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Choose a greener forklift future

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Cat® Lift Trucks pushes forward on sustainability

How can a forklift manufacturer reduce the environmental impact of its operations and products? Cat Lift Trucks shows the way with its latest Environmental Policy, as Mark Nicholson discovers.

The policy applies to the group’s activities throughout Europe, Africa, CIS and the Middle East. Its wide reach covers the full supply chain, including material and part suppliers, dealers and customers.

Whose responsibility is the environment?

Wendy Lamaker, the organisation’s Vice-President responsible for human resources, internal communication and internal control, has played a leading role in this policy’s development. However, she is quick to point out that the work has been very much a team effort.

“Sustainability affects everyone. It cannot be the responsibility of just one person or department. It touches every part of our organisation, so we need to cooperate closely to make it happen. I have especially enjoyed that aspect of the project.

“We understand that becoming more sustainable is a precondition for everyone’s future wellbeing.”

Why does forklift sustainability matter?

Forklift trucks enable efficient materials handling, which is vital to modern society, but they come at a cost. Wendy explains: “Like other essential equipment, their manufacture, supply, use and related aftersales services all have environmental impacts. Our policy aims to minimise these.”

While forklift industry businesses are obliged to comply with sustainability-related legislation, Cat Lift Trucks wants to go further. “We understand that becoming more sustainable is a precondition for everyone’s future wellbeing,” says Wendy. “And as a global actor in the logistics sector, we recognise that we can make a major contribution to society’s transition. Our stakeholders, including customers, business partners, employees and the whole community, want to see progress in this direction too. Sustainability will benefit all of us.”

What are the key environmental issues?

Climate change, linked to carbon emissions, is one focus of the Environmental Policy. This topic dominates the headlines today, but it’s certainly not the only challenge addressed. “We need to protect and conserve the natural environment and its resources,” Wendy warns. “People’s quality of life, and even their survival, depends on it. We should avoid overusing and depleting the earth’s fuel, water and raw materials. We must also avoid other forms of damage, such as habitat destruction and pollution of air and water.”

Why take sustainable action now?

Sustainability has long been an active interest of Cat Lift Trucks and is seen as an urgent priority. An additional driver has been the recent introduction of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Wendy notes, “We have used the CSRD process as an opportunity to look even more deeply into our sustainability performance, and to discuss environmental responsibility in depth with stakeholders. The directive has also led to development of our new Health and Safety and Human Rights Policies.”

Companies subject to the CSRD must now report more fully and transparently on environmental impacts and risks relating to their activities. The information will need to be reported according to a new set of consistent standards and be independently verified.

Crucially, companies will report not only on how their operations affect people and the planet but on how their business might be impacted by sustainability issues. This principle is called ‘double materiality’. It will allow stakeholders to assess a company’s environmental credentials clearly, and potential investors to be better informed of environment-related financial risks.

What will Cat Lift Trucks do to improve sustainability?

Decarbonisation

Cat Lift Trucks and its partners are committed to a 40% reduction in their global carbon emissions by 2030 – and to reaching net zero by 2040. Importantly, this applies not only to Scope 1 and 2 emissions, arising from the group’s own activities and energy use, but to Scope 3. That covers emissions from activities upstream and downstream in the supply chain, including use of Cat products by customers.

“We are dedicated to leading efforts to combat climate change,” Wendy emphasises. “Electrification, energy efficiency improvements and use of smart technology are keys to our success in that area.”

When it comes to forklift trucks, this magazine views the trend from IC engine to electric as positive for the environment. The carbon costs involved in manufacturing electric trucks and their batteries must, of course, be considered. Over the truck’s lifetime, however, these are outweighed by operational savings in carbon compared to engine-powered forklifts.

The latest Cat® 4.0 to 5.5 tonne 80V counterbalance range illustrates some of the advances Cat Lift Trucks is achieving. These forklifts are more energy-efficient, and quieter by far, than many others in their class. In fact, they maximise every electric advantage.

Energy-efficient Cat® electric counterbalance trucks eliminate tailpipe emissions and reduce forklift lifecycle carbon costs. Truck shown is from the Cat 4.0 to 5.5 tonne 80V range.

Energy-efficient Cat® electric counterbalance trucks eliminate tailpipe emissions and reduce forklift lifecycle carbon costs.

Meanwhile, in the group’s factories, the quest for energy savings and lower carbon emissions continues. Some sites are already using renewably generated electricity, while others plan to do so. Similarly, savings are sought in the distribution and aftercare of forklifts.

This new factory heating system recovers waste heat from painting process equipment.

