Cummins Environmental Leadership: A Response
2008-06-19 Source：english.chinabuses.com
Summarize：Throughout its 89-year history, Cummins has been committed to corporate responsibility and the goal of improving the communities where our employees live and work. The Company and its employees also h ...
Throughout its 89-year history, Cummins has been committed to corporate responsibility and the goal of improving the communities where our employees live and work. The Company and its employees also have an ongoing interest inimproving the environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
While Cummins has long been a leader in developing new products to meet tough emission standards, our employees also are committed to reducing energy usage and focusing on the prudent use of our natural resources. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it makes good business sense for the Company.
Now more than ever, we understand that operating with an eye toward sustainability is not only vital to our society and our environment, it nourishes us as a company, enabling our growth today and in the future.
Despite our long-standing dedication to a cleaner, healthier, safer environment, the Company’s commitment recently was questioned in a report commissioned by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Issued by Friends of the Earth Action at the Teamsters’ behest, the report attempts to portray Cummins as a major supporter of so-called anti-environmental members of Congress through donations by the Cummins employee-funded political action committee (PAC).
This portrayal is misleading and does not bear up under close scrutiny. The report fails to mention contributions by the Cummins PAC to environmental leaders in Congress. It also ignores Cummins’ efforts to champion cleaner air by minimizing diesel emissions and reducing the environmental footprint of its facilities.
Cummins spends millions of dollars each year researching and developing technologies aimed at producing clean diesel engines. In 2007, Cummins spent more than $350 million on research and engineering worldwide – approximately two-thirds of which was devoted to creating emissions-compliant products.
Cummins also was the first and only company to meet the 2010 EPA standards for NOx emissions – three years early – with the launch of its 6.7-liter turbo diesel for the Dodge Ram pickup truck in early 2007.
Over the last 10 years, Cummins has spent more than $1 billion researching and developing technologies designed to produce the cleanest diesel engines in the world. As a result, the Company is recognized as an industry leader in emissions reduction technology.
Additional millions are being expended in efforts to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions at Cummins’ facilities worldwide. In fact, the Company has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent as a percent of sales from 2005 to 2010.
In contrast to the significant amount the Company spends on cleaner air, Cummins employee-funded PAC contributed less than $140,000 to 104 candidates for the 2005-2006 election cycle. Nearly half of the PAC contributions were given to “environmental champions” as designated by the League of Conservation Voters. Only 3 percent of Cummins’ total PAC contributions went to the League’s so-called “Dirty Dozen.”
In conclusion, Cummins stands behind its record as a responsible corporate citizen and its commitment to the mission of demanding that everything we do leads to a cleaner, healthier, safer environment.
For a complete and accurate portrayal of Cummins’ many activities on behalf of the environment, as well as its many stakeholders, interested parties can refer to the Cummins 2007 Sustainability Report, which is available online at Cummins.com.
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