Industrial Strength

This year, Business Roundtable is observing Earth Week by spotlighting our member companies’ sustainability efforts in action. These are just a few of the many stories featured in our 10th annual sustainability report, Create, Grow, Sustain: Delivering Shared Success.

John Deere is an iconic American company dedicated to those who cultivate, harvest and build upon the land. Under the leadership of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Samuel R. Allen, the employees of John Deere are working every day to fulfill their company’s mission in a socially conscious and environmentally responsible way. They’re building more fuel-efficient products, reducing energy and water use, minimizing waste and volunteering in their communities.

At John Deere, sustainability also means harnessing the power of their world-class equipment for good work. For John Deere, supporting Living Lands & Waters — an “industrial strength” nonprofit river cleanup organization — was a natural fit. Cleaning and preserving America’s rivers and waterways are monumental tasks that require dedication, hard work and the right tools.

With the help of an excavator donated by John Deere, the Living Lands & Waters crew has kicked its efforts into high gear. Recently, they removed more than 200,000 pounds of garbage from a 20-mile stretch of the Ohio River near Cincinnati in just four weeks, a record for the organization.

This effort and others like it are an integral part of the John Deere culture, Allen emphasizes. “Doing good things doesn’t just benefit our neighbors and our environment, it also benefits John Deere. It motivates us and helps us run more efficiently,” he said.

John Deere’s machinery is not only delivering for its customers, it’s helping deliver cleaner waterways for America. That’s the very definition of shared success.