FIGHTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Fighting domestic violence – an APAC Legal function pro bono initiative

The global Every Employee, Every Community (EEEC) program is one of Cummins’ most longstanding and successful corporate responsibility initiatives. Giving back to the community and the values the EEEC program represent form the foundation of Cummins’ core values. Every year, the APAC Legal function seeks to contribute to the EEEC program in a meaningful and impactful way. This year the APAC Legal function’s focus has been on victims of domestic violence. Statistics show that, for many women and girls, the threat of domestic violence is most apparent in settings where they should feel the safest. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has compounded this predicament through pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions. The APAC Legal function, in partnership with other members of the ‘Every Woman Treaty’ and in particular with leading global law firm Baker McKenzie, has worked on a project designed to improve the lives of domestic violence victims. The partnership has produced a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of domestic violence laws in the Australia/New Zealand region. The project started in March 2021 with more than 70 lawyers from Cummins and Baker McKenzie in Australia and New Zealand spending hours researching and analysing thousands of pages of legislation to produce a comparative analysis of the laws against the expectations of human rights instruments. We are proud of achieving our goal of mapping out laws on domestic violence, assessing law enforcement practices and related social protection and security measures, and identifying gaps between the status quo and the standards set in international and regional frameworks. The work the Cummins/Baker McKenzie team has done will form part of a global database coded with a powerful comparative tool to enable rapid analysis of legislation measured against model domestic violence conventions and between countries. It is designed to help regional, national and international NGOs and public and government authorities to assess relative effectiveness and identify where there is room for improvement. The Australia/New Zealand analysis will be uploaded onto the global database by the end of December 2021. The database is free and available for anyone to use. The APAC Legal function hopes our efforts will benefit individuals and organisations that can put it to good use to drive change.

Sustainability recognised

Cummins enjoyed a moment in the spotlight at the COP26 summit when Prince Charles announced the company was one of 45 inaugural recipients of the Terra Carta Seal.

The seal recognises businesses for their commitment to environmental sustainability and decarbonisation. Speaking at an art museum near the global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, the Prince of Wales called on all businesses to take a leadership role in the transition to a more sustainable, no-carbon future.

“The Terra Carta Seal recognises organisations that have made a serious commitment to a future that is much more sustainable and puts nature, people and the planet at the heart of the economy,” Prince Charles said. “We all need to make changes if we are to preserve the planet for our children and grandchildren and these businesses have pledged to make it easier for us all to do so.” Inspired by the Magna Carta, the medieval document that is an important symbol of liberty around the world, the Terra Carta is a recovery plan for the planet that serves as the guiding mandate for the Prince’s Sustainable Markets Initiative. The initiative seeks to establish a global forum for industries to restructure their operations in ways that protect the world’s resources. Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger said: “Sustaining a vibrant economy while using fewer of the earth’s resources is the challenge of our time. Our mission of making people’s lives better by powering a more prosperous world requires a healthier planet, and it will take all of us working together to solve the world’s climate challenges. Being part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative is a great honour and a great responsibility.”

For Nature, People & Planet