Caterpillar Winston-Salem Facility Awarded LEED^® Silver Certification

Winston-Salem, NC - The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded Caterpillar Inc.'s newly constructed Winston-Salem truck-axle facility LEED^® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction) silver certification, earning it two distinctions. It is Caterpillar's first LEED silver heavy manufacturing facility in the U.S., and at 850,000 square feet, it's the largest LEED silver certified manufacturing facility in North Carolina.

LEED is a third-party certification program and a recognized benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance sustainable buildings.

"Our top priority is safely producing quality products that are quickly delivered to our global customers," said Hans Haefeli, vice president of Caterpillar's Advanced Components and Systems Division. "But being able to say we're doing our job using more sustainable methods is good for our community, employees, customers and shareholders. For example, our Winston-Salem team not only used local materials when building - saving on transportation costs and supporting the area economy - but it also diverted almost all construction waste from going into local landfills."

Ranked second nationally for sustainable construction for manufacturing plant construction, Gray, headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky was the design-build firm for the Winston-Salem project responsible for engineering, design, construction and the LEED certification process.

"In today's world of high energy consumption and rising energy prices, it is increasingly important for world-class manufacturers like Caterpillar to be recognized for energy efficiency and sustainability in their industry," said Stephen Gray, CEO of Gray. "By achieving LEED Silver certification, we believe Caterpillar is paving the way for other heavy industrial manufacturers to follow suit."

LEED recognizes performance in five key areas. At Caterpillar's truck-axle facility, which opened in 2011, silver certification was earned for:

Sustainable Sites: Leaving more than 65 percent of space open and unpaved; Protecting, restoring and creating new habitat in more than 80 percent of the available open space; Providing parking for bicycles; Exceeding stormwater quantity and quality management standards; Minimizing heat by using light concrete paving and a white membrane roof; Using exterior lighting that minimizes light pollution.

Water Efficiency: Installing low flow fixtures to reduce potable water consumption by more than 45 percent; Utilizing low-maintenance, local and adaptive plants in landscaping that do not require irrigation.

Energy & Atmosphere: Helping prevent ozone depletion by installing air conditioning units that use non-chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants; Using energy efficient mechanical equipment.

Materials & Resources: Diverting 90 percent of all construction waste from local landfills; Utilizing recycled materials in 34 percent of building construction materials; Saving on transportation because 51 percent of construction materials were from within 500 miles of the project; Choosing wood harvested from Forest Stewardship Council certified sources in almost all of the facility.

Indoor Air Quality: Exceeding required quantity of fresh air while minimizing energy loss; Using low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) materials throughout the building interior; Ensuring indoor air pollutants are exhausted from the building; Allowing occupants to adjust lighting levels according to the task being performed.

Including the Winston-Salem facility, Caterpillar has 13 facilities around the world that have earned LEED certifications from USBGC. In addition, a Cat Remanufacturing facility in Singapore has been certified by a European sustainability organization, which is similar to USBGC.