Cisco Systems

Carbon per million dollars of revenue. The legacy industry-standard reference (CDP, MSCI). Useful for cross-sector context, but distorted by margin — high-margin firms appear artificially efficient. Read alongside the operational and asset intensities for the full picture.

OpEx (operating expenditure) is the running cost of the business — staff, services, energy, materials. This shows how carbon-intensive operations are per million dollars of spend. Removes the margin distortion that revenue-based ratios introduce.

EVIC (Enterprise Value Including Cash) is the firm's total capital footprint — equity + debt + cash + minority interest. The EU's standard intensity measure (SFDR PAI 3) — answers: how much carbon does each million of capital deployed in this business produce?

PP&E (Property, Plant & Equipment) plus leased real-estate assets is the firm's physical infrastructure on the balance sheet. This shows the carbon intensity of that physical footprint — uses Scope 1+2+3 for consistency with the other headline intensities. Surfaces stranded-asset risk for asset-heavy firms.

• · isometric
• · Puro.earth Registry
• · berkeley_voluntary_registry
• · EPA Green Power Partnership

In FY25, Cisco sourced renewable electricity to match 100% of global annual electricity needs at owned and leased facilities using a variety of methods: on-site renewables, long-term PPAs, virtual PPAs, and energy attribute certificates. In India, Cisco's Bangalore campus began receiving power from a new 92 MW solar and wind generation facility (~181,400 MWh/year). In Texas, Cisco served as anchor buyer for two aggregated virtual PPAs covering 172 MW of solar. Combined, these will produce >500,000 MWh of renewable energy per year. Cisco also piloted renewable fuels — biodiesel in Bangalore for ~10% of backup power needs and renewable natural gas at US/UK sites.

To support its FY25 goal of reaching net-zero emissions from operations, Cisco purchased verified voluntary carbon removals to neutralize the residual ~10% of Scope 1 and 2 emissions not eliminated by the 90% absolute reduction. Cisco's longer-term net-zero (2040) plan likewise envisages neutralizing the remaining 10% of value-chain emissions by removing an equal amount from the atmosphere.

• Energy efficiency, building electrification, fleet EVs in direct operations

  Direct operations (Scope 1 + 2) is <1% of Cisco's footprint but fully within Cisco's control. In FY25 Cisco implemented 78 energy efficiency projects avoiding ~11.5 GWh and ~27,200 tCO2e annually — using AI/analytics to optimize lab energy/airflow/cooling. Completed first building electrification projects in San Jose, CA and Galway, Ireland. Increased European leased-fleet EV share from 11% (FY19) to 66% (FY25). 45 facilities hold LEED or WELL certifications, 21% of the global portfolio.

• Product energy efficiency innovation to reduce use-of-sold emissions

  Cisco's networking infrastructure, including Cisco Silicon One-based routers and switches, is designed to reduce carbon emissions by allowing customers to lower operational footprints and transition to more efficient network architectures. The Cisco 8000 series routers are explicitly cited as enabling customers to 'reduce operational footprints, lower carbon emissions, and transition to more efficient network architectures.' Achieving the 2040 net-zero goal relies in large part on enhanced power efficiency of Cisco's products.

• Circular design across products & packaging

  100% of new Cisco products and packaging now incorporate Circular Design Principles (25 principles across 5 focus areas). Foam in packaging reduced 78% vs FY19; packaging cube efficiency improved 73% cumulatively; recycled plastic content reached 45% (vs 50% target). 76% of component/manufacturing suppliers by spend have at least one zero-waste-certified site. Programs include Cisco Refresh, Cisco Green Pay, and free Product Takeback and Reuse. The C9350 Smart Switch features up to 75% PCR plastic content, 66% less plastic by volume, modular sub-assemblies, and 80 PLUS Titanium/Platinum power supplies.

• Operational clean energy adoption to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions

  Cisco's Plan for Possible sustainability strategy targets net-zero GHG emissions across its value chain by 2040, prioritizing reductions across all scopes. In its own operations, Cisco adopts clean energy including through PPAs. The company also innovates for energy efficiency in its products and solutions, directly impacting its operational and product-embedded energy footprint.

• Direct operations: building electrification, efficiency, fleet EVs

  Scope 1+2 is <1% of footprint but within direct control. In FY25, Cisco implemented 78 energy efficiency projects avoiding ~11.5 GWh of energy and 27,200 tCO2e/year. Completed first building electrification projects in San Jose, CA and Galway, Ireland. European leased company car fleet now 66% EVs (up from 11% in FY19). 45 facilities have LEED/WELL certifications (21% of portfolio).

• Circular design, take-back, and packaging optimization

  100% of new Cisco products and packaging now incorporate Circular Design Principles (25 principles across 5 focus areas). 78% reduction in product packaging foam (FY19 baseline), 73% cumulative packaging cube-efficiency improvement, 45% recycled plastic content in products. 76% of component/manufacturing suppliers by spend have at least one zero-waste-certified site. Product Takeback and Reuse program collects end-of-use hardware at no cost; Cisco Refresh and Cisco Green Pay enable circular offerings.

• Operational energy efficiency and clean energy transition (net-zero by 2040)

  A fundamental component of Cisco's environmental strategy is its SBTi-approved goal to reach net-zero GHG emissions across its entire value chain by 2040, prioritising reductions across all scopes. Cisco is driving clean energy adoption in its own operations, investing in energy-efficient product design, and pursuing circular transformation to reduce resource consumption and extend product life cycles. The company's environmental sustainability strategy, 'The Plan for Possible', encompasses clean energy, circular economy, and resilient ecosystems.

• Product energy efficiency innovation — Silicon One and high-density networking

  Cisco's Cisco Silicon One unified silicon architecture underpins high-density networking solutions designed to reduce operational footprints and lower carbon emissions for customers. The Cisco 8000 series routers, based on Silicon One, provide broad capacity in high-density designs enabling customers to reduce operational footprints and lower carbon emissions. New Smart Switches and AI-ready data centre products are designed with enhanced performance and energy efficiency, directly reducing the energy intensity of networking infrastructure.

• Facility energy efficiency via EnergyOps program

  The Global Energy Management and Sustainability (GEMS) team manages a multi-year EnergyOps program implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across Cisco's real estate portfolio. In FY24, Cisco invested US$7.8 million to implement 27 energy efficiency projects, avoiding approximately 1.3 GWh of energy consumption and 850 tCO2e. Projects include LED upgrades, HVAC optimization, hot/cold aisle containment in labs, electrification of heating systems with heat-recovery chillers, AI-based energy analytics, and emergency demand response participation. The program has a 4.3-year average simple payback threshold, with a marginal abatement cost curve used to evaluate projects.

• Business travel reduction supporting Scope 3 Cat 6 trajectory

  Cisco's business travel emissions were 219,934 tCO2e in FY24, down from 389,528 tCO2e in the FY2019 base year. The company uses a combination of fuel-based, distance-based, and spend-based methodologies covering air, rail, ground transport, and hotel stays. Cisco embraces hybrid work as part of its net-zero strategy, reducing the need for in-person travel. Webex collaboration platform enables hybrid workflows and reduced commuting, with estimated 0.27 tCO2e per employee-year in avoided commuting emissions. Business travel is included in the long-term net-zero Abs3 target.

