Caterpillar Foundation Launches Value of Water Campaign to Help its Partners Address Poverty

To raise awareness of the value of water and the impact of the global water crisis on community health, education and economics, the Caterpillar Foundation, together with its global partners, today launched the Value of Water campaign. The Caterpillar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), is on a mission to empower 50 million people around the world to rise out of extreme poverty by 2020.

The Foundation recognizes that water is one of the most critical basic needs of people and their communities – yet, about 844 million people, or 1 in 9, still lack access to clean and safe water. To learn more about the Value of Water awareness campaign, read stories of those directly impacted by water issues around the world and find out how to get involved, visit www.togetherstronger.com/year-of-water/.

“As the company and its customers work to build traditional infrastructure, the Caterpillar Foundation is focused on building human infrastructure, and ultimately, a better world,” said Caterpillar Foundation President Michele Sullivan. “Water is a fundamental human need – it is a basic building block necessary to pursue opportunities such as education and economic growth, and place people on a path to prosperity,” Sullivan continued.  

To address the various aspects of the global water crisis, the Caterpillar Foundation is honored to work alongside several partners such as charity: water, Ducks Unlimited, Global Citizen, Living Lands & Waters, Opportunity International, The Nature Conservancy and Water.org, supporting their work including:

• bringing clean water to rural communities in Africa through the construction of new wells and innovative pipe systems;
• restoring critical wetland habitats that provide flood protection and water filtration;
• reducing river pollution throughout the United States;  
• strengthening the health of the world’s vital rivers;
• and delivering running water to homes in Africa, Asia and South America through micro credits loans.

The Caterpillar Foundation recently invested $1.4 million with the American Red Cross to help communities prepare, respond to and recover from disasters, which includes critical needs such as providing access to safe water and sanitation.   

“Through its vast network of more than 100 million volunteers and supporters around the world, the Red Cross has unparalleled reach into communities,” said Jono Anzalone, vice president of International Services at the American Red Cross. “These locally-managed water, sanitation and hygiene promotion projects can create a domino effect between communities, with one generation teaching the next. We’re so grateful for our partnership with the Caterpillar Foundation as we work together to help create communities that are more resilient and better prepared to respond to disasters.”

In addition to highlighting the work of the Foundation’s partners, the Value of Water campaign aims to encourage people all around the world to get involved and share via social media what they will do for water.

About Caterpillar Foundation
Founded in 1952, Caterpillar’s philanthropic organization, the Caterpillar Foundation has contributed more than $715 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. To learn more about the global impact of the Caterpillar Foundation, visit www.togetherstronger.com. To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media.

About Caterpillar
For more than 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets. With 2017 sales and revenues of $45.462 billion, Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company principally operates through its three primary segments - Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation - and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. For more information, visit caterpillar.com.