Stakeholder Engagement
Ongoing engagement with key stakeholders helps us set strategy and goals and align our priorities with the broader business landscape.
Cisco business teams regularly gather input from stakeholder groups, including:
Communities
Guided by our Purpose, we partner with communities to drive digital inclusion and resilience. From crisis response to digital skilling to our 40 Communities initiative, we get feedback to better support the communities where our customers and employees live and work.
Customers
We deliver secure, responsible, and innovative technology solutions, including artificial intelligence (AI) native networking and cybersecurity tools, for our customers. Customer feedback and interactions help shape our strategy and decisions.
Employees
We focus on the needs of our people through employee engagement, community building, and professional development. Employees provide feedback through weekly Check-Ins, quarterly pulse checks and surveys, and open Webex spaces, and they are empowered to participate in professional development and well-being programs.
Governments and Regulators
We engage with governments and regulators to maintain industry standards and region-specific requirements. We contribute to policy development and support safe and ethical operations for key initiatives like AI, cybersecurity, and data privacy.
Investors
We communicate our long-term value creation through transparent reporting and ongoing engagement with investors. We demonstrate our credibility, accountability, and responsibility through reporting standards and frameworks.
Partners
We engage with our global partners through trainings, resources, incentives, and joint planning to drive mutual growth and customer success.
Suppliers
We collaborate with our suppliers and promote responsible sourcing, transparency, and innovation to address environmental and social impacts across our global supply chain.
Examples of Initiatives and Organizations in Which Cisco Participates
We participate in a range of initiatives and organizations,1 collaborate with nongovernmental organizations and peer companies, and join coalitions and initiatives to advance environmental and human rights practices within the technology industry.
Category:
Tag:
| Organization | Category | Tag | Engagement Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| OrganizationAccess Now | CategoryHuman Rights | TagDigital Rights | Engagement DescriptionCisco engages with Access Now and their work on digital rights. We sponsor and attend RightsCon, the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, hosted by Access Now. |
| OrganizationAccounting for Sustainability (A4S) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Water Circularity Nature |
Engagement DescriptionA4S works with finance leaders to integrate sustainability into business decisions. They recognize the interdependency of financial, social, and environmental factors and work with business leaders to embed sustainability in organizations' strategy and reporting. |
| OrganizationAlliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of ATIS Sustainability in Telecom: Energy and Protection Committee and engages with other member organizations to develop standards relevant to the telecommunications industry. |
| OrganizationAlliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) | CategoryEnvironment | TagWater | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of AWS, and our approach to water stewardship is aligned to the AWS framework. The AWS Standard is a globally applicable framework for major water users to understand their water use and impacts; work collaboratively and transparently for sustainable water management within a catchment context; drive social, environmental, and economic benefits at the catchment level; and advance access to clean water for communities. |
| OrganizationAmCham EU | CategoryEnvironment Human Rights |
TagClimate Water Forced Labor Responsible Minerals Circularity |
Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of AmCham EU, a trade association speaking for American businesses in Europe, working on being a constructive partner for the industrial vision of the EU Green Deal, and participating in, among others, the Environment Committee and the Transport, Energy, Corporate Sustainability, and Climate Committee. Cisco is also an AmCham EU Executive Council member. |
| OrganizationAnker Research Institute | CategoryHuman Rights | TagWorker Well-being | Engagement DescriptionCisco engages as a corporate sponsor of the Anker Research Institute. Through these engagements, Cisco is committed to understanding common approaches to living wage and best practices and promoting harmonization. |
| OrganizationArticle One Business Roundtable on Human Rights & AI | CategoryHuman Rights | TagDigital Rights | Engagement DescriptionCisco participates in Article One's Business Roundtable on Human Rights & AI as they seek to promote collaboration and action across the tech, business, and human rights communities. The Roundtable brings together representatives from companies at the forefront of AI development to share common challenges, potential solutions, and goals for the future. |
| OrganizationAsia Clean Energy Coalition (ACEC) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionAs a founding member of ACEC, Cisco participates with other key stakeholders in supporting policy development to facilitate corporate renewable electricity procurement throughout Asia. |
| OrganizationAustralian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) | CategoryEnvironment | TagCircularity | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of APCO — a co-regulatory, not-for-profit organization that partners with government and industry to increase sustainability in packaging in Australia. Cisco has made a voluntary commitment to benchmark its circular design principles and packaging sustainability efforts against the APCO Packaging Sustainability Framework. By completing an annual report and action plan, we seek to drive sustainability across our packaging portfolio. |
| OrganizationBusiness for Social Responsibility (BSR) | CategoryHuman Rights | TagHuman Rights Worker Well-being Digital Rights |
Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of the BSR Human Rights Working Group, a cross-industry collaboration effort to implement the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights. |
| OrganizationBusiness Europe | CategoryEnvironment Human Rights |
TagClimate Worker Well-being |
Engagement DescriptionBusiness Europe advocates for growth at the European level, campaigning for businesses to ensure their needs are heard in European policymaking. Business Europe has a Corporate Social Responsibility Working Group that advocates for issues related to businesses' social and environmental impact. |
