Cummins Inc.

Cummins Inc. is an engine, power-generation systems, components, and electrified and fuel-cell technology manufacturing company headquartered in the United States. Its equipment and facilities around the world use water for cooling, equipment washing, manufacturing processes, landscaping, and sanitation. Water and wastewater management and watershed restoration are therefore small but relevant parts of the company's sustainability report.

Cummins' top water performance in 2025 was the combined operational savings and increased water recycling. The company used roughly 914 million gallons, 80 million gallons less than in 2024 and 270 million gallons less than its 2018 baseline—a 22.8% absolute reduction. In addition, Cummins implemented 34 water-improvement projects that included process upgrades, cooling improvements, water recycling, and wastewater recovery. These actions resulted in facilities reusing more than 83.9 million gallons over the year.

The Columbus Mid-Range Engine Plant installed a washer solution recycling system that prevents detergent-laden wastewater from being discharged, saving more than 1.4 million gallons of water, avoiding chemical use, and saving energy and labor. Previously, the plant discharged this wastewater because it was deemed incompatible with the coolant.

Other projects extended this approach. An evaporator at the Lindesberg, Sweden, facility allows process-water recovery and is projected to cut water use by 5% and hazardous waste by about 50%. Expansion of wastewater treatment at the Cienega de Flores facility in Mexico will also facilitate water reuse and is anticipated to save about 1.8 million gallons of water each year.

Cummins has avoided 36.5 million gallons of irrigation water use since 2018. The Columbus Technical Center had another irrigation-free year in 2025 after using 2.36 million gallons annually for irrigation since 2018. Additionally, the company's Water Works exceeded self-reported operational water use, with estimated realized quantified water benefits of 2.1 billion gallons—more than a fifth of the water used by operations—as regional benefits exceeded regional water use in seven of its eight regions, including North America and Africa and the Middle East, for the first time. Since 2021, these projects have delivered over 10.7 billion gallons of benefits and reached over seven million people. Projects include cover crops on over 20,000 acres in the Mississippi River Basin, projects in North Africa, WASH in Nigeria, rainwater harvesting in Australia, artificial glaciers in Chile, and wetland and stormwater restoration projects.

The principal disclosure weakness is inconsistent terminology: the report describes the 914-million-gallon figure as consumption in its narrative but labels it water withdrawn in the progress table. Several facility savings are also projected rather than confirmed realized reductions.