In the fast-paced world of global business, it takes more than a written compliance policy to keep a company doing business the right way. That is why Ethisphere Institute, the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, has named 3M as a 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company® for the second time. The designation recognizes 3M’s impact on the way business is conducted through its efforts of fostering a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the company.

“At 3M, living by our Code of Conduct is a team effort and a responsibility we uphold for our customers, for our shareholders and for each other,” said Jim Zappa, 3M’s chief compliance officer. “The commitment of our people to the highest ethical standard and to doing business the right way promotes trust with our customers and in the quality of our products. Furthermore, it gives us confidence to grow our business anywhere in the world.”

In particular, Ethisphere recognized 3M’s compliance and ethics program and how effectively it is applied throughout the entire multinational company, creating strong social responsibility and corporate citizenship.

“The World’s Most Ethical Companies embrace the correlation between ethical business practice and improved company performance. These companies use ethics as a means to further define their industry leadership and understand that creating an ethical culture and earning the World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition involves more than just an outward facing message or a handful of senior executives saying the right thing,” said Ethisphere’s Chief Executive Officer Timothy Erblich. “Earning this recognition involves the collective action of a global workforce from the top down. We congratulate everyone at 3M for this extraordinary achievement.”

The full list of the 2015 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-honorees/.

About 3M

3M is a science-based company with a culture of creative collaboration that inspires powerful technologies, making life better. With $32 billion in sales, 3M employs 90,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNewsroom on Twitter.

About the Ethisphere Institute

The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies^® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with the publication of Ethisphere Magazine and The World’s Most Ethical Companies Executive Briefing. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs. More information about Ethisphere can be found at: http://ethisphere.com.

3M Media ContactFanna Haile-Selassie, 651-736-0876fhaile-selassie@mmm.comorEthisphere Media ContactClea Nabozny, 480-397-2658Clea.Nabozny@ethisphere.com