A good example is this manufacturer’s common component strategy. Essentially, it reduces the number of different spare parts needed to keep the trucks in action. It means that a dealer’s service van can carry enough stock to fix just about anything at the first visit. That, in turn, means fewer second visits or separate part deliveries are needed. The vehicle mileage, energy and emission savings soon accumulate.

Dealers maintain and refurbish Cat forklifts to extend their service lives and enable sustainable use. (Photo: Aprolis)

Circular economy

Another priority for Cat Lift Trucks is to promote and apply the principles of a ‘circular economy’. This means reducing material consumption and waste, reusing manufactured items, and recycling. It links with carbon emission reduction, as manufacturing everything from virgin raw materials requires more energy.

“Our circular economy working group is currently mapping the sustainability of our components in terms of percentages of raw and recycled materials,” says Wendy. “We have a new Supplier Code of Conduct, which includes sustainable sourcing of raw materials. Our Tier 1 suppliers are now signing it, and we will gradually extend it to the whole upstream supply chain.”

Cat Lift Trucks points to the reputation of its forklifts and their components for durability, which reduces the need for new manufacture. Similarly, design of systems for easy servicing extends component and product life. Where possible, remanufactured parts are offered when replacement is needed. Cat forklift dealers will also refurbish whole trucks for second or third lives.

Painting process issues are being addressed to minimise water pollution risks. (Photo: Aprolis)

Environmental protection

The development and increasing uptake of electric forklifts in workplaces previously dominated by IC engine trucks is cutting air pollution. For applications where engine power is still considered necessary, cleaner technologies and improved fuel efficiency are lowering pollutant levels.

At forklift production plants, Cat Lift Trucks is monitoring airborne VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions from painting processes. An action plan will be prepared to eliminate or reduce those.

Painting processes, including degreasing and paint removal, can also be a potential source of water pollution. “We are addressing these issues by, for example, switching from solvent-based to water-based paints,” Wendy reports. “We also use hydrocarbon separators and other treatments to ensure water is cleaned before leaving our sites. In general, ours is not a water-intensive organisation, but we are taking steps to reduce our water consumption and minimise our impacts.”

What happens next?

“Completing our Environmental Policy was just the beginning!” Wendy remarks. “It’s part of our major ESG (environmental, social and governance) project which we started in 2023. We are making continuous progress, thanks to the efforts of many individuals and teams in and beyond our organisation.

“We have working groups dealing with specific topic areas. Within each group, we have representatives from all parts of our operation. They include people from dealerships, local business units, factories, headquarters and more, throughout Europe, Africa, CIS and the Middle East. Customers and suppliers are also represented in the groups’ activities.

“Centrally, we employ an ESG Compliance Officer to ensure we comply with CSRD and other requirements. In addition, we bring in external sustainability experts to validate our ESG work. Others in the team leading our drive for increased sustainability include our CFO (Chief Financial Officer), Deputy CFO and our Legal, Compliance and Privacy Vice-President.

“Together, we are now defining sustainability-related KPIs (key performance indicators), against which we can record auditable measurements of our progress. At the same time, we are developing training sessions, materials and awareness campaigns to ensure all employees and trading partners feel involved. We will make sure that sustainability is deeply embedded in our operations and culture.”

Wendy Lamaker, Vice-President – Human Resources, Internal Communication and Internal Control.
Environmental, social and governance issues are just part of Wendy’s wide-ranging role within the organisation. She is responsible for internal control, ensuring all financial and other risks are properly managed. This includes compliance with the so-called J-SOX law and extends to making sustainability efforts measurable and auditable. The social aspects of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) also fall naturally within her wider HR and communication remit.
Highly qualified in business administration and auditing, Wendy’s previous experience with audits and audit management included six years at Rabo Vastgoedgroep – a member of the Rabobank group. Before that, she spent four years as an adviser with PricewaterhouseCoopers. She has been with the Cat Lift Trucks family for the last ten years.

Further reading:

Environmental Policy URL

Simple guide to climate change and carbon emissions

Health and Safety Policy

Human Rights Policy

Cat electric counterbalance range

Summary of electric forklift advantages

Summary

Our article sets out how a forklift manufacturer can play a leading role in advancing sustainability. It looks at the new Environmental Policy applied by Cat® Lift Trucks to its whole supply chain. The organisation’s actions focus especially on decarbonisation, the circular economy and environmental protection. They cover factory operations, forklift design and technology, and product distribution and aftercare. Readers will be reassured by the progress made, targets for improvement, and commitment to transparency in reporting. The processes adopted by this organisation set an example to others.

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