• Operational energy efficiency programme (EnergyOps) targeting Scope 1 and 2 reductions

  The Global Energy Management and Sustainability (GEMS) team manages the multi-year EnergyOps program implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across Cisco's real estate portfolio. In FY24, the program invested US$7.8 million to implement 27 energy efficiency projects, avoiding approximately 1.3 GWh of energy consumption and 850 metric tonnes of CO2e. Projects include LED lighting, HVAC optimization, building energy management systems (BEMS), hot/cold aisle containment in labs, electrification of building heating via heat-recovery chillers, AI-driven energy analytics, and demand response programs. Cisco plans to invest approximately US$39 million from FY23 to FY25 across energy efficiency, renewable energy, and electrification projects to achieve the FY2025 90% Scope 1&2 reduction target.

• Product power efficiency improvement — Cisco Silicon One reduces customer energy use

  Cisco is developing and deploying next-generation silicon, including Cisco Silicon One, a high-performance, low-power, scalable networking silicon architecture. Cisco's Cisco 8000 series routers based on Silicon One allow customers to reduce operational footprints and lower carbon emissions. Improving product power efficiency is an explicit pillar of Cisco's clean energy strategy, as more energy-efficient hardware sold to customers reduces Scope 3 Category 11 (use of sold products) emissions.

• Operational energy efficiency and Scope 1/2 reduction through renewable energy

  Cisco targets a 90% reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by FY25 compared to FY19. The company continues to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy use in its own operations, including through its 15-year European VPPA that became operational in March 2024. The Environmental, Social and Public Policy Committee of the Board oversees climate strategies and GHG programs.

• Building electrification: converting natural gas heating systems to electric

  As part of the FY2025 near-term target plan, Cisco is converting many natural gas heating systems to electric over the next few years and installing new onsite solar PV systems at several campuses. Scope 1 breakdown shows natural gas (6,336 tCO2e), fleet petrol (7,146 tCO2e), fleet diesel (4,221 tCO2e), refrigerants (4,093 tCO2e), fleet jet fuel (5,111 tCO2e), stationary diesel (5,364 tCO2e), and propane (291 tCO2e). In FY24, water-related expenditures at San Jose included replacing grooved fittings in heating hot water systems to enable electrification by reducing water temperatures in the heating hot water loop.

• Business travel reduction leveraging hybrid work (Webex) to enable avoided emissions

  Business travel (Scope 3 Cat 6) contributed 219,934 tCO2e in FY2024, significantly below the FY2019 base year of 389,528 tCO2e (44% reduction). Cisco's Webex hybrid work platform is classified as a low-carbon product enabling avoided emissions from commuting. Using WBCSD methodology, Cisco estimates 0.27 tCO2e avoided per employee-year vs commuting 5 days/week. Webex-related revenue represents 7.2% of total revenue. Employee commuting (Cat 7) was 78,362 tCO2e in FY2024, based on FY18 survey data scaled to current office badge-ins.

• Direct operations — energy efficiency, electrification, green buildings (<1%)

  Scope 1+2 is <1% of total footprint but within direct control. Cisco plans to invest ~US$39M FY23–FY25 in renewables, energy efficiency, and building/fleet electrification. In FY24 it implemented 27 energy-efficiency projects avoiding ~1.3 GWh of consumption and 850 tCO2e/year. 36 facilities have green building certifications (LEED, WELL); the Atlanta office achieved LEED Platinum; Power over Ethernet enables low-voltage DC building systems with less copper/steel conduit.

• Circular design & product takeback

  Cisco applies 25 Circular Design Principles across material use, standardisation, packaging, smart energy consumption, and disassembly/repair/reuse. 96% of new products and packaging in FY24 met circular design criteria. The Cisco Refresh program (20+ years old) sells certified remanufactured equipment; the Takeback and Reuse program enables product recovery, with >99% of returned products reused or recycled. 41% recycled content in plastic products (toward 50% by FY25).

• Operational energy efficiency and clean energy transition

  Cisco commits to continuing to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy use in its own operations, including through a 15-year VPPA in Europe operational since March 2024. Cisco's near-term target is a 90% reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by FY25 versus the FY19 baseline, with remaining emissions to be neutralised by carbon removal.

• Product power efficiency improvement (Scope 3 use-of-sold)

  Improving product power efficiency is a key stated priority. Cisco Silicon One, its high-performance, low-power networking silicon architecture, is designed to help customers reduce their own power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Cisco plans to integrate Silicon One into all its products and systems over time. The FY30 Scope 3 target covers use of sold products (Category 11) alongside purchased goods and upstream transport.

• Product energy efficiency innovation to reduce use-of-sold (Cat 11) emissions

  Use of sold products (Scope 3 Cat 11) is Cisco's largest emissions source at 11.9 Mt CO2e in FY24, down from 17.9 Mt in FY19 baseline. Cisco calculates these emissions using product energy consumption × units sold × assumed 5-year lifetime. A key near-term Scope 3 target is to reduce Cat 11 emissions 30% by FY2030. The primary lever is continuing to increase product energy efficiency through innovative design — validated in collaboration with Cisco engineering and benchmarked against ICT industry LCA standards. Energy-efficient networking hardware directly reduces customer electricity consumption during use phase.

• Facility energy efficiency via EnergyOps program (HVAC, lighting, electrification)

  Cisco's Global Energy Management and Sustainability (GEMS) team manages a multi-year global EnergyOps program implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across Cisco's real estate portfolio. In FY2023, 27 projects were implemented (3 completed, 24 in progress), avoiding approximately 4.9 GWh of energy and over 2,100 tCO2e, with a US$4.1 million investment. Projects include LED lighting upgrades, HVAC optimization, hot/cold aisle containment in labs, AI-based energy monitoring, emergency demand response programs in Texas and California, and employee engagement campaigns. Cisco also plans to convert natural gas heating systems to electric over FY2023-FY2025 as part of its electrification strategy.

• Circular product design and Cisco Green Pay circularity-as-a-service

  Cisco embeds 25 Circular Design Principles across material use, modularization, packaging, smart energy consumption, and disassembly/repair/reuse. 27% of new products meet circular design criteria (FY25 goal: 100%). Cisco Green Pay launched FY22 — an IT payment solution providing path to acquire Cisco products with sustainability; Cisco reuses/remanufactures/recycles loaned equipment at contract end. Cisco Refresh sells remanufactured products with like-new warranties.

• Operational energy efficiency via GEMS EnergyOps program

  The Global Energy Management and Sustainability (GEMS) team runs a multi-year global EnergyOps program implementing energy efficiency projects in Cisco buildings. In FY2023, 27 projects were implemented or commenced, avoiding approximately 4.9 GWh of energy and over 2,100 tCO2e, with US$4.1 million invested. Initiatives include LED lighting upgrades, HVAC optimization and hot/cold aisle containment, AI-based energy monitoring, emergency demand response programs (Texas, California), and employee energy conservation campaigns. Cisco plans to invest ~US$39 million in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and electrification from FY2023-FY2025.

• Building electrification: converting natural gas heating systems to electric

  As part of the FY2025 Scope 1&2 target, Cisco plans to convert many of its natural gas heating systems to electric over the next few years, reducing direct Scope 1 emissions from natural gas (7,853 tCO2e in FY2023). In FY2023, Cisco replaced grooved fittings in heating hot water and domestic hot water systems at San Jose campus buildings to reduce water leaks while enabling electrification by allowing reduced water temperatures in the heating hot water loop.

