another technology can create a whole vast array of different products. That one thing can have infinite lives that come from it.

Speaker A: Absolutely. The sustainable design piece was obviously my favorite bias, of course, but the tour guide said that, you know, you're rarely beyond 10ft from a 3M product and started naming all these things that, uh, I was like, that's less than 10ft for sure. Almost always. So it was very, very impressive.

Speaker B: I've been in there probably 30 times in the amount of time I've worked at 3M, and each time I still learn something new. I mean, you could spend days and probably still not taken it completely.

Speaker C: One of the things that's really interesting to me, just even seeing how 3M invented tape in 1925. So 3M, um, really has this long reputation for inventing things that really didn't exist before. And so from the inside, how does this kind of innovation actually happen here?

Speaker B: Yeah, well, it begins with those shared technologies. So I don't know if they mentioned that, but we have these 49 technologies, but they're not owned by any single business within the company. So all of our scientists, all of our engineers have access to all of them. That is, it's your playground. Right. And it begins with this notion of starting with the technology and then collaborating with those who are experts and then in that technology. And so they can work together even across groups, across divisions or expertise areas. That really then allows folks to find new opportunities because somebody else might spark an idea that. Because they know that technology well. And that's actually something I think that we hire for, is kind of those soft skills. So you can be a scientist, you can be an engineer, but you have to have some of that willingness to collaborate and connect. And then we have something else. Maybe they spoke about 15% time where someone can. Anyone actually, including myself, can work on a project with 15% of our time. That is not a direct requirement of my job or it's not a part of my responsibilities. But if there's business value to it, then we can bring it forward. And we have a whole host of products that have come from that 15% time. Everything from the post it note to things like direct air capture.

Speaker A: Wow. I, um, mean, where would innovation be if not for collaboration? You can't have one and not the other, in my opinion. One of the things is, you know, we walk through the center, we saw lots of examples of products like you mentioned, and, um, materials that are, like you said, across almost every industry. It feels like, where is sustainability showing up most strongly in the innovation pipeline right now?

Speaker B: Yeah, I can say it's everywhere. This stems from something called our sustainability value commitment. So since 2019, we've had this, we call it an SVC. And the intention is that every new product that's developed has some element of it, whether it's a material or a process or something. Maybe it's value proposition of the product that is meant to drive change for good. And so through that expectation, every single part of the company is thinking about sustainability when they're in that innovation and commercialization process. Our scientists, our engineers, they want to be thinking that way, both from a business value perspective, but also what's good for people and planet.

Speaker A: Absolutely.

Speaker C: I would say, you know, one thing that we hear a lot from companies is that sustainable innovation or sustainable design isn't just about swapping out materials, it's really about rethinking the whole system around it. So how do your teams approach that challenge?

Speaker B: Again, it's built into our systems, it's built into our process just recently and we're still in implementation phase. So I'm not going to go super deep into it, but we're actually implementing a tool that is going to allow our R and D teams to actually look at the impacts of materials, look at the impacts of processes, find hotspots, maybe look at alternatives, do scenario analysis in the innovation process. So before they're even in manufacturing, before they're being fully commercialized. And so we can make decisions now well ahead and really understand the impacts or the trade offs. You know, so you might lower your carbon emissions, but maybe it has a negative impact on water usage as an example. And we can see those ahead of time and make decisions to ensure that the product is going to be least negatively impactful and most greatly impactful from a performance and usage perspective.

Speaker C: Okay, so many of the challenges around sustainability really require collaboration across the entire value chain. And so how does 3M work with customers, suppliers and partners to bring new solutions to market?

Speaker B: It really is starting with those customer requirements. And we have an amazing team of what we call application engineers who really do a lot of that bench to bench and engagement with our customers to understand what those needs are. We also have customer, uh, insights teams that are doing a lot of that work as well. So the base is what are their needs, what are their expectations? And then from a sustainability perspective, what journey are they on, what are their targets, what are their goals? And how is that going to really define what they're purchasing, what the decisions are that they're making and their expectations for like say a carbon neutral product as an example. But marrying kind of that insight with then what we believe we can deliver is going to be a key component of that, because you can design for sustainability's sake. But if there's not a business value to it, if there's not a value proposition that the customer cares about, then likely that's not going to be a product that sells. And so we want to make sure that we are starting with that core insight from the customer and bringing that forward in the design and innovation process.

Speaker C: Yeah, and I think those application engineers, and I've had the pleasure to work with a few of them over my career just for different. And to me that was one of the greatest aspects of 3M, um, was access to that type of technical knowledge and expertise, which as an inventor myself, really kind of helped me find the right material to make the product.

Speaker B: Yeah, I'll just add if it's of interest, but we're just rolling out something called Ask3M, which is the AI version of that application engineer, and bringing all the knowledge that they have into a space where somebody can now ask three M, um, kind of a problem or question, an issue that they might be trying to solve and get the beginnings of that insight.

Speaker A: A lot of our listeners either work in packaging and design sustainability, sometimes product development. Based on what you've seen here over the years, what advice would you give teams trying to build sustainability into innovation from the beginning?

