Caterpillar Inc. Wins 2015 Vision for America Award

Keep America Beautiful honored Caterpillar Inc and its Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman, with the 2015 Vision for America Award Wednesday, Nov, 4th in New York City. 

"Keep America Beautiful and Caterpillar share a vision of a country - and a world - in which people's basic needs are fulfilled in an environmentally sustainable way," says Jennifer M. Jehn, president and CEO, Keep America Beautiful. "Keep America Beautiful commends Caterpillar for its corporate commitment to sustainability and its significant progress towards its aggressive sustainability goals. Sustainability is firmly embedded as a core value at Caterpillar."

Celebrating it's 90th anniversary, Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of heavy equipment. Their robust corporate sustainability effort focuses on preventing waste, reducing resource consumption, and developing better systems through innovation. Caterpillar's 2020 goals for operations and product stewardship signal a dedication to "Making Sustainable Progress Possible," which Oberhelman calls a "cornerstone commitment" of the company. 

"I am proud to accept this award from Keep America Beautiful," Oberhelman says. "I'm honored by what thus award represents - that Caterpillar is a company our people can be proud to work for. As the world's population increases, demand for resources and infrastructure will increase, too. Sustainable progress to meet these needs and support economic growth will remain absolutely necessary. Caterpillar will continue to lead the world in making sustainable progress possible. We have the experience, products and the commitment. Our shorthand description for our sustainability value is: The power of endurance - and that's Caterpillar."

Caterpillar recognizes that sustainable progress represents a balance of environmental stewardship, economic growth and social responsibility, the triple bottom line. Working toward aggressive sustainable goals, Caterpillar's progress motivates its employees to continue working toward its vision. For example:

• 18% of 2014 sales and revenues were derived from products, services and solutions with an improved sustainability benefit.
• From 2006 to 2014, Caterpillar's facilities have reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 38%. Energy intensity if its operations also decreased 28% from 2006 to 2014. 
• The company recycled 90.6% of it's by-product material in 2014. 

The Vision for America Award Dinner Chairman, Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), presented the award personally to Oberhelman, who served as chairman of the NAM Board of Directors from 2013-2014. 

"Caterpillar has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the sustainability and the belief that conservation isn't just good for business, it's good for the world," Timmons says. "Doug knows the best way to lead meaningful change is to lead by example, and indeed many are following his example. Across the country, manufacturers are responding to the challenges and opportunities facing our communities and our environment by adopting sustainable best practices to ensure a healthier, more beautiful America."

Past recipients of the Vision for America Award, which has been awarded annually since 1986, include Wrigley, PepsiCo, Nestle Waters, UPS, Xerox and most recently, Dell Inc. 

The award dinner was held after Caterpillar held the first of its kind Restoring Natural Infrastructure Summit. The national summit convened leaders from the engineering, construction and financial sectors, as well as thought leaders from academia, non-government organizations and government officials to engage in a discussion on the need for and the benefits of restoring degraded natural infrastructure – such as forests, prairies, agricultural lands, estuaries, coastal landscapes and wetlands – as well as the opportunities it offers with respect to the global sustainable development goals. The outcomes from the dialogue will drive significant recommendations for both the public and private sectors.

"We will continue to lead the way, just like we did today with the natural infrastructure summit," Oberhelman says. "We will continue to get up each day and ask what can we build today? We have at least another century ahead of us to build and we will do just that."