• Business travel reduction enabling hybrid work (Scope 3 Cat 6)

  Business travel emissions declined significantly from the FY2019 baseline of 387,856 tCO2e to 216,735 tCO2e in FY2023. Cisco embraces hybrid work as a strategic pillar of its net-zero transition, enabled by its Webex collaboration platform. Webex facilitates hybrid workflows reducing daily commuting and travel, with Cisco estimating a 36% reduction in emissions compared to a 5-day office workweek. Hotel stays and multi-modal travel (air, rail, ground) are tracked using fuel-based, distance-based, and spend-based methodologies.

• Direct operations: energy efficiency, building & fleet electrification

  Direct operations (Scope 1 and 2) account for <1% of emissions. In FY23, Cisco implemented 27 energy efficiency projects avoiding ~4.9 GWh and 2100 tCO2e annually. Multiyear project to electrify fuel-burning heating systems and increase EV use in European company car fleet. 35 facilities with LEED/WELL green building certifications (19% of building portfolio). Real estate square footage reduced by 15% since August 2017 via hybrid work strategy.

• Operational energy efficiency via global EnergyOps programme

  Cisco's Global Energy Management and Sustainability (GEMS) team manages a multi-year global EnergyOps programme, investing US$14.8 million in FY2022 to implement 34 energy efficiency projects, avoiding ~14.5 GWh of energy consumption and ~8,000 tCO2e. Projects include LED lighting upgrades, HVAC optimisation, airflow management in labs, AI-based energy monitoring, and emergency demand response participation in Texas and California. Cisco plans to invest ~US$39 million from FY2023-FY2025 across energy efficiency, renewable energy, and electrification.

• Electrification of natural gas heating systems and fleet

  Cisco plans to convert many of its natural gas heating systems to electric over the next few years as a core lever to achieve the FY2025 90% Scope 1 and 2 reduction target. This is part of the ~US$39 million investment planned from FY2023-FY2025 in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and electrification projects, alongside installing new onsite solar PV systems at several campuses.

• Hybrid work adoption reducing business travel and employee commuting emissions

  Cisco embraces hybrid work as an explicit decarbonisation strategy. Due to COVID-19 pandemic impacts and ongoing hybrid working, Scope 3 business travel emissions in FY2022 were ~79% lower than FY2019. Employee commuting emissions have also decreased significantly. Cisco's collaboration products (Webex, Cisco Virtual Office, Meraki Virtual Office) enable travel substitution and are classified as low-carbon products under Corporate Knights Clean Taxonomy.

• Operational energy efficiency via EnergyOps programme (GEMS)

  Cisco's Global Energy Management and Sustainability (GEMS) team manages a multi-year global EnergyOps programme implementing hundreds of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across Cisco's real estate portfolio. In FY2022, GEMS avoided ~14.5 GWh of energy and over 8,000 tCO2e by investing US$14.8M across 34 projects (14 complete, 20 in progress), including LED lighting upgrades, HVAC optimisation, airflow/hot-cold aisle containment, AI-based energy monitoring, and demand response participation in Texas and California. Cisco uses a 4.3-year average simple payback threshold and a marginal abatement cost curve for project selection. To meet the FY2025 near-term target, Cisco plans to invest US$39M in energy efficiency, renewables, and electrification (FY23-25).

• Operational energy efficiency and facility electrification

  Cisco operations are only 1% of total emissions. Invested ~US$60M from FY17–FY22 on energy efficiency, with US$39M more committed FY23–FY25 to fund efficiency, renewable energy, and electrification projects. In FY22 implemented 34 energy efficiency projects avoiding 14.5 GWh and 8,000 tCO2e annually. Reduced data center power consumption by 40% since 2016; reduced real estate footprint by 16% since Aug 2017.

• Circular design and recycled-content materials

  Goal that by FY25, 50% of plastic in products (by weight) will be recycled content. Target 100% of new products/packaging to incorporate Circular Design Principles by FY25 (4% met criteria in FY22 soft launch). Reduce foam in packaging 75% by FY25 (23% achieved). Increase packaging cube efficiency 50% by FY25 (36% achieved). 4M Meraki accessories shipped in paper packaging of 70% recycled content; >700,000 lbs corrugate reduced; 37,273 lbs foam reduced. Cisco Refresh remanufactured products and Cisco Green Pay sustainable financing extend product life.

• Electrification of heating and fleet to reduce Scope 1 natural gas and fuel emissions

  Cisco plans to convert many of its natural gas heating systems to electric and is investing in onsite solar photovoltaic systems at several campuses as part of its FY2025 Scope 1 and 2 reduction roadmap. The US$39M FY23-25 investment plan explicitly covers electrification projects alongside energy efficiency and renewables. Scope 1 sources include natural gas (8,421 tCO2e), fleet diesel/petrol/jet fuel (18,537 tCO2e), and refrigerants/fire suppressants (3,282+577 tCO2e HFCs) in FY2022.

• Embracing hybrid work to reduce business travel and employee commuting emissions

  Cisco explicitly lists 'Embracing hybrid work' as one of the strategies to achieve net zero by 2040. Scope 3 business travel (Cat 6) fell ~79% vs FY2019 baseline due to COVID-driven changes in working habits, and employee commuting (Cat 7) also decreased significantly. Cisco's collaboration products (Webex, Virtual Office) are classified as low-carbon products under the Corporate Knights taxonomy and enable customers to substitute travel. Hybrid work is embedded in Cisco's transition to net zero as a structural reduction lever.

• Operational energy efficiency in real estate portfolio

  Scope 1+2 = 1% of footprint but committed to net zero by 2025. Invested US$45M between FY18-FY22 in hundreds of efficiency projects (improved lab airflow, LED lighting, mechanical equipment optimization). Over 5 years: 360 projects, 118 GWh energy avoided, 52,250 tCO2e avoided. 32 LEED/CASBEE/BREEAM certified facilities (3.7M sq ft, ~20% of portfolio). Met FY22 Scope 1+2 60% reduction goal (FY07 base year) one year early.

• Hybrid work reducing commuting and real estate footprint

  Cisco anticipates 20-30% decline in employee commuting vs pre-pandemic levels, reducing Scope 3 commuting emissions. Optimising real estate portfolio (offices becoming collaboration centres rather than daily workspaces) reduces Scope 1+2. Webex, AnyConnect VPN and TelePresence enable customers and employees to avoid travel; a Webex Desk Pro lifecycle analysis found 24 avoided SF Bay Area commutes/year offsets the device's entire lifecycle emissions. Electric vehicle fleet in Europe at 25% by end FY21, target 100% by 2030.

• Circular economy and product takeback

  Embedding Circular Design Principles into all new products and packaging by FY25 (pilot completed, 93% training completion among prioritized design teams). 38% virgin plastic reduction achieved (FY18 base). Foam reduction 19% on track to 75% by FY25. Packaging cube efficiency improved 26%. Cisco Refresh remanufactured equipment program, Send IT Back app for returns (156% increase in returns FY20-FY21). Signatory to PACE Capital Equipment Pledge for 100% product return upon request. Member of Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Circular Electronics Partnership.

