Sustainability Is Growing

Now in its second year, the Caterpillar Forest project is uniting environmentally conscious employees throughout China.

In 2011, Caterpillar China celebrated World Earth Day by launching a special tree-planting project entitled Caterpillar Forest. The original campaign saw more than 45,000 trees planted on 43 hectares of land just north of Beijing.

One year later, the Caterpillar Forest project is still going, and growing, strong.

In April of 2012, Caterpillar Suzhou Co. Ltd. (CSCL), Cat Wuxi and Asia Power Systems (APS) joined Caterpillar China to support environmental sustainability initiatives throughout the region.

More than 350 employees and guests attended CSCL and Cat Wuxi events and planted 2,800 trees around Taihu Lake. The APS team worked with 40 volunteers from Jinnan Middle School to plant 1,000 trees in Tianjin.

Employees from Caterpillar China kicked off their 2012 planting program with 1,600 new trees in Yanqing County. Representatives from Caterpillar Beijing and the China Environmental Protection Foundation assisted Country Manager Kevin Thieneman and his team.

"We are all committed to playing a constructive role in promoting China's sustainable growth," Thieneman said.

The Caterpillar Forest project is supported by the Caterpillar Foundation. Founded in 1952, the Caterpillar Foundation has contributed more than $500 million to help make sustainable progress possible around the world by providing program support in the areas of environmental sustainability, access to education and basic human needs.