ESG Today writes that the company has already had these goals looked over and approved by experts at the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), as 3M pledged in 2021 to become carbon neutral across operations by mid-century.

Gayle Schueller, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at 3M, said that "the validation of our targets by SBTi reflects years of collaboration and dedication by 3Mers working on a detailed action plan to innovate across our portfolio to decarbonize industry, accelerate our climate solutions and improve our environmental footprint. We will continue to drive innovation in our products and our processes, empowering customers to reach their sustainability goals, and working together to build a low-carbon economy."

Scope 3 emissions refer to those that a company doesn't have direct control over, but for 3M, calculating these emissions isn't easy, since it offers over 55.000 products across multiple industries. This means that the company has to account for its Scope 3 footprint itself, which it has been doing since 2011.

Some of the industries that the company addresses with its products and solutions are the automotive, energy, consumer packaged goods and electronics.