• Product energy efficiency (use phase)

  Product use is the largest contributor to Cisco's GHG footprint per LCA. New Cisco 8201 router (Silicon One) uses 415W vs 11 MWh predecessor NCS 6008, 26x less power, with 35% more bandwidth. Goal to improve large rack-mounted system power efficiency from 77% to 87% by FY22. Innovations include ASIC node size reduction, intelligent power management, high-bandwidth memory, and 80 Plus Platinum/Titanium power supplies.

• Circular design and closed-loop plastics

  Launched IP phone 8800 series and Webex Room Kit Plus using 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic resin in FY20. Reduces carbon footprint of plastic components by up to 95%. Plastic accounts for >15% of direct plastic procurement.

• Energy efficiency in labs, offices, data centers

  GEMS team completed 44 energy efficiency projects in FY20 avoiding 19.3 GWh and 8,600 tCO2e. Over 440 projects in last 5 years avoided 140 GWh and 62,000 tCO2e. US$45M invested between FY18-FY22 for hundreds more efficiency and renewable projects.

• Business travel and remote collaboration

  Cisco uses its own Webex, TelePresence, Jabber technologies extensively to reduce business travel. Over 1.1M Webex meetings/month with 4.6M attendees in FY19. 5,500 multipurpose TelePresence rooms, 200 immersive rooms, 1,000+ Webex Boards globally. About one-third of annual ISO 14001 audits performed remotely. FY19 business travel emissions: 217,500 tCO2e.

• Product energy efficiency (use-phase emissions)

  Use-phase typically 80-90%+ of product lifecycle emissions. Five engineering initiatives: power (87% efficiency goal by FY22, currently 85%), thermal, high-speed interconnects, power supply, and customer facilities. All Cisco products covered by ATIS TEER standards since 2011 have undergone testing. ENERGY STAR certification for IP phones, servers, SNE, LNE.

• Circular economy: product takeback, refurbishment, recycled content

  Capital Equipment Pledge at WEF 2018: 100% product return. Five pillars: circular operations, circular design, circular consumption, circular solutions, ecosystem leadership. Cisco Refresh remanufactured equipment saves ~85% of energy/water/materials per APEC. In FY19, 13% of returns were refurbished/reused. 35% recycled content in 2.72M IP phones avoided 456 tonnes virgin plastic. Goal: 20% virgin plastic reduction by FY25.

• Energy efficiency in buildings, labs, and data centers

  Global Energy Management and Sustainability (GEMS) team manages $40M five-year EnergyOps program implementing hundreds of efficiency and renewable projects through FY22. In FY19, 48 projects avoided 19.4 GWh and 7,100 tCO2e. Since FY15, projects avoided ~170 GWh and 76,000 tCO2e. Labs and data centers consume 60%+ of operational electricity.

• Circular economy and product end-of-life

  Five-pillar circular strategy: operations, design, consumption, solutions, ecosystem leadership. 100% product return pledge via PACE. In FY18 refurbished/reused/recycled 13,946 tonnes returned product; 31% reuse rate; only 0.35% to landfill. Component harvesting pilot returned $6.7M of components to reuse. IP Phone 6800/7800 use 35% recycled plastic, avoiding 430 tonnes virgin plastic in FY18.

• Operational energy efficiency (EnergyOps program)

  $40M+ five-year EnergyOps program implementing 100+ projects per year. In FY18, 145 efficiency projects avoided 32.4 GWh and 10,300 tCO2e. Focus areas: LED lighting, VFDs, waterside economizers, hot/cold aisle containment, lab and data center cooling efficiency. Cisco Connected Workplace reduced real estate by 7.3M sq ft over 5 years, avoiding ~166M kWh annually.

• Product use-phase energy efficiency

  Use-phase emissions account for 80-93% of product life-cycle GHG emissions. Cisco set a science-based target to improve large rack-mounted-equipment system power efficiency from 77% to 87% by FY22 (FY16 baseline). Engineering initiatives: improved power conversion (plug-to-port), thermal/cooling alternatives including multiphase liquid cooling, high-speed interconnect efficiency (Gbps/W), and integrated customer facility power solutions.

• Business travel reduction via Cisco TelePresence/WebEx/Jabber

  To reduce Scope 3 business air travel emissions, Cisco deploys its own collaboration technologies: 1500+ TelePresence rooms, 8000+ personal video units, Cisco Spark, WebEx, Jabber available to all employees. About one-third of annual global ISO 14001 site audits are performed remotely. FY17 air travel emissions were 11% below FY07 baseline despite revenue and headcount growth.

• Circular economy: product take-back, refurbishment, recycling

  Cisco receives 11,000-14,000 metric tonne of used product/year; in FY17, 11,398 tonne returned. 16% refurbished/reused/resold; <0.4% to landfill. Cisco joined Ellen MacArthur Foundation CE100 in early 2017. Strategy includes product return programs (TMP, EPUP, TB&R), exploring go-to-market models like leasing/as-a-service, IoT-enabled asset tracking, and product design for longevity. Cisco IP Phone 7800 uses 35% post-consumer recycled plastic in 7 components, avoiding 2390 tCO2e in FY17.

• Product energy efficiency (system + ASIC)

  Cisco targets 92% total system power efficiency by 2020. ASIC power reduction techniques delivered 71% cumulative Gbps/W improvement from 2005-2015 with another 63% projected by 2018. Between four generations of core routing and switching products, a 38-fold increase in bits-per-watt with only 2.5x increase in power usage. Cisco contributed to ATIS TEER standards and engages ENERGY STAR.

• Flexible workplace reducing real estate footprint

  Cisco Connected Workplace can house ~30% more employees than traditional office layout. By end of FY17, 63.6% of office space was Connected Workplace compliant. Real estate footprint reduced from 23.3M sqft (FY13) to 20.8M sqft (FY17). By end of FY18, expected to have reduced footprint by ~6.5M sqft while increasing persons housed by 8%, avoiding ~137M kWh and 61,500 tCO2e annually.

• Building & data centre energy efficiency program (EnergyOps)

  GEMS team manages a multi-million dollar EnergyOps program. By end of FY17, Cisco had invested over $50 million in 450+ energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. In FY17 alone, 103 projects avoided ~40 GWh energy and 23,600 tCO2e. Investments include LED lighting, variable frequency drives, waterside economization, coil optimization, building analytics, and DCIM tools. New Allen TX and RTP NC data centres achieve PUE of 1.35 and 1.41 respectively, both LEED Gold certified.

• Cisco Connected Workplace — facility footprint reduction

  Increasing employee density per building to reduce the number of buildings required. Expected to reduce facility footprint by approximately one million square feet. Green leasing terms integrated into standard leases since FY11; 29 LEED-certified facilities (22 Gold/Platinum) representing 3.3M sq ft (15% of portfolio).

• Product energy efficiency (use phase dominant)

  80–95% of products' carbon footprint is in the use phase. Cisco's Design for Environment approach prioritises low-power mode and high-utilisation operation. ASIC performance improved from 1.48 Gbps/W (CY05) to 6.25 Gbps/W (CY18 projected); total system power efficiency improved from 0.57 to 0.84 over same period.

• Business air travel reduction via Cisco collaboration tech

  Cisco uses its own remote-collaboration technologies (TelePresence, WebEx) to reduce business air travel. Scope 3 air travel target: 40% absolute reduction by FY17 vs FY07 baseline.

