Caterpillar jumps on the green bandwagon

The industrial giant finds that sustainability plays in Peoria

NEW YORK (Fortune) — Will it play in Peoria?

Since the days of vaudeville, entertainers, politicians and business people have come to this mid-sized midwestern city, halfway between Chicago and St. Louis, to take the pulse of middle America.

Towering over the city is Caterpillar, Peoria’s biggest employer. An 82-year-old industrial giant with $41.5 billion in 2006 revenues and 95,000 workers, Caterpillar makes “big iron” – mining, construction and road-building equipment, diesel and marine engines, and gas turbines, among other big-ticket items.


This is not, in other words, a company where you will find a bunch of tree-huggers. Even so, here are the headlines that jump out when you open Caterpillar’s just-off-the-press 2006 Sustainability Report:

Rapid population growth.

Limited natural resources.

Strained ecosystems.

No simple solutions.

Yes – Caterpillar is getting real about sustainability. While no one would confuse this conservative icon of smokestack America with, say, Ben & Jerry’s, the changes unfolding here are further signs that the greening of corporate America is unstoppable, and that products and services that help solve big environmental problems can be good for business.

Fortune