Caterpillar's Emissions Rise 1% With Higher Sales

At 2.77 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents, Caterpillar's 2008 emissions rose slightly from 2007, when the construction implement manufacturer emitted 2.75 million metric tons.

Yet with improvements to its processes, the company was able to reduce energy usage as a percentage of revenue to 680 gigajoules per million dollars of revenue, down from 686 gigajoules in 2007 and 709 in 2006, according to the company's newly released 2008 sustainability report (PDF).

The company had more than $51 billion in revenue in 2008, up from nearly $45 billion in 2007 and $41 billion in 2006.

Caterpillar has set the following goals for 2020:

• Eliminate waste to zero by reducing waste generation and reusing or recycling all that remains.
• Increase energy efficiency by 25 percent.
• Hold water consumption flat.
• Reduce total GHG emissions by 25 percent.
• Design all new construction to meet LEED standards.
• Use alternative or renewable energy sources for 20 percent of energy needs.
• Increase customer's energy efficiency by 20 percent.
• Reduce customer's GHG emissions by 20 percent.