• EnergyOps Program — building efficiency retrofits

  A US$57 million multi-year (FY13–FY17) investment implementing ~500 energy efficiency and renewable projects across 21M sq ft. Expected to avoid 140 GWh of energy and 500,000 tCO2e per year on average. Includes data center retrofits (EC fans, waterside economizers, coil optimization) saving 13,000 MWh and 7,500 tCO2e annually. Average 4-year payback, $69M 10-year NPV.

• Customer and ecosystem enablement for grid modernization and energy access

  Cisco leverages its networking and IoT products to help digitize, modernize, and secure electric grids and increase energy availability. Through the Cisco Foundation, $100 million over ten years was committed in 2021 for grant funding to nonprofits and impact investing in early-stage companies building innovative climate solutions. Cisco Investments also invests in early-stage companies that help Cisco and customers further their sustainability goals.

• Circular transformation to reduce embodied carbon and extend product life

  Cisco is transitioning from a linear to a circular business model by applying circular design principles to products and packaging, extending product life cycles, and recovering and redeploying hardware. Cisco aims to enable customers and partners to adopt circularity through its portfolio of offerings. This approach reduces resource extraction and end-of-life waste across the value chain.

• Supply chain decarbonisation via supplier collaboration and RBA standards

  Cisco is committed to respecting human rights and environmental standards throughout its supply chain. As a founding member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), Cisco has adopted the RBA Code of Conduct as its Supplier Code of Conduct and evaluates supplier conformance through self-assessments, third-party audits, and collaborative solutions. The company also collaborates with suppliers to increase access to clean energy at their sites, which is a key assumption underpinning the 2040 net-zero goal.

• Logistics: shift from air to ocean freight (3% of footprint)

  Scope 3 Category 4 (upstream transport) is ~3% of Cisco's footprint. Cisco is addressing this by prioritizing ocean over air shipping and engaging suppliers to shift to lower-emission modes of transport.

• Supplier decarbonization & procurement (36% of footprint)

  36% of Cisco's emissions come from Scope 3 Categories 1 and 2 (purchased goods/services and capital goods including manufacturing and warehousing). Cisco set a target that 80% of component, manufacturing, and logistics suppliers by spend have public absolute GHG reduction targets by FY25; achieved 88%. Hosted a net-zero supplier roundtable in Thailand. Teamed with two consumer brands to help suppliers access clean electricity in Asia — four supplier sites committed to ~28M kWh of clean energy in 2025, avoiding ~16,717 tCO2e.

• Use-of-sold-products energy efficiency (Scope 3 Cat 11)

  Product use is 59% of Cisco's carbon footprint — the dominant lever. Cisco addresses these emissions by investing in product energy efficiency through better cooling, optics, and power sources, and engaging customers on their renewable electricity strategies. The new N9300 Series Smart Switches powered by Cisco Silicon One deliver enhanced capabilities with reduced energy consumption; multiple switching, routing, and data-center products earned ENERGY STAR certifications in FY25.

• Supplier emissions reduction targets and clean-energy access

  Procurement and manufacturing (Scope 3 Cat 1 + 2) is 36% of Cisco's footprint. 88% of component, manufacturing, and logistics suppliers by spend now have public absolute GHG reduction targets, exceeding the 80% goal. Cisco hosted a net-zero roundtable with suppliers in Thailand and teamed up with two consumer brands to help suppliers access affordable clean electricity in Asia — four supplier sites committed to ~28 million kWh of clean energy in 2025, avoiding ~16,717 tCO2e.

• Upstream transport: shifting from air to ocean freight

  Logistics (Scope 3 Cat 4 — upstream transportation and distribution) is 3% of Cisco's footprint. Cisco addresses these emissions by prioritizing ocean over air freight and engaging carriers to shift to lower-emission transport modes.

• Supply chain sustainability via RBA Code of Conduct and supplier engagement

  Cisco is committed to respecting human rights and environmental standards throughout its supply chain. As a founding and active member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), Cisco has adopted the RBA Code of Conduct as its Supplier Code of Conduct. Cisco evaluates supplier conformance through self-assessments, third-party audits, and collaborative solutions. The company also works across the ICT industry through initiatives to develop supplier capacity aligned with industry standards, addressing labour, health and safety, environmental, and human rights standards in manufacturing partners and suppliers.

• Use-of-sold-products energy efficiency (59% of footprint)

  Scope 3 Category 11 represents 59% of Cisco's footprint — the energy consumed when customers use Cisco products. Cisco addresses this by investing in product energy efficiency (cooling, optics, power sources), launching N9300 Smart Switches built on Cisco Silicon One architecture for higher capacity at lower energy use, achieving ENERGY STAR certifications across switching, routing, and data center portfolios, and engaging customers on renewable electricity strategy. Cisco Energy Management capability now provides customers visibility into 5 key energy/GHG metrics across Meraki, Catalyst Center, Nexus Dashboard, and Splunk.

• Circular transformation — circular design, product take-back, and hardware redeployment

  Cisco is evolving towards a circular business model by applying circular design principles to products and packaging, extending product life cycles, and recovering and redeploying hardware to advance a circular life cycle. The company aims to enable customers and partners to adopt circularity through its portfolio of offerings. This holistic approach targets the transition from a linear economy that extracts resources and eventually wastes them to a circular one that finds new uses for products and their inputs.

• Avoided emissions via customer products enabling grid modernisation and energy efficiency

  Cisco positions its networking products as enabling customer decarbonisation by helping to digitise, modernise, and secure electric grids and increase energy availability. The company helps customers build energy-efficient network infrastructure — including AI-ready data centres with lower per-unit energy consumption — and provides products that enable smart building technology, turning network devices into sensors for enhanced intelligence and control of physical spaces. These customer-use enabled reductions represent Cisco's primary Scope 3 Category 11 lever.

• Supply chain GHG engagement: require suppliers to set absolute reduction targets

  Cisco requires all suppliers with >$1M annual spend to report Scope 1+2 emissions through CDP, obtain third-party verification, and set public absolute GHG reduction targets. In FY24, 90% of component, manufacturing, and logistics suppliers by spend had a public absolute GHG reduction goal, exceeding Cisco's 80% target for FY25. Cisco co-hosted a 2024 Hanoi seminar with 70 supply-chain partners on renewable energy and water stewardship. Over FY23-24, Cisco guided suppliers through energy audits, lighting and VFD upgrades, and solar roll-outs, cutting an estimated 695 tCO2e per quarter. Cisco prefers suppliers align to a 1.5°C science-based methodology. Supplier GHG performance drives reduction in Cat 1 purchased goods emissions.

• Low-carbon air freight shift to reduce upstream transport (Cat 4) emissions

  Upstream transportation and distribution (Cat 4) contributed 643,904 tCO2e in FY24, down from 989,830 tCO2e in FY2019. The majority of these emissions relate to air freight. Cisco plans to use low-carbon shipping modes as one of the key levers to achieve the FY2030 30% Scope 3 reduction target. Cat 4 is one of three categories explicitly included in the near-term SBTi-approved Scope 3 target (Abs2). Emissions are calculated using weight- and distance-based data with emission factors that include direct and indirect climate change effects for air transport.