Speaker B: I'd say take a holistic perspective. Sustainability is everyone's job. It's not just the R and D team. It's not just somebody that has sustainability in their title. Understand what motivates each of those groups and how it can be beneficial to them. So with the R and D team, like this tool that I was mentioning earlier, giving tools that will allow visibility and enable them to think in a different way earlier on is great. Working with marketers to help them understand what those customer expectations are and the market shifting around sustainability and how there can be growth opportunities embedded in that. So working with all of those different groups to really understand it. And then there is the systems piece that you mentioned earlier, which is like it has to be embedded into the expectations. And so for us that meant actual fields in gate review process that needed to be completed so that people built the habit of not only thinking about it, but documenting it and making it real.

Speaker A: I love that. I think in sustainability we have such an opportunity to flex our messaging to who we're talking to in order to communicate better and be able to advance that skill, I think is so crucial to being able to get anything across the finish line.

Speaker B: Absolutely.

Speaker C: And I love design labs, innovation centers. And so it's awesome to be here in Minneapolis at the 3M Innovation Center. But if we were to come back here five to ten years from now, what kinds of technologies or materials do you think we would see?

Speaker B: Hopefully you're seeing more solvent less or solvent free products that are going to not only help the environment, but it reduces emissions. We're really spending a lot of time thinking about, also from, uh, a circularity perspective, some of our adhesives. And how do you enable end of life and the debonding of electronics as an example, and enabling the circularity of those pieces? We're thinking a lot about how we lower the impact of our products and therefore the benefits that those have to our customers and their customers as well.

Speaker A: That's so important. And so I'm excited to hear that. Hopefully you can come back in five to 10 years and see all of that come to fruition. Anything you want to talk about sustainability

Speaker B: 3m wise, we've been on this journey for a really long time and, uh, impact since like 1975 maybe. They talked about our pollution prevention program, our 3PE program, and since 2002, we've reduced our carbon emissions footprint by 90%. So again, this is something that really excited about and hoping that in the next year or so that we'll have already met our SBT near term targets. It's just great to be part of a company who cares about it and that, you know, it really is time and effort into really making it real.

Speaker A: What an accomplishment. That's huge. Congratulations to your team.

Speaker C: What is your SBTI aspiration? I mean, is it 2040?

Speaker B: So it's 20th. The near term is 2030. 52.6% for scope one and two from a.

Speaker C: What was your baseline? 2019. Wow.

Speaker B: And then 42% scope three reduction based, um, 2030 base on a 2021 baseline. We'll hit all three of them.

Speaker C: That's impressive.

Speaker B: Yeah, very impressive.

Speaker A: Well, we're excited to see that announcement when you guys do hit it early. So we'll be cheering you guys on.

Speaker B: Thank you. Appreciate that.

Speaker A: We end each of our podcasts with a similar question. When you think about the future of packaging materials and sustainability, what one thing that gives you hope?

Speaker B: I'm hopeful by the fact that actually companies are thinking about their products and the impact of their products and they're asking, they're taking ownership and accountability of their supply chains and they're asking folks like 3ML, what's your roadmap for carbon neutrality for this product and working with us to figure that out, even in the absence of regulations in some parts of the world, it's still top of mind for them. It's still something that they're thinking about and asking for and on their own journey and that helps all of us to have the incentive to do that. So in a world where, you know, we're maybe, uh, up and down with sustainability right now, there's people that are still focused on it and it's still a meaningful part of the conversation and a driver for decision making. And that I think will work out for all of us in the end.

Speaker A: Love that. Well, thank you for your time. We really appreciate the opportunity to come tour and talk to you guys and learn more about what 3M is doing.

Speaker C: Yeah, we're excited to see what you guys come up with next.

Speaker B: Thank you. Appreciate the time.

Speaker A: Foreign. I'm so glad we had an opportunity to talk to Amanda while we were here. Everyone we've talked to so far has this joy and a real drive towards innovation, which is apparent as you go through the tour and learn more about the history of the inventions that come from Korean.

Speaker C: Yeah. And there's a real sense of pride that you kind of hear from everybody. That I think was really inspiring. Some of the cultural traits that they built into the company, I think are truly aspirational. Like, I love this idea of the 15% rule where anybody in the company with a commercial idea can dedicate that kind of time to develop it. And I think just you get a sense of all of. Especially in packaging. So many things I saw here were actually invented here, like tape, uh, which we just take for granted. There's adhesive on every type of packaging. And a lot of those kind of really cool technologies originated here.

Speaker A: Absolutely. And I think that you touched on this, like, the culture piece. There's so much collaboration built within how they have built their culture here that I think you can't have innovation without that collaboration piece. And I'm excited to see what continues to come from it. We've gotten a great tour of the legacy that has come out of 3M, but I feel like in some ways,

Speaker B: they're just getting started.

Speaker C: Yeah. And I think a lot of the sustainable packaging innovations that we're going to see over the next five to 10 years, I bet is many of those will come from 3M.

Speaker A: Uh, so, so big thank you to 3 um M for inviting us here and giving us a tour. And I'm excited to come.