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Catherine Paquette

Business Analyst

Global Energy Management and Sustainability (GEMS)

Catherine Paquette is an analyst on the Global Energy Management and Sustainability (GEMS) team.  As a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, she hopes to bring creativity and new ideas to Cisco, while also learning everything she can about energy-efficiency and sustainability.  She is currently helping to develop lighting and HVAC projects for the EnergyOps Program, Cisco’s four-year initiative to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions across its operations, as well as working on new, energy-efficient guidelines for our buildings and communications strategies to amplify Cisco's sustainability initiatives.

Catherine had the opportunity to intern for the GEMS team in San Jose during the summer of 2013.  Her project was to develop a global standard for lighting controls, standardizing the way we turn the lights off and on in different Cisco space types.  By using better lighting controls, we can reduce our energy consumption (and energy costs!), which reduces our impact on the planet and makes good business sense for Cisco.  Her recommendations are now being rolled out across Cisco buildings around the world.

At Carnegie Mellon University, Catherine’s interdisciplinary degree was in architecture and environmental studies.  She focused her coursework on how architects and facilities managers can make buildings more sustainable, and was a teaching assistant for third-year architecture students. In addition, Catherine helped one of her professors develop and write about her research on energy-efficient lighting upgrades for office buildings. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Catherine set aside time to be a part of the track and cross-country teams and was voted captain of both sports her junior and senior year.

Catherine now works out of Cisco’s Research Triangle Park campus and lives in Durham, North Carolina.  Outside of work, she enjoys going for runs in the Duke forest, exploring her new home state, reading classic novels, and spending time with her friends.

Articles

Cisco Greenhouse: Fostering a renewed interest in the environment

4 min read

For employees who are interested in connecting with their peers on environmental sustainability, Cisco makes it easy to pick up new tips, hobbies, and skills through our internal employee engagement platform called Cisco GreenHouse.

Connected Bees Coming to Cisco’s Research Triangle Park Campus

2 min read

We are excited to announce that Cisco has signed an agreement with Bee Downtown to install and maintain three honeybee hives on land adjacent to our RTP campus. Our “Connected Bees” will support the growing pollinator population in North Carolina, advance honeybee education across the region and contribute toward the largest pollinator corridor in the country.

Cisco Employees are Earth Aware, Making a Positive Impact on the Planet

2 min read

Last month, employees around the world came together to celebrate Earth Day throughout April as part of Cisco’s “Earth Aware” campaign.

Cisco Opens New Solar Facility to Power San Jose Campus

3 min read

Cisco's new solar facility in California will help us achieve our goals of advancing environmentally sustainable growth by producing approximately 60,000 megawatt-hours of clean, renewable solar power each year.

A Look Back at Cisco’s Recent Sustainability Accomplishments

3 min read

We can all be proud of the progress Cisco's made to further reduce our own and our customer’s environmental impact. These accomplishments would not have been possible without help from all of our employees, partners, and teams.

EPA Recognizes Cisco As Green Power Partner of the Year

2 min read

Yesterday, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented Cisco Systems with a Green Power Partner of the Year award. The Green Power Leadership Awards recognize Green Power Partners for their leadership, overall renewables strategy, and impact on the green power market. Cisco Systems was one of only three organizations nationwide to be chosen as a […]

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