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Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility strategy prioritizes the issues that are most important to our business and to our stakeholders, identified through a formal CSR materiality assessment. We use the Cisco CSR Report to communicate our approach, objectives, progress, and challenges around five high-level priorities. First, we’ll focus on Supply Chain:

At Cisco, supply chain plays a critical role in the overall performance of the company. In a world where more and more devices are connecting to the Internet each day, we transform the technological innovations our engineers create by using our global network of capabilities to manufacture and deliver the solutions that enable our customers to harness the power of networking.

John Kern, Cisco’s Senior Vice President of Supply Chain Operations, shared the importance of an ethical, sustainable supply chain in this year’s Corporate Social Responsibility report:

“Our supply chain continues to adapt, innovate, and transform our products and services to create outcomes that enable Cisco’s business and optimize the customer experience. The reach of our global supply chain is immense and we take seriously the responsibility of delivering superior technology products in an ethical and environmentally responsible manner.”

More than 700 suppliers around the world manufacture, test, ship, and recycle Cisco products each year while adhering to Cisco’s Supplier Code of Conduct. We’re committed to creating the highest standard for responsible manufacturing practices, from ensuring safe working conditions to providing fair labor practices and reducing our impact on the environment. In FY15, Cisco achieved a number of goals, which included:

  • Eliminated 100,881 tonnes of CO2 emissions and saved millions in costs by moving from air to ocean transportation modes.
  • Improved our GHG emissions inventory and identified those activities and sourcing practices most suitable to be the focus of our emissions reduction efforts.
  • Established our first ever, long-term Scope 3 supply chain emissions reduction roadmap.
  • 50-percent increase in the number of smelters veri ed to be complaint with the assessment protocols of the Con ict-Free Smelter Program (CFSP).
  • 81 percent of supply chain employees completed Cisco’s corporate human rights training.
  • Recovered $251,000 in excessive recruitment fees and veri ed their reimbursement to migratory factory workers in Malaysia.

In the coming fiscal year, Cisco’s supply chain goals will build on the progress we’ve made while embedding sustainability into supplier assessments, engaging with suppliers to build capacity, and working with others to help address industry wide challenges.

To read the full report and learn more about Cisco’s Corporate Social Responsibility efforts, please visit csr.cisco.com



Authors

Austin Belisle

No Longer with Cisco