Cat Financial Earns Top Honor for Sustainability Efforts in Nashville

Last year, Nashville, Tenn. Mayor Karl Dean recognized the role local businesses could play in increasing the livability of the city and launched the inaugural Mayor's Workplace Challenge, a competition that scored participating companies in three categories - involved, green and healthy. Companies submitted initial information about their workplace in each category and had the year to earn additional points by implementing initiatives and programs. With strong representation in each category, Cat Financial entered the challenge.

The 2013 awards ceremony was held in Nashville on April 5, honoring high-scoring organizations with a gold, silver or bronze seal of recognition in each category.

Of the 170 participating companies, Cat Financial earned the gold seal of recognition in all categories and was the top scorer in the green challenge category. Cat Financial's Sustainable Development Committee, LEED Gold Existing Commercial Building certification, recycling program, Earth Day events, ongoing sustainability efforts and employee education programs in the Nashville office helped earn the company this top honor. Cat Financial first formed the Sustainable Development Committee in 2008 with the goal of earning LEED building certification. One of the first action items was to develop a building recycling program. Thanks to the team's efforts, the Cat Financial building in Nashville was certified as the first LEED Gold Existing Commercial Building in the state of Tennessee.

With a focus on Caterpillar's goal of zero waste by 2020, the Sustainable Development Committee enhanced its recycling initiative with the addition of a building composting program in March 2013. The program includes the addition of composting bins on every floor, changing all to-go containers in the facility's dining center to compostable packaging and training employees on the process.

"Our sustainability team is comprised of volunteer representatives from each floor and most business units within our building," Erin Bishop, corporate counsel and Sustainable Development Committee chair explained in a Nashville Business Journal article about the Mayor's Workplace Challenge award winners. "The team oversees and implements the general sustainability practices throughout the building," she said.

The team is also responsible for creating awareness about sustainability and reminding employees that everyone plays a role in making sustainable progress possible. The committee provides employee education by visiting staff meetings, communicating through the employee newsletter, creating visual posters for the building as well as maintaining Intranet websites.

Amanda Biddle, Marketing Communications manager and Sustainable Development Committee volunteer, was also quoted in the Nashville Business Journal article about the awards. "It made sense for Cat Financial to participate in the challenge, because we really are committed to all three initiatives - being green, involved and healthy," she said. "Our employees are proud of what we do and we are proud to share what we do as a company with the community to keep us all moving forward.

View the digital edition of the Nashville Business Journal. Turn to page 29 to read more about the awards.