From “The Way Forward" Conference: Mike Roman, Chairman and CEO, 3M

Corporate Social Responsibility & Community Engagement

• 3M Leadership prioritized "listening, understanding, and acting" following the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis.
• The company initiated candid conversations with its African-American employees before expanding engagement across the entire workforce.
• 3M is allocating funds to map specific actions against social justice initiatives and supporting local relief efforts in the Twin Cities.
• Chairman/CEO Mike Roman advocates for public-private partnerships and collective CEO action to address the "trust gap" between companies and the public.
• Roman emphasizes that no single company can effect change alone; a coordinated approach with community leadership is required.

Innovation Strategy & Pandemic Response

• 3M established three guiding principles during the crisis: employee safety, fighting the pandemic from all angles, and ensuring business continuity for customers and shareholders.
• The company accelerated innovation in respiratory protection, biopharma filtration, and food safety to address immediate pandemic demands.
• External partnerships, specifically with Ford and Cummins, were formed to accelerate product innovation and response times.
• Roman notes that these external collaborations will become a more permanent and integral part of 3M's future innovation strategy.
• The company is prioritizing investment in areas where it can solve critical needs using technologies invented over the last decade rather than legacy products.

Operational Shifts: N95 Production & Supply Chain

• Prior to 2020, 90% of 3M's N95 respirator sales were directed toward industrial customers; by late January 2020, this shifted to 90% for healthcare.
• 3M activated idle capacity, effectively doubling N95 output, and plans to double production again by mid-year with further capacity additions.
• The rapid pivot from industrial to healthcare focus was enabled by government partnerships, including FDA emergency use authorizations.
• Current demand continues to exceed production capacity, necessitating ongoing expansion of manufacturing output.
• 3M maintains a "regional for regional" manufacturing model (e.g., China for China), which provided flexibility to shift supply to hotspots during the pandemic.
• While 3M imports some respirators from China to meet U.S. demand, nearly all products sold in the U.S. are manufactured domestically across 29 states.
• Future supply chain changes will be driven primarily by shifts in customer demand rather than a fundamental overhaul of the existing regional model.

Workforce & Future of Work

• 3M implemented strict safety protocols in factories, including social distancing, enhanced cleaning, and PPE mandates, to maintain operations globally.
• Safety learnings developed early in China's outbreak were rapidly standardized and implemented across 3M's global plant network.
• Approximately 50% of 3M's global workforce is currently working from home, a significant shift that has been deemed effective for safety.
• The crisis accelerated the adoption of remote work technologies, proving that in-person collaboration for innovation can occur effectively in a virtual environment.
• 3M plans to retain remote work capabilities and the associated technological advancements as a permanent part of its future operating model.

Strategic Outlook & Leadership Lessons

• The "one big idea" of 3M remains the combination of material science technologies to create differentiated value for customers across diverse sectors.
• Leadership expectations have risen significantly; stakeholders now expect companies to take active roles beyond their core business operations.
• 3M engaged in aggressive legal actions against fraud and price gouging of N95 masks, moving beyond passive observation to active law enforcement collaboration.
• Roman anticipates that future success will depend on an expanded view of corporate responsibility, securing a "license to operate" by addressing broader societal issues.
• The crisis has validated 3M's model of local manufacturing close to customers and its deep intellectual property in material science.