• Circular economy and product design for multiple lifecycles reduces Cat 1 and Cat 12

  Cisco's enterprise-wide circular economy program embeds circularity into product and packaging design: designing for reuse, minimizing environmental impacts, and managing equipment for multiple lifecycles. Goals include 100% of new products incorporating Circular Design Principles by FY25, 50% recycled plastic content in products by FY25, 75% reduction in foam packaging by FY25, and 50% packaging cube efficiency improvement by FY25. Circular design reduces new manufacturing demand (reducing Cat 1 supplier emissions) and diverts products from end-of-life landfill (Cat 12). Cisco also evolves business models to support multiple product lifecycles, including remanufacture and take-back programs.

• Circular economy — extending product lifecycles and reducing material impact

  Cisco is evolving its business model from linear to circular by applying circular design principles to products and packaging, enabling customers to adopt circular offerings, and recovering/redeploying end-of-use hardware through reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling. Targets include 100% of new products incorporating circular design by FY25, 50% recycled plastic content by FY25, and 70% of component/manufacturing suppliers achieving zero-waste diversion at one or more sites by FY25.

• Ecosystem technology deployment for climate resilience and biodiversity protection

  Under its 'fostering resilient ecosystems' pillar, Cisco deploys technology to protect and restore ecosystems. The Cisco Foundation committed $100 million over ten years to support resilient ecosystems through grants to nonprofits and impact investing in climate companies; as of FY2024, $35 million had been approved across six priority areas. Cisco also partnered with Mercy Corps to develop technology-enabled climate solutions in drought-affected communities. These activities support Cisco's broader value-chain decarbonization goals.

• Supply chain Scope 3 reduction — 30% cut in purchased goods, upstream transport, use-of-sold by FY30

  Cisco's FY30 near-term SBTi target covers Scope 3 Category 1 (purchased goods and services from manufacturing, component, and warehouse suppliers), a subset of Scope 3 Category 4 (upstream air transportation), and all of Scope 3 Category 11 (use of sold products) — targeting a 30% absolute reduction vs FY19. Cisco collaborates with customers, partners, and suppliers to accelerate the energy transition, including adoption of renewable energy at supplier sites. As a founding member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), Cisco conducts third-party audits on supplier environmental and social practices.

• Circular economy — extend product life, take-back, remanufacturing, recycled content

  Cisco is evolving to a circular business model by applying circular design principles to products and packaging, enabling customers to adopt circularity through circular offerings, and recovering end-of-use hardware through reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling. By FY25, Cisco targets that 100% of new products incorporate circular design principles, 50% of plastic in products (by weight) be recycled content, and 70% of component and manufacturing suppliers achieve a zero-waste diversion rate. These reduce both upstream (purchased goods) and downstream (end-of-life) Scope 3 emissions.

• Use-of-sold-products energy efficiency: reducing Cat 11 emissions through product design

  Use of sold products (Scope 3 Cat 11) is Cisco's largest emissions source at 11.88 MtCO2e in FY2024, down from 17.87 MtCO2e in FY2019 (33.6% reduction). Cisco calculates Cat 11 based on product energy consumption, units sold, and 5-year assumed product lifetime. The strategy involves continuing to increase energy efficiency of products through innovative product design and integrating AI to optimize technology delivery. Cisco's SBTi near-term Scope 3 target includes a 30% absolute reduction in Cat 11 by FY2030. The company also has a goal that 100% of new products incorporate Circular Design Principles by FY25 and that 50% of plastic in products (by weight) will be recycled content by FY25.

• Supply chain GHG engagement: requiring 80% of suppliers to set absolute reduction goals

  Cisco requires suppliers spending >$1M USD annually to report Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions through CDP, achieve third-party verification, and set a public absolute GHG reduction goal. Cisco set a goal that 80% of component, manufacturing, and logistics suppliers by spend would have a public absolute GHG reduction target by FY25. In FY24, 90% of those suppliers had such a target, exceeding the goal. Cisco co-hosted a 2024 Hanoi seminar with 70 supply chain partners on water-energy nexus and renewable energy. Over FY23-24, Cisco guided suppliers through energy audits, lighting/VFD upgrades, and solar roll-outs, cutting 695 tonnes CO2e per quarter. RBA Code of Conduct compliance is verified through on-site audits.

• Upstream logistics decarbonisation: low-carbon shipping modes to reduce Cat 4

  Upstream transportation and distribution (Scope 3 Cat 4) contributed 643,904 tCO2e in FY2024, down from 989,830 tCO2e in FY2019 (35% reduction). This category is a target under Cisco's SBTi near-term Scope 3 goal (30% by FY2030). The strategy includes using low carbon shipping modes and weight- and distance-based emissions calculation for air transportation. Air transportation emissions account for the majority of Cat 4 and include direct and indirect climate change effects in emission factors. Cisco plans to continue embedding circular economy principles to reduce the volume of outbound shipments.

• Use-of-sold-products energy efficiency (~70% of footprint)

  The largest portion (~70%) of Cisco's emissions comes from the energy products consume during use (Scope 3 Category 11). Cisco addresses this by increasing product energy efficiency and engaging customers to optimise networks. Examples: UCS X-Series is 54% more energy-efficient at CPU level than previous generations; several Catalyst 9000 switches received ENERGY STAR certification in the Large Network Equipment category — Cisco is one of the first to do so in this category.

• Supplier engagement on emissions & renewable energy (~25% of footprint)

  About 25% of emissions come from purchased goods and capital goods (Scope 3 Cat 1 & 2). Cisco requires suppliers to set absolute GHG reduction targets — 90% of suppliers by spend had done so in FY24 — and to report to CDP. In FY24 Cisco assessed renewable energy usage at manufacturing partner sites, became a sponsor of Catalyze (helping semiconductor/ICT suppliers transition to renewables), and is a founding member of the Asia Clean Energy Coalition.

• Upstream logistics — air-to-ocean modal shift (~4% of footprint)

  Approximately 4% of emissions (Scope 3 Cat 4) comes from upstream transportation and distribution. Cisco addresses these by prioritising ocean over air freight and engaging logistics partners to shift to lower-emissions modes of transport.

• Supply chain emissions reduction — 30% Scope 3 target by FY30

  Cisco's FY30 near-term SBTi target includes a 30% reduction in absolute Scope 3 emissions from a subset of purchased goods and services (manufacturing, component, and warehouse suppliers — Category 1), upstream air transportation (Category 4), and use of sold products (Category 11), compared to FY19. Cisco works with suppliers through the Responsible Business Alliance and evaluates conformance to its Supplier Code of Conduct.

• Customer and ecosystem collaboration to accelerate clean energy transition

  Cisco aims to collaborate with customers, partners, and suppliers to accelerate the energy transition. Cisco's networking infrastructure and Silicon One technology help customers reduce their own power consumption and GHG emissions. The company also invested $100 million from the Cisco Foundation over ten years to support resilient ecosystems and climate solutions, with $35 million approved as of FY2024.

• Circular economy and product end-of-life: recycled content, take-back, packaging reduction

  Cisco embeds Circular Design Principles into 100% of new products and packaging by FY2025. Key goals include: 50% of plastic in Cisco products made from recycled content by FY2025; 75% reduction in foam packaging weight by FY2025; 50% packaging cube efficiency improvement by FY2025; 70% of component and manufacturing suppliers achieving a zero-waste diversion rate at one or more sites by FY2025. Cisco manages its equipment for multiple product lifecycles (refurbishment/reuse) to reduce the need for new manufacturing and the associated embedded carbon and water impacts.

