Director Ben Tuxworth introduces Cisco's 2015 CSR report.

Published in November 2015, Cisco’s new CSR report is the eleventh from the company.  Tempting perhaps to just crank the handle and produce another, but it’s also been a year of change.   With new CEO Chuck Robbins in place after the long tenure of John Chambers; and as the company pushes sustainability further into the business, Cisco has changed the focus and format of the report to build the strategic story and show how Cisco is making a positive impact in the world.

It’s also Cisco’s first report to the Global Reporting Initiative’s G4 guidance, which reporting aficionados will know requires a greater focus on ‘material aspects’ – the things that actually matter to stakeholders and the business.   For Cisco, these range from equipping a new generation of people with the skills to engage in the digital economy, to tackling climate change, to protecting digital rights and data security.    These issues – and Cisco’s response last year and in the future now form the focus of the report, and reveal a company that is seeing ever greater opportunity in the challenges of sustainability.

The scale at which a company with Cisco’s reach and role in the infrastructure of the Internet can act is impressive.  Just switching from air to water transportation has saved over 100,000 tonnes of carbon.  And there’s 12,000 tonnes of used equipment recovered from customers as part of the growing circular economy story that includes a pilot for 100% product returns.  Perhaps the stand-out story is over a million students in 170 countries passing through its Networking Academy on their way to employment.

With this report Cisco has set the stage for deepening its strategic approach in 2016 and beyond.  Its launch will soon be accompanied by key executives within the business setting out their stall on what we can expect in the coming years.   The report and the first of these messages, from Tae Yoo, is available here.  Worth a look!

I talked to Cisco's John Kern, Senior Vice President on Supply Chain, about the new report - watch the video here.