PEORIA, IL — Caterpillar Inc. announced on January 18 that it has pledged to reduce its global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 20 percent by 2010. The company has committed to the reduction target as part of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Leaders GHG program, which Caterpillar joined in 2003. The 20 percent target would cover global greenhouse gas emissions on a revenue-normalized basis for the period between 2002 and 2010. Between 1990 and 2001, Caterpillar reduced direct GHG emissions from its facilities by 450,000 tons. The reduction resulted from fuel switching, process changes, and energy conservation programs. According to EPA guidelines, setting a revenue-normalized target for GHG reductions allows a company to account for increases or decreases in production over time. Those companies can then focus on GHG emissions per unit of production as the key performance indicator to measure GHG intensity. Started in 2002, Climate Leaders is a voluntary program in which the EPA works with companies to set aggressive long-term emissions reduction goals. Partners set a corporate-wide GHG reduction goal and inventory their emissions to measure progress. By reporting inventory data to EPA, partners create a lasting record of their accomplishments. In many cases, Caterpillar has used its own products to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions at its facilities. Examples of such efforts include using natural gas-fired combined heat and power units featuring Solar Turbines in conjunction with units that recover waste heat. Such systems are not only more cost efficient, but they also have substantially reduced GHG emissions at those Caterpillar facilities. In addition, dozens of six Sigma teams have implemented energy conservation projects that can be replicated across the globe at Caterpillar facilities, not only saving money, but also continuing to reduce emissions.