• Business travel reduction and hybrid work enablement (Webex)

  Cisco's Scope 3 business travel emissions fell from 387,856 tCO2e in FY2019 to 216,735 tCO2e in FY2023, reflecting sustained reduction from hybrid work adoption and travel management. Employee commuting emissions fell from 79,735 tCO2e (FY2019) to 14,586 tCO2e (FY2023) due to increased WFH. Cisco's Webex platform is positioned as a low-carbon product enabling hybrid workplaces, estimated to reduce emissions by 36% vs a traditional 5-day office week. Business travel is included in the FY2040 net-zero long-term target (Abs3).

• Supply chain decarbonization: supplier GHG targets and renewable energy engagement

  Cisco requires all suppliers with >$1M USD spend to report GHG emissions through CDP Supply Chain and set absolute GHG reduction goals. In FY2023, 92% of suppliers had a public absolute GHG reduction goal, exceeding Cisco's 80% by FY2025 target. Cisco hosted renewable energy workshops with 90 representatives from 61 suppliers in China and works closely with contract manufacturing partners to identify energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunities. Suppliers are contractually required to comply with the RBA Code of Conduct, which mandates GHG reporting and target-setting.

• Use-of-sold products energy efficiency innovation (Cat 11, largest emission source)

  Use of sold products (15.6 Mt CO2e in FY2023) is Cisco's largest Scope 3 category, driven by electricity consumed by networking equipment over its lifetime. Cisco's key lever is increasing product energy efficiency through innovative product design—directly reducing the energy consumed by installed base globally. Product energy consumption data from 93% of products comes from supplier/partner data. Cisco uses a 5-year average product lifetime assumption. This category is included in both the FY2030 near-term Scope 3 target and the FY2040 net-zero goal.

• Circular economy and product design for reduced upstream and end-of-life emissions

  Cisco embeds circular economy principles across product design, sourcing, manufacturing, and end-of-life to address Scope 3 emissions across multiple categories. Goals include: 100% of new products incorporating Circular Design Principles by FY2025; 50% recycled plastic content by weight in products by FY2025; 75% reduction in packaging foam by FY2025; 50% improvement in packaging cube efficiency by FY2025. Cisco's Takeback Program enables customers to return used equipment for reuse or responsible recycling. In FY2023, 111 metric tonnes of equipment were collected at Recycle IT Day. These initiatives reduce the need for new manufacturing and lower Scope 3 Cat 1, 4, 9, and 12 emissions.

• Product energy efficiency innovation to reduce use-of-sold-products emissions (Scope 3 Cat 11)

  Use of sold products is Cisco's largest emissions category at 15.6 million tCO2e in FY2023 (vs 17.9 Mt in FY2019 base year). Cisco's primary strategy is to 'continue to increase the energy efficiency of our products through innovative product design.' Product energy consumption data is used with unit sales and a 5-year assumed product lifetime (range 2-15 years) to calculate Scope 3 Cat 11. The 30% reduction SBTi target by FY2030 for Cat 11 focuses on this dominant category. Year-over-year progress is expected to fluctuate based on product mix and volume.

• Supplier GHG reduction engagement: 92% of suppliers with public absolute GHG goals in FY2023

  Cisco engages its manufacturing, component, and logistics suppliers on GHG reduction through mandatory CDP reporting requirements (all suppliers >$1M spend), RBA Code of Conduct audits, and supplier scorecards. Cisco set a goal that 80% of suppliers by spend have a public absolute GHG reduction goal by FY2025; as of FY2023, 92% met this threshold. In FY2023, Cisco hosted renewable energy workshops for 90 representatives from 61 suppliers in Eastern and Southeastern China. Cisco also works closely with contract manufacturing partners to identify energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunities.

• Use-of-sold product energy efficiency (70% of emissions)

  The largest portion of Cisco's emissions (70%, Scope 3 Cat 11) comes from energy products consume during use. Cisco addresses these by investing in product energy efficiency through cooling systems, optics, and power sources. Example products: Silicon One G200 chip, UCS X-Series servers with 54V power distribution, 80 Plus Titanium-rated power supplies, intelligent fan controls. Webex Control Hub launched Carbon Emissions Insights widget enabling customers to view energy consumption and emissions of their Cisco devices.

• Supplier engagement on emissions reduction targets

  23% of emissions come from procurement and product manufacturing (Scope 3 Cat 1 and 2). By FY25, 80% of component, manufacturing, and logistics suppliers by spend will have public absolute GHG emissions reduction targets — 92% achieved in FY23. Cisco piloted the RBA's Emissions Management Tool with key manufacturing suppliers and is developing a renewable energy strategy to guide suppliers in clean energy solutions.

• Logistics: shift from air to ocean transport

  5% of Cisco's emissions come from upstream transportation and distribution (Scope 3 Cat 4). Cisco addresses these by prioritizing ocean over air shipping and engaging with suppliers to shift to lower-emission modes of transport.

• Upstream transport shift from air to ocean

  Upstream transportation and distribution accounts for 4% of Cisco's Scope 3 emissions. Over recent years Cisco has focused on shifting transport from air to ocean shipping where possible to reduce emissions intensity.

• Supplier engagement on emissions and renewables

  Purchased goods/services represents 23% of footprint. By FY25 target 80% of component, manufacturing and logistics suppliers by spend to have public absolute GHG reduction targets — 78% achieved in FY22. Began engaging Asia-Pacific suppliers on renewable energy in FY22. Founding member of Asia Clean Energy Coalition. Suppliers required to report progress to CDP annually.

• Product energy efficiency improvement to reduce Scope 3 Cat 11 (use of sold products)

  Cisco's engineers actively design products to be more power efficient, representing its largest single decarbonisation lever given Cat 11 (use of sold products) accounts for ~68% of total value-chain emissions. Cisco's Silicon One technology architecture is cited as a key R&D investment. The company also evaluates customer incentives to accelerate transition to low-carbon energy sources. Product power efficiency improvement is directly linked to executive compensation targets.

• Product energy efficiency and power design to reduce Scope 3 Cat 11 (use of sold products)

  Use of sold products dominates Cisco's Scope 3 inventory (11,978,535 tCO2e in FY2022, down from 17,867,750 tCO2e FY2019 baseline). Cisco's SBTi Abs2 target covers Cat 11 with a 30% absolute reduction goal by FY2030. Engineers actively design products to be more power-efficient — a near-term executive compensation goal in FY2022 was to improve large-rack mounted equipment system power efficiency. Silicon One is highlighted as a key decarbonisation R&D project. Cisco is also evaluating ways to engage customers to incentivise transition to low-carbon energy sources. The circular design programme incorporates power efficiency as a key circularity focus area.

• Use of sold products (72% of footprint)

  Use of sold products represents 72% of Cisco's total Scope 1-3 emissions. Engineers focus on power efficiency, thermal optimization, high-speed interconnects/ASICs, and customer integration. In FY22 achieved 87% system power efficiency in large rack-mounted equipment (up from 77% in FY16). Nexus 9800 switches with 80 Plus Titanium/Platinum power supplies are 1.6x more efficient than predecessor Nexus 9500.

