Columbus-based Cummins Inc. set multiple environmental sustainability goals three years ago, considering them vital for success. As the targets have been hit and increased, the company and the communities in which Cummins operates have benefited.
Known best for making diesel engines, Cummins has saved $40 million in operational efficiency as a result of the comprehensive plan it unveiled in May 2014, said Karen Cecil, the company’s director of global environmental sustainability, whose role was to create the comprehensive plan.
Cummins communities are benefiting because of more recycling, less waste being sent to landfills, reductions in greenhouse gases and more water being conserved, said Brijesh Krishnan, the company’s environmental manager for facilities and operations.
The company is the Columbus region’s largest employer with about 7,500 workers based in southern Indiana.
“When we reduce waste or reuse waste for other products, that benefits the local community and gives it much more lead time for the life of the landfill,” Krishnan said.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.