Awards And Recognition Pile Up For 3M

April was a good month for St. Paul, Minnesota-based supplier 3M (UPIC: POST-IT). The company received a number of plaudits and honors for its operations in the U.S. and abroad.

The Institute for Corporate Productivity (I4CP) presented 3M with its IC4P 2011 Member of the Year award. The award is presented to I4CP member companies that have demonstrated stand-out and effective programs to develop the productivity of their organization’s workforce. 3M’s focus on developing engagement and innovation brought it the award.

The company received other awards in April as well. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy presented 3M with its Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award for the seventh year running, and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association awarded it with the 2011 Employer of Choice Award for the Midwest Region for 3M’s Law Department commitment to diversity and an inclusive workplace. One of the company’s products, the Integrated Cycler and Simplexa by 3M and Focus Diagnostics, won the Edison Best New Products Bronze Award in the science and medical – diagnostic aids segment.

In surveys and studies of consumers and business practices, 3M has also performed well. In 2011’s first quarter, The Reputation Institute surveyed 32,946 people and measured their perceptions of the United States’ 150 largest companies. Companies were given a ReTrak Pulse score, between 0 and 100, that measured their reputations among consumers. In the survey, the results of which were released in April, 3M placed fourth with a score of 81, coming closely behind Amazon.com (Score: 82.7), Kraft Foods (Score: 81.4) and Johnson & Johnson (Score: 81.32). 3M’s score was up 3.85 points from 2010.

At the beginning of 2011, global management consulting firm, the Hay Group, released its annual Best Companies for Leadership Study and Top 20 list. Now in its sixth year, the study ranks companies around the world on their leadership practices, studies how they develop current and future leaders and looks for best practices and lessons to take away from these stories. 3M ranked just outside the Top 20 in Hay Group’s global survey, but it placed third in the company’s Latin American findings.

While April brought in the awards and recognition for 3M, the company has also received many acknowledgements and honors in recent months from distinguished publications and organizations, including Forbes, Barron’s, Fortune, Interbrand, Handelsblatt and Harris Interactive.