Since 2001 Cisco has supported the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), which brings businesses together with UN agencies, labor organizations, civic organizations, and governments to advance 10 universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. These principles are outlined in greater detail below.
Cisco’s commitment to the UNGC is further reflected in the integration of the values of the Ten Principles into its own codes of conduct, policies, and programs, as described below.
Principles—Human Rights
• Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.
• Businesses should make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
We strive to protect and actively enhance the human dignity of our employees and the communities in which we operate. We support the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, as outlined in our Code of Business Conduct and employee policies, we expect all our employees to treat others equally and with respect and dignity. We extend this commitment to our suppliers through Our Supplier Code of Conduct.
Examples:
Cisco works in the community to enhance the equality, rights and freedoms of local communities:
• LifeLines India: Cisco works in partnership with BT and OneWorld (a charitable organization working to promote human rights and sustainable development) to deliver a telephone-based agricultural information service to rural farmers. The project helps achieve the digital inclusion and improved economic livelihoods of rural communities, giving hundreds of families a better quality of life.
• The Cisco Women’s Empowerment Program provides Arab and Jewish women in Israel with technology training, soft skills, microloans, and business mentoring. In Israel, the gender gap is complicated by a cultural divide between Arabs and Jews. This opportunity to bring Arab and Jewish women together helps to break down prejudices and introduce greater tolerance and understanding, thus paving the way for greater gender and racial equality.
Cisco encourages its employees to utilize their right and responsibility to express their views on matters that affect their operations:
• Employee Initiatives Thanks to the perseverance of our employees, Cisco boasts some of the most innovative and effective reuse and recycle programs in the industry, keeping our electronic waste and environmental impact to a minimum.
Principles—Labor
• Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
• Businesses should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor.
• Businesses should uphold the effective abolition of child labor.
• Businesses should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Cisco recognizes that our most valuable asset is our workforce. The section of this report entitled Cisco and Our Employees details the numerous policies which help ensure that our work environment is free from harassment and discrimination and that we treat employees with dignity, respect, and courtesy. We maintain a culturally diverse workforce, and Cisco Employee Networks foster an inclusive organizational culture by bringing together colleagues who share a similar culture, identity, interest, or goal. We earned a number of awards in recognition of our diversity and inclusion efforts and accomplishments in the past year. Cisco’s Supplier Code of Conduct helps ensure that our suppliers maintain standards on working conditions, working hours, discrimination, and child and forced labor that, in many cases, are more stringent than local law.
Examples:
Cisco actively promotes an inclusive and diverse workplace:
• Cisco Employee Networks open to all Cisco employees, bring colleagues together who share a similar culture, identity, interest, or goal. Employee networks facilitate career development, formal and informal mentoring, and social interaction. Examples are the Cisco Black Employee Network, Women’s Action Networks, and the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Network.
• We are dedicated to increasing the number of women who choose to pursue technical careers, and we strive to advance the education and participation of women in networking through strategic partnerships and programs such as the Cisco Networking Academy Gender Initiative., a partnership project with UNIFEM.
Principles—Environment
• Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.
• Businesses should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.
• Businesses should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Cisco commits to responsible environmental practices throughout our business. Our innovative environmental programs are designed to increase the energy efficiency of our operations, reduce waste, and protect the environment in communities where we work. Cisco technology also helps us and others achieve cleaner operations. Our products are developed for energy efficiency, and we monitor their safe disposal. We adhere to many international standards and strive to do more by making protecting the environment a companywide priority.
Examples:
• Cisco’s European executive-led climate change working group aims to understand how Cisco products can help us and our customers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to develop the carbon competence of all our European business operations.
• Cisco Connected Workplaces minimize energy use and waste generation. Taking advantage of technology helps reduce our impact on the environment by decreasing the amount of infrastructure required and associated energy, water, and materials used.
• Product Stewardship incorporates environmental considerations into every stage in the lifecycle of our products, from the extraction of raw materials to a product’s eventual disposal.
• Cisco Unified Communications provides us and our customers with integrated communication and collaboration solutions, reducing the need for business travel and thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Principles—Anti-Corruption
• Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
Cisco’s Code of Business Conduct outlines the legal and ethical standards we expect our employees to adhere to in their business dealings. It applies to our Cisco employees and subsidiaries. We also expect our suppliers, customers, and resellers to adhere to its contents.
Examples:
• Cisco’s Ethics Program Office monitors our Code of Business Conduct, helping to ensure that our employees receive individual and online training on various topics covered by our codes of conduct.
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