What does progress look like?
Building the infrastructure of tomorrow.
Framework alignment
As Caterpillar continuously improves their heavy equipment, CRI has helped them improve their ESG reporting approach.
“The road to progress starts with a road.” This phrase has long been central to Caterpillar’s story — one that CRI has partnered with the heavy equipment manufacturer to tell for more than a decade. Caterpillar machines are at the forefront of building the world we know today, hard at work on roads, airports, bridges, dams, energy generation and mines.
The theme of progress also aptly describes Caterpillar’s sustainability reporting journey. When we first began working with Caterpillar, their report was largely a collection of case studies. Over the course our relationship, the company has steadily increased the rigor of their reporting.
Staying current on ESG frameworks
Caterpillar was among the first companies to completely align the editorial structure of their report to Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) topics, covering the content that was most material to their industry. Recognizing the need to address a broader group of stakeholders, the company soon began reporting to Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards. And in 2022, Caterpillar took a major leap forward by publishing a separate Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report, along with reporting Scope 3 emissions for the first time. While making progress on disclosures, Caterpillar is also making progress toward their sustainability goals: in 2022, 100% of the new products the company introduced were more sustainable than previous generations.
Throughout this journey, CRI has worked with Caterpillar to strengthen their reporting to ESG frameworks through systematic benchmarking of key topics, conducting gap analyses and working with subject matter experts to craft responses to specific disclosures. It’s a process that we relish as we see this builder of roads building their own road toward a more sustainable future.
We’ve helped countless clients align with established and emerging reporting frameworks.
In the case of Chemours, a global chemical company, we reverse engineered the process. Historically, Chemours aligned the editorial structure of their report closely with GRI standards. While disclosure was robust, reader engagement was limited. We helped the company completely retool the structure of their report to create a more approachable format while maintaining the rigor of their disclosure.