3M is First to Gain WQA Sustainability Certification

3M Purification is the first to achieve WQA Sustainability Certifications under the new WQA Product Sustainability standards. The products include water filtration products for the home and water appliances. 3M Purification joined a task force of other leading industry manufacturers and suppliers to assist the Water Quality Association (WQA) in developing a new suite of sustainability standards for drinking water treatment products. Following a successful third party inspection, six 3M, Aqua-Pure® and Water Factory Systems™ water filtration products are now the first in the industry to be certified under these important new standards.

The WQA set out to create the standards in order to give consumers, water professionals, and other stakeholders meaningful sustainability information about water filtration products, as well as to drive sustainability and innovation in the industry. For an activated carbon water filtration product to carry the WQA Sustainability Certification label, the product must first be certified to the appropriate safety/performance standard. Also, the manufacturer must meet two new WQA Sustainability standards. The first, WQA S-801, is a Sustainable Management standard that examines corporate governance factors such as: social responsibility; environmental policies, goals and communications; as well as supplier sustainability performance. The second standard, WQA S-803, is a Product Sustainability standard for Activated Carbon Water Filtration Systems. This standard encompasses cradle-to-grave attributes of a product, including raw material sourcing, manufacturing and assembly, packaging and end-of-life management.

“As the first company to receive WQA Sustainability certification, 3M has proven itself to be a leader in environmental responsibility,” said Dave Haataja, Chief Executive Officer of WQA. Haataja added, “This certification distinguishes 3M as a conscientious corporate citizen. Committing to environmental sustainability is the right thing to do, and consumers will respond positively.”

The six products that have been certified will carry a WQA Certification Symbol on their packaging, designed to help professionals and consumers identify water filtration products that are more environmentally friendly. The certified products include:

• The 3M™ Full Flow Drinking Water System 3MDW201, an under-sink system that operates through the existing faucet
• The 3M™ Advanced Drinking Water System 3MDW301, an under-sink system that operates through a dedicated faucet
• The 3M™ Advanced Whole House Filtration System Model 3MPF301, a large capacity system for city water
• The Aqua-Pure® 3MFF100 Full Flow Drinking Water System, an under-sink filter with a nominal filter pore size of just 0.2 microns
• Water Factory Systems™ FM DWS 1500, an under-sink carbon filter drinking water system
• Water Factory Systems™ FM 1500-B Faucet Mate™, an under-sink carbon filter drinking water system with faucet

“We’re proud to have served on the WQA task force to help develop these important standards,” said Bill Contaxis, Strategic Business Leader, Residential Commercial Business Unit, 3M Purification. “We are also proud of the rigorous environmental practices that we have already had in place, which certainly contributed to the speed with which our products were certified. We will continue our leadership in lifecycle sustainability so that our customers know they can rely on 3M to help minimize their environmental footprint.”

These products are the first in 3M Purification’s ongoing commitment to life cycle sustainability. 3M Purification is currently working to gain certification for additional products and expects to announce its next round of WQA Certified products later this year.

3M Purification provides a diverse portfolio of water and air filtration products and technologies for the Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Life Sciences industries across the globe. For more information about 3M Purification, click here www.3Mpurification.com.

3M Company has hundreds of solutions to help customers reduce energy, air pollution, and waste, use more renewable resources, achieve green building certification, and protect employee health & safety. For more information, visit www.3M.com/sustainability.

About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs about 88,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

3M, Water Factory Systems and Faucet Mate are trademarks of 3M Company. Aqua-Pure is a registered trademark of 3M Company.