Political Engagement
Caterpillar participates in the public policy process, advocating for a range of issues that supports our corporate strategy and business objectives. The policy priorities are driven by our enterprise strategy and reflect the value we provide to shareholders, customers and other stakeholders.
Our commitment to transparency and disclosure in our advocacy activities have long been recognized. As part of that commitment, numerous voluntary disclosures and links to filings related to our political engagements are provided on our website. We publish a lobbying report, The Purpose of Engagement, annually. The report provides greater transparency and disclosure of the company’s U.S. political engagement strategy, a description of the governance oversight and management of these activities, including the Caterpillar Inc. Political Action Committee. We maintain memberships with U.S. trade and industry associations as their work helps create an environment where companies from all industries — not just our own — can be successful.
Based on shareholder feedback, in 2022, we lowered the reporting threshold of our U.S. trade and industry association memberships from $50,000 to $25,000 and provided additional information on the percentage of Caterpillar’s membership dues used for federal lobbying. We have further enhanced our disclosures for 2023 to include a tiered reporting of the dollar amount of Caterpillar’s membership dues paid to all U.S. trade and industry associations and the percentage of those dues used for federal lobbying activities, as reported by each organization.
Download the 2023 lobbying report: The Purpose of Engagement.
Political Contributions
Where allowable by law, Caterpillar may make corporate contributions to political organizations or committees to support public policies that align with our business interests. Any corporate political contributions by Caterpillar must be approved by our senior vice president of Global Government & Corporate Affairs. In addition, the board annually reviews the company’s political spending policy and political activities, including corporate political contributions, political contributions of the Caterpillar Inc. Political Action Committee (CATPAC), trade association participation and Caterpillar’s lobbying priorities.
CATPAC contributions are made only in U.S. federal and state elections. CATPAC is funded through voluntary contributions by eligible individuals. A steering committee comprised of Caterpillar non-officer employees representing a diverse mix of U.S. locations and business units oversees all CATPAC disbursements to ensure they promote the company’s business interests.
Additional information regarding Caterpillar’s corporate contributions, CATPAC contributions and trade association memberships is available on our political engagement website.
