Friends of the Earth Action, Teamsters Urge SRI Groups to Examine Diesel Engine Maker’s PAC Contributions to Anti-Green Legislators

April 28, 2008 

(Washington, D.C.) – A report issued today at the Ceres annual conference by Friends of the Earth Action and the Teamsters Union casts doubt on the environment credentials of Cummins, Inc., a diesel engine manufacturer that promotes itself to socially responsible investment (SRI) groups as one of America’s leading “green” companies. Titled "Not So Green—Cummins: Financing Political Enemies of the Environment," the report reveals Cummins’ pattern of targeting its political contributions to candidates with dismal environmental voting records.

Not So Green examines Cummins’ political action committee (PAC) donations to Congressional candidates who ran in the 2006 mid-terms, a crucial election cycle for environmental issues. It demonstrates that Cummins’ PAC contributions in those mid-terms went overwhelmingly to legislators with poor environmental voting records, as measured by 2006 and 2007 rankings from the League of Conservation Voters (LCV). The average 2006 LCV scores for politicians who received 2006 contributions from the Cummins PAC were 50 out of 100 for House elections, and only 35 out of 100 for Senate elections.

The report also details Cummins’ mid-term donations to candidates who at the time held key Senate committee chairs. These Cummins-supported incumbents had average LCV scores of 7. Cummins donated 5 percent of its PAC money to Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), one of the Senate’s most outspoken critics of measures to curb global warming.

“Cummins’ greenwashing is laughable if you follow the PAC money,” said Friends of the Earth president Brent Blackwelder. “In its Business Code of Conduct, Cummins pledges that everything it does will lead to a cleaner, healthier environment. Yet Cummins funnels PAC donations to the likes of Senator Inhofe, a man who has relentlessly opposed efforts to curb disastrous climate change. Investors have a right to know about the political funding trail Cummins is keeping in the shadows.”

The report also notes that Cummins helped finance the 2006 campaigns of three of the League of Conservation Voters’ 2006 Congressional “Dirty Dozen” (members of Congress defined by the LCV as consistently voting against the environment).

“Cummins has a shameful political record on the environment, and its record on the work environment isn’t any better,” said Teamsters Union General President Jim Hoffa. “The Teamsters have already questioned Cummins’ right to be considered a socially responsible company given Cummins’ documented violations of international labor standards and its harsh treatment of its U.S. employees over the past 15 years. This new information on Cummins’ political contributions simply shows that a company that trashes workers may also be trashing the planet. We urge SRI groups and the environmental community to take a close look at companies like Cummins and reevaluate their rankings and green accolades.”
 

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Friends of the Earth Action is the political arm of Friends of the Earth. It advocates bold, pro-environment legislation and helps elect officials who will do the same. For more information, go to www.foeaction.org

The Teamsters Union represents more than 500 Cummins workers in the United States. Copies of the Teamsters report on Cummins’ labor abuses are available at http://www.teamster.org/divisions/industrialtrades/cummins_compareportjuly2007.pdf

Download the report, Not So Green—Cummins: Financing Political Enemies of the Environment.