Caterpillar Headquarters Awarded LEED-EB Gold

The world headquarters of Caterpillar, maker of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines, recently received a Gold designation under the auspices of LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB), according to a recent press release.

Located in downtown Peoria, Illinois, the building is the first in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area to earn the LEED-EB certification, and is the second Caterpillar building to earn the recognition, the article said. The Cat Financial Center in Nashville earned a LEED-EB certification in April of 2009.

Notable among the building’s sustainable retrofits: decreased energy consumption by 40 percent (or $800,000) through the use of improved control systems, operating methods, and lighting automation; a new irrigation system for all landscaped areas that cuts water use by 50 percent; a green cleaning program that employs new environmentally-friendly chemicals, and an improved pest management program that uses the least toxic methods available; and waste stream audits that help inform efforts toward reducing the company’s environmental impact.

“Every day members of Team Caterpillar look for opportunities to apply their expertise, technology and common sense to address environmental issues,” said Greg Folley, vice president of Caterpillar’s Human Services Division. “Successfully identifying and managing our environmental footprint reduces environmental impacts where we all live and work, makes good business sense and is simply the right thing to do for our community, employees, customers and shareholders.”

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Chris Timmerman
Contributing Writer
Green Education Services
www.greenedu.com