Cisco’s commitment to advancing bold environmental sustainability objectives stems from our leadership team and our comprehensive Environmental Sustainability Strategy, known as “Futurewise” – a framework that outlines our core priorities for creating a regenerative future. To achieve these ambitious goals, we rely on a deep understanding of sustainability concepts and a strong foundation in data analysis, which is facilitated by our proprietary Sustainability Data Framework. Cisco’s commitment to leveraging data-driven insights for environmental sustainability has earned us a prestigious award from SustainableIT.org this week, solidifying our position as a leader in sustainable IT practices.
Cisco’s Chief Sustainability Workplace staff had the honour of accepting this award ultimately night time’s SustainableIT.org Influence Awards & Gala, an occasion that celebrates excellent contributions to sustainability in IT. This event brought together global leaders to explore innovative ideas and spark transformative change. Cisco’s Sustainable Development Framework (SDF) received recognition for successfully transitioning to an environmentally sustainable approach through data-driven decision making.
The SustainableIT.org Influence Award is a testament to the diligent efforts and unwavering commitment of our dedicated team members. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDF) framework underscores the pivotal role it plays in propelling Cisco’s environmentally sustainable endeavors forward.
Cisco’s creation of the Sustainability Development Framework (SDF) was driven by the fundamental idea of building a corporate knowledge platform capable of serving as the primary source of information on environmental sustainability within the company, thereby facilitating data-driven decision making and strategic planning. The Sustainability Data Framework (SDF) seamlessly consolidates, analyzes, and harmonizes knowledge from diverse sources, empowering predictive modeling that supports not only our own but also those of our customers and partners’ environmental sustainability journeys.
To achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our value chain by 2040, meet customer expectations, and provide transparent environmental sustainability reporting, we need robust and actionable insights and infrastructure for data-driven decision making across Cisco.
Throughout various scenarios akin to:
- Providing expert analysis to accelerate monitoring of sustainable development initiatives and devise strategies to enhance our organization’s commitment to protecting the environment.
- Empowering engineers to inform environmentally sustainable design choices and crafting data visualizations that provide actionable recommendations for customers.
- What matters to our customers about sustainable practices when purchasing Cisco products?
- Enhancing transparency and accountability through robust environmental sustainability reporting practices.
The Strategic Data Framework (SDF) seamlessly manages diverse knowledge complexities, catering to the needs of multiple stakeholder groups, including non-profit organizations (CSOs), Chief Information Officers (CIOs), product designers, and sales teams.
Consider a comprehensive scenario encompassing every product and go-to-market strategy, as well as our product carbon footprints (PCFs), which approximate the global warming potential of our merchandise across the globe.
Frequently, our potential customers ask for this information from us. Over the past year, a significant surge has been observed in buyer inquiries regarding PCF expertise, with demand more than doubling in the 12-month period. This increasing emphasis on environmental sustainability reporting and transparency is evident in companies’ purchasing decisions.
The Simplified Data Framework (SDF) streamlines and automates the process, significantly reducing manual handbook efforts. The system allows account managers to quickly generate a list of products, yielding easily readable results in a formatted layout.
Customers can explore estimated Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) metrics across all stages – manufacture, transport, usage, and eventual disposal – through our intuitive dashboards. Beyond this point, the dashboards within the SDF offer vivid graphical representations and provide in-depth insights into the PCF domain’s collective knowledge. New dashboard units are being designed to track shifts in PCF performance metrics across time, showcasing where improvements have occurred and identifying areas that demand further attention.
As soon as we embarked on the mission to develop the SDF, I felt a strong sense of responsibility guiding this project because I could vividly imagine its impact and importance. The value of a use-case-driven design approach lies in its ability to address the needs of enterprises and tackle critical challenges. In a mere two-year span, we have achieved remarkable strides. We’re poised to leverage the data and dashboards in the SDF to offer recommendations and provide actionable insights to our customers and partners, ultimately driving informed decision-making. By harnessing the insights from the Sustainability Data Framework (SDF), we have successfully streamlined and automated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions calculations, as well as developed models to forecast Cisco’s emissions trajectory towards achieving our ambitious 2040 net-zero goal.
The Strategic Development Framework (SDF) is underpinning several critical facets of our organization, driving strategic initiatives and fostering business growth across various sectors. Currently, the platform provides expertise in 25 unique applications and tools, delivers actionable insights through intuitive dashboards, and has been recognized as a crucial component of environmental sustainability success?
With this week’s award from SustainableIT.org in hand, Gartner has recognized Cisco’s SDF as a leading example of best practice, underscoring the critical importance of a robust knowledge infrastructure within the rapidly evolving landscape of environmental sustainability? I’m thrilled with our achievements and look forward to driving further progress on our environmental sustainability goals.
As the need for environmental sustainability expertise continues to evolve and diversify, it is crucial that we harmonize data sources and present information in a straightforward, easily digestible manner to cater to an increasingly informed and discerning audience. The Sustainable Development Framework (SDF) synthesizes a comprehensive array of knowledge, encompassing product operations, supply chain insights, buyer behavior, and external environmental factors affecting emissions.
Accurate information is a vital catalyst for driving environmentally sustainable initiatives forward effectively. The Sustainable Development Framework’s ongoing expansion is crucial for progressing Cisco’s environmental sustainability initiatives and empowering other organizations in their own sustainability endeavors. As the organization’s needs and those of our customers continue to shape us, the SDF remains a dynamic entity, adapting to new demands and requirements.
For those enthralled by exploring the intersection of knowledge and expertise in driving environmental sustainability, visit
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