Climate Lobbying Overview: Cummins appears to be engaging on climate policy with mixed, but increasingly positive positions. In 2019-22, Cummins appears to have communicated top-line support for a 2050 net-zero target and supported some energy efficiency and greenhouse gas standards. While Cummins has supported the Build Back Better Act and, Inflation Reduction Act, it is a member of a number of trade groups that have opposed these bills.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Cummins has positive top-line messaging on climate change. In an October 2022 Indianapolis Business Journal interview, Cummins CEO Jennifer Rumsey appeared to express support for government regulation to respond to climate change. Cummins leadership have been consistent with this position, as can be seen earlier on in the year in February 2022, when Forbes reported that - now former - Cummins CEO Tom Linebarger advocated for support of the Build Back Better (BBB) Act “despite some unattractive tax elements, because climate is existential;” similarly, the Wall Street Journal reported in November 2021 that Cummins’ support for climate in the BBB Act outweighed its opposition for the tax increases in the plan. During that same month, Cummins was a part of a joint C2ES letter that stated strong support for the climate provisions in the BBB Act. Cummins states support for carbon pricing on its corporate website, last accessed in February 2023. Cummins has consistently supported the Paris Agreement, per its commitment to the United For Paris Campaign in 2019 and in its statement of support for the Paris Agreement in its 2021 TFCD report.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Cummins demonstrates positive engagement with climate policy, particularly in recent years. In January 2022, Cummins filed a joint amicus brief to the Supreme Court that advocated for the EPA’s right to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. According to a Fortune article from February 2022, then CEO Thomas Lineberger allegedly supported and advocated for carbon tax. This is in line with an October 2021 press release, where Lineberger himself supported the idea of an economy-wide carbon tax provision in the Build Back Better Plan. In a December 2021 joint letter, Cummins advocated against stringent criteria in the EU’s Delegated Act on Renewable Fuels from Non-biological Origin and advocated for more flexibility in the EU Renewable Energy Directive. Cummins does have some negative engagement on GHG emissions regulations: in May 2022 comments to the EPA regarding the Clean Trucks Plan, it stated support for methane emissions regulations generally, however opposed the stringent methods proposed in this particular instance. Cummins also submitted May 2022 comments to the California Air Resource Board (CARB) that addressed the NOx portion of the proposed Advanced Clean Cars II regulations, however, without providing a clear position on the overall GHG emissions reduction ambitions of the policy. In April 2022, the company provided oral comments to the EPA regarding the Clean Trucks Plan, opposing the more stringent measures to regulate methane emissions on the basis that it would increase costs.

Positioning on Energy Transition: Cummins appears to take mixed positions on the transition of the energy mix. In an August Roundtable with President Biden, CEO Rumsey expressed strong support for the climate provisions within the Inflation Reduction Act. In July 2022, the company also Tweeted in support of climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.. Cummins has strongly supported the Build Back Better Act and then CEO Tom Linebarger outlined support for clean transportation provisions, including clean vehicle and infrastructure tax credits in an October 2021 press release.In June 2022 Cummins signed a joint letter supporting a 6% 2030 EU e-fuels target for shipping, alongside targets for sustainable e-fuel hydrogen refueling infrastructure for shipping as part of the EU's Alternative Fuel Infrastructures Regulation.

CEO Tom Linebarger stated support for hydrogen as a component of the low-carbon economy in a February 2021 earnings call, however, without commenting on the need to decarbonize hydrogen production.

Industry Association Governance: Cummins is a member of the US Chamber of Commerce, which continues to strongly oppose U.S.climate policy. A Cummins Senior Executive serves on the Board of the National Association of Manufacturers, which has highly negative engagement with climate policy. Cummins is also a member of the Business Roundtable, which demonstrates mixed engagement with climate policy. All three of these trade associations opposed the Build Back Better Act and Inflation Reduction Act. Cummins publicly discloses a list of its memberships to industry associations on its website. Cummins has not published an audit review of its alignment with industry associations on climate change.

InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q1 2023.