3M is playing an important role in the recently announced Better Buildings Challenge, an effort to grow the country's clean energy economy. The initiative aims to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings by 20% by the year 2020, a move that is projected to reduce energy bills for American businesses by approximately $40 billion per year and to create more than 100,000 jobs.
As a partner in the challenge, 3M has committed to reduce energy use by 25% in 78 of its plants, encompassing nearly 38 million-sf of building space. The company has already achieved significant gains; in 2011 alone, 3M improved energy efficiency in its operations globally by 8.9% compared to the same period last year, and avoided more than $43 million in energy costs. Additionally, more than 150 employee-inspired energy projects helped the company save nearly $7.7 million.
Within 3M, the Renewable Energy Division directs its efforts toward helping customers meet their energy targets by providing energy-saving solutions. 3M Renewable Energy creates products and technologies to advance the solar and wind industries, as well as energy conservation window films for the commercial building sector. These technologies hold significant promise in helping 3M and other participants in the challenge increase energy efficiency. Notable products in 3M's line include:
- Sun Control Window Films, which use non-metalized nano-technology to create reflectivity that's actually lower than glass. These spectrally-selective interior and exterior films reject up to 97 percent of the sun's heat-producing infrared light to help keep buildings cooler.
- Cool Mirror Film 330, a unique, multilayer optical film designed for low concentration, crystalline silicon photovoltaic (low X CPV) installations. The films reflect only the wavelengths of light that can be absorbed by solar cells, substantially reducing the amount of solar energy that can degrade the performance of CPV systems.
"3M has cut its absolute worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 72 percent from 1990 to 2010," said Tim Thornton, director of 3M Renewable Energy Division's Energy Conservation business. "We are proud to take part in this challenge and to share our knowledge with others, so we can all move toward achieving this ambitious goal." BD+C
Related Stories
Sustainability | Sep 18, 2024
3 living buildings made by a living practice
Prompting humans to reexamine our relationship to the environment, architecture creates the opportunity for us to physically experience ideas of beauty, performance, and structure through the distinct lens of place.
3D Printing | Sep 17, 2024
Alquist 3D and Walmart complete one of the nation’s largest free-standing, 3D-printed commercial structures
Walmart has completed one of the largest free-standing, 3D-printed commercial structures in the US. Alquist 3D printed the almost 8,000-sf, 20-foot-high addition to a Walmart store in Athens, Tenn. The expansion, which will be used for online pickup and delivery, is the first time Walmart has applied 3D printing technology at this scale.
Retail Centers | Sep 17, 2024
Thinking outside the big box (store)
For over a decade now, the talk of the mall industry has been largely focused on what developers can do to fill the voids left by a steady number of big box store closures. But what do you do when big box tenants stay put?
Government Buildings | Sep 17, 2024
OSHA’s proposed heat standard published in Federal Register
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a proposed standard addressing heat illness in outdoor and indoor settings in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would require employers to evaluate workplaces and implement controls to mitigate exposure to heat through engineering and administrative controls, training, effective communication, and other measures.
Codes and Standards | Sep 17, 2024
New California building code encourages, but does not mandate heat pumps
New California homes are more likely to have all-electric appliances starting in 2026 after the state’s energy regulators approved new state building standards. The new building code will encourage installation of heat pumps without actually banning gas heating.
Mass Timber | Sep 17, 2024
Marina del Rey mixed-use development is L.A.’s largest mass timber project
An office-retail project in Marina del Rey is Los Angeles’ largest mass timber project to date. Encompassing about 3 acres, the 42XX campus consists of three low-rise buildings that seamlessly connect with exterior walkways and stairways. The development provides 151,000 sf of office space and 1,500 sf of retail space.
Education Facilities | Sep 16, 2024
Hot classrooms, playgrounds spur K-12 school districts to go beyond AC for cooling
With hotter weather occurring during the school year, school districts are turning to cooling strategies to complement air conditioning. Reflective playgrounds and roads, cool roofs and window films, shade structures and conversion of asphalt surfaces to a natural state are all being tried in various regions of the country.
Office Buildings | Sep 16, 2024
Maximizing office square footage through ‘agile planning’
Lauren Elliott, RID, NCIDQ, Director of Interior Design, Design Collaborative, shares tips for a designing with a popular and flexible workspace model: Agile planning.
3D Printing | Sep 13, 2024
Swiss researchers develop robotic additive manufacturing method that uses earth-based materials—and not cement
Researchers at ETH Zurich, a university in Switzerland, have developed a new robotic additive manufacturing method to help make the construction industry more sustainable. Unlike concrete 3D printing, the process does not require cement.
Libraries | Sep 12, 2024
How space supports programming changes at university libraries
GBBN Associate Sarah Kusuma Rubritz, AIA, uses the University of Pittsburgh's Hillman Library to showcase how libraries are transforming to support students’ needs.