• Supply chain GHG reduction engagement: target-setting and CDP disclosure requirement

  Cisco engages its manufacturing, component, logistics, and warehouse suppliers through supplier scorecards, requiring them to set public absolute GHG reduction targets and report through CDP. By end FY22, 78% of component, manufacturing, and logistics suppliers by spend had set an absolute GHG reduction target vs a FY25 goal of 80%. Cisco uses a third-party platform to track supplier emissions against science-based reduction pathways. Sustainability performance is embedded into procurement sourcing decisions.

• Upstream air freight decarbonisation (Scope 3 Cat 4)

  Upstream transportation and distribution (Cat 4) is 835,024 tCO2e in FY2022 and is included in the SBTi Abs2 near-term target (30% reduction by FY2030 vs FY2019 base of 989,830 tCO2e). Air transportation emissions are calculated using weight- and distance-based data. Cisco continues to engage upstream air transportation carriers to support their emissions reductions as part of achieving the near-term target. Non-air transportation emissions are calculated using spend-based methods and include ground transport.

• Supply chain GHG target-setting and engagement (Scope 3 Cat 1 — purchased goods)

  Cisco's near-term SBTi Abs2 target requires 30% absolute reduction in Cat 1 (purchased goods) by FY2030 vs FY2019. Cisco engages over 500 direct manufacturing, component, and logistics suppliers representing >95% of direct procurement spend. Suppliers are scored via supplier performance scorecards on GHG reporting, emissions verification, and setting absolute GHG reduction targets. Cisco set a goal that 80% of component, manufacturing, and logistics suppliers by spend will have a public, absolute GHG reduction target by FY25; by end of FY22, 78% had done so. Cisco uses a third-party supplier management platform to track supplier emissions against science-based reduction pathways and recognises leaders through an annual supplier award programme.

• Supply chain decarbonisation (Scope 3 purchased goods)

  Purchased goods and services (incl. capital goods) = 25% of total emissions. Cisco requires manufacturing and component suppliers to disclose corporate-wide GHG emissions annually via CDP supply chain. Goal: 80% of component, manufacturing and logistics suppliers by spend to have public absolute GHG reduction targets by FY25 (on track at 38%). Goal: reduce supply chain Scope 3 by 30% absolute by FY30 (on track at 27%, FY19 base year). Co-hosted CDP training for China suppliers; contributed to RBA Code accountability mechanisms for supplier GHG targets.

• Product use-phase energy efficiency (Silicon One, UCS-X)

  Use of sold products = 73% of Cisco's total footprint, the dominant emissions source. Strategy is energy scalability via five investment areas: power, cooling, high-speed interconnects/ASICs (Silicon One delivers 2x bandwidth per ASIC), customer facilities, and 80 Plus Titanium-rated power supplies. The Cisco 8201 router with Silicon One consumes 96% less energy/year than the predecessor NCS 6008 while supplying 35% more bandwidth. UCS-X M6 servers introduced zone-based cooling reducing chassis energy ~11% (689.8 kWh/year/server, ~3000 tCO2e per 10,000 units).

• Customer-enabled emissions via remote collaboration (Webex)

  Webex collaboration technology enables avoided business travel emissions. National Trust estimated single virtual meeting saved 1000 miles. Sweden could reduce 550,000 tonnes CO2 with 30% virtual meetings. Hosted 14 billion meeting minutes in March 2020, 26 billion in October 2020 vs 7 billion in October 2019.

• Product takeback, refurbishment, reuse via Cisco Refresh

  Cisco joined PACE Capital Equipment Coalition in 2018 pledging 100% product return upon request. In FY20, 15.29% of returns refurbished/resold/reused (+2.15pp YoY), 84.55% recycled. Over 120M components reintroduced to market via harvesting. Cisco Refresh remanufactured equipment sold in 80+ countries.

• Supply chain emissions engagement via CDP

  Cisco engages component, manufacturing, and logistics suppliers via CDP Supply Chain Program for >10 years. Goal: 80% suppliers by spend with public absolute GHG targets by FY25 (33% in FY20, +10 points YoY). Goal: 30% absolute reduction in supply-chain Scope 3 by FY30 (FY19 baseline).

• Logistics: mode shift from air to ocean freight

  Mode Shift program optimizes freight logistics, shifting from air to ocean where practical. In FY19, avoided 148,432 tCO2e. Services Green program (in-theatre repairs) avoided 10,972 tCO2e; Responsible Supply Chain Design avoided 38,866 tCO2e. Combined upstream transport programs avoided 993,508 tCO2e cumulative FY12-FY19.

• Supply chain GHG reduction with suppliers

  Cisco's supply chain GHG emissions are 5x larger than direct operations. Achieved 1M tCO2e avoidance goal one year early (115%). New FY30 goal: reduce Scope 3 supply chain emissions 30% absolute (FY19 base). 87% of manufacturing/component/logistics suppliers by spend report Scope 1+2 to CDP. 24% of suppliers have public absolute GHG reduction targets.

• Supply chain GHG reduction (Make It Green, Mode Shift)

  Goal to avoid 1M tCO2e cumulative supply chain emissions FY12-FY20; achieved 91% (910,582 tCO2e) by end FY18. Six tracks: Make It Green (packaging/materials), Mode Shift (air-to-ocean freight), Responsible Supply Chain Design, Services Green, Component Scrap Management, Partner Energy Management. FY18 results: 20,800 tCO2e Services Green, 90,774 tCO2e cumulative Mode Shift, 44,367 tCO2e Make It Green.

• Business travel substitution via collaboration tech

  Cisco TelePresence, Webex, Webex Teams, Jabber, and Cisco Virtual Office enable remote collaboration replacing air travel. 25,000+ employees use Cisco Virtual Office. 1,500+ TelePresence rooms, 8,000+ personal video units. ~1/3 of global ISO 14001 audits conducted remotely. Closed FY17 business air travel reduction goal of 40% absolute (FY07 baseline).

• Supply chain partner energy & GHG reduction

  FY20 goal to avoid 1 million tCO2e in supply chain (FY12 baseline). At end of FY17, 711,980 tCO2e avoided cumulatively. Six sub-programs: Make It Green (packaging/fulfillment), Mode Shift (air-to-ocean freight: 113,540 tCO2e avoided), Responsible Supply Chain Design (49,758 tCO2e), Services Green (12,091 tCO2e), Responsible Scrap Management, and Partner Energy Management (IoT-enabled factory energy systems saved 15,492 MWh / 9,795 tCO2e in FY17). Cisco requires suppliers to report to CDP.

• Supply chain emissions reduction program

  Launched in FY15 to accelerate Scope 3 supply chain emissions reporting and reductions. Includes shifting transport modality from air to ocean (eliminated 100,881 tonnes CO2 in FY15), Connected Supply Chain IoT pilot in Malaysia to monitor energy at manufacturing partners, and CDP-based supplier engagement. Goal: 100% of key suppliers report to CDP; 75% to set GHG reduction goals.

• Product take-back, refurbishment and reuse

  Cisco's TMP and EPUP customer trade-in programs returned 11,718 tonnes of product in FY15, with 25% refurbished, resold or reused. Less than 0.25% goes to landfill. 100% Product Return pilot launched with channel partners (e.g. Dimension Data committed to keep 4,000 tonnes of e-waste from landfill over 5 years).