Cummins proud to support World Refugee Day

Organised by the United Nations since 2001, World Refugee Day celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. The day holds a special place for Cummins, which has a deeply rooted commitment to removing barriers for those who have historically been denied access to opportunity, including racial and ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities, the economically disadvantaged, immigrants and refugees, and the LGBTQ community.

We asked Emily Johnson, Corporate Responsibility Director, Cummins Europe, and Anisah Shah of Cummins’ legal team, to give us their views on World Refugee Day and explain why it matters so much to the business.

Q. Why is World Refugee Day so important to Cummins?

Anisah Shah (AS): For us, World Refugee Day speaks to equality of opportunity, which is one of our core focus areas for corporate responsibility within Cummins. Supporting refugees is a critical way to contribute to the communities in which we operate.

Emily Johnson (EJ): Absolutely. We have a long-held belief that our company is only as strong as the communities where we do business. Cummins is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for people from all backgrounds in the communities where we live and work. We know that people from refugee backgrounds have faced tremendous challenges and bring skills, experience and wisdom that can make our communities and our business stronger and more resilient. We believe that we have a role to play in helping to improve the situation for refugees in our communities.

Q. How does Cummins identify needs and provide support for refugees?

EJ: We know we are not the experts, so we seek to partner with non-profits that have deep expertise and understanding of the needs of refugees in our communities. Working together, we can make a lasting impact.

We start with our employees volunteering with non-profits serving people from refugee backgrounds to provide support, build trust and develop a better understanding of the needs and priorities. We then work with our community partners to determine how we can best use the skills and talents of our employees to support the needs of refugees in our communities.

Q. What is a good example of a successful community partnership?

EJ: We have several but let’s take what’s happening in the U.K., where we have partnered with the charity Breaking Barriers. Its mission is to empower people of refugee backgrounds to acquire the knowledge, confidence and experience they need to secure stable and fulfilling employment.

As part of that partnership, we joined Breaking Barrier’s Fuse network which brings like-minded businesses together to share best practices. All of us are helping in different ways, including volunteering, running workshops, creating work experience placements, hiring refugees for permanent roles, and sharing what we learn with other business that are part of the network. This has enabled us to learn and take action to achieve more for refugees in the U.K.

AS: We are also supporting Breaking Barrier’s First Steps programme, which offers employment advice and guidance to unemployed refugees, helping them find meaningful work that matches their skills, requirements and aspirations.

EJ: In Ukraine, when the crisis began, we immediately contacted our local community partners working with refugees to ask how we could help. They kept us apprised of what we needed, and our support evolved from Cummins volunteers providing emergency donations to now helping with sustainable housing and education for refugees in our communities.

EJ: I should also mention another U.K. relationship that we’re very proud of. For many years we have partnered with the Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN), which supports initiatives focused on integration, education and employability for its refugee clients. The unemployment rate for refugees and those of refugee background in the U.K. is more than four times higher than the national average, so we are pleased to be helping play a part in supporting opportunities for refugees.

Q. What role do your employee volunteers play?

EJ: We are fortunate to have incredible employees who care deeply about helping refugees in our communities and are willing to give generously of their time and talents to help in any way they can. For example, in Sweden, our employees have helped refugees with homework clubs and language acquisition at the local library. In Belgium, our employees are helping furnish homes for refugees. In Germany, our teams are working with local schools to support integration efforts for newly-arrived refugee children. And in the Czech Republic, our teams are supporting with summer camps for refugees.

AS: We strongly encourage our employees to get involved in local initiatives to positively contribute to the communities where employees live and work, focusing on education, equality of opportunity and the environment – those core values that mean so much to everyone at Cummins.