| OrganizationBusiness Roundtable (BR) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionBR is a CEO-led association, focused on advancing pro-growth policies, including on environment and energy, to enable a competitive U.S. economy and create employment opportunities for Americans. Cisco’s Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins is the current Chair of the organization for a three-year term that began on January 1, 2024. |
| OrganizationCatalyze | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a sponsor of Catalyze, a program to accelerate access to renewable energy across the global semiconductor value chain and IT supply landscape. Through the program, Cisco suppliers have access to renewable energy training and resources, as well as combined renewable energy purchasing power in order to accelerate renewable energy deployment. |
| OrganizationCDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Water Circularity |
Engagement DescriptionCisco discloses our sustainability initiatives publicly through CDP’s annual Climate Change and Water questionnaires and engages our supply chain partners to publicly disclose through CDP as well. Cisco is also a member of the CDP Supply Chain IT Member Working Group, focused on improved reporting and engagement with suppliers in the technology sector. |
| OrganizationCENELEC | CategoryEnvironment | TagCircularity | Engagement DescriptionCisco is working with CENELEC, a European standards organization, on standards for circular design. |
| OrganizationCircular Electronics Partnership (CEP) | CategoryEnvironment | TagCircularity | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a participant in a collaboration with peer companies to establish a vision and roadmap for a circular electronics value chain. |
| OrganizationClean Electronics Production Network (CEPN) | CategoryHuman Rights | TagWorker Well-being | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a full member of CEPN, a multistakeholder network with the goal to address workers' exposure to toxic chemicals during electronics manufacturing. We work to develop tools for due diligence and identify best practices to be propagated in the supply chain. |
| OrganizationClean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of CEBA, a business association that activates a community of energy customers and partners to deploy market and policy solutions for a carbon-free energy system. Our engagement focuses on advancing clean energy procurement worldwide and supply chain decarbonization. |
| OrganizationConnect Europe (formerly European Telecommunication Network Operators' Association, or ETNO) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Circularity | Engagement DescriptionConnect Europe is an association for European electronic communications network operators committed to the continual growth of broadband in Europe. Connect Europe contributes to shaping regulatory and commercial environments and has specific working groups dedicated to sustainability. |
| OrganizationConsumer Technology Association (CTA) | CategoryEnvironment | TagCircularity | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of CTA and participates in the Environmental Policy Committee. CTA works closely with state and federal regulators, legislators, and public policy stakeholders to represent industry’s interests. |
| OrganizationDIGITALEUROPE & DIGITALEUROPE National Trade association members | CategoryEnvironment Human Rights |
TagCircularity Climate Worker Well-being Responsible Minerals |
Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of DIGITALEUROPE, a trade association representing digitally transforming industries in Europe, leading industry input to the EU Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) impact study, and participating in, among others, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and its Digital Product Passport, Chemicals, Waste, Responsible Business Conduct, and Green Transition-related issues. |
| OrganizationElectronics Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Circularity |
Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of EPSC, which represents the interests of electronics manufacturers for innovation in enhanced end-of-life solutions for electronics products in Canada. |
| OrganizationEllen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) | CategoryEnvironment | TagCircularity | Engagement DescriptionCisco was a founding partner of EMF, and we continue to leverage member connections, trainings, and shared learnings as a member of EMF. |
| OrganizationEuropean Green Digital Coalition (EGDC) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Circularity |
Engagement DescriptionEGDC is an initiative of companies, supported by the European Commission and the European Parliament, based on the request of the EU Council, that aims to harness the enabling emission-reducing potential of digital solutions to all other sectors. Cisco has been a member since October 2021. |
| OrganizationEuropean Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM) | CategoryHuman Rights | TagResponsible Minerals | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of EPRM, a multistakeholder group that supports projects that increase the availability of responsibly produced minerals and strengthens connections between mining communities and global supply chains. |
| OrganizationEuropean Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco engages with ETSI, a European standards organization that deals with telecommunications, broadcasting, and other electronic communications networks and services. Cisco engages in material efficiency standards related to mandates from the European Commission and is leading the work on secure data deletion (EN 303 800-2) and on energy metrics for servers (EN303470). |
| OrganizationFederation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry | CategoryEnvironment | TagCircularity | Engagement DescriptionCisco participates in this platform for networking and consensus building in India. |
| OrganizationGlobal Electronics Association | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco participates with the Global Electronics Association as they actively engage in developing future environmental guidance. |
| OrganizationGlobal Electronics Council's Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Circularity |
Engagement DescriptionUnder EPEAT, Cisco contributes to the development of criteria addressing sustainability impacts from technology sector products and services, including EPEAT's Servers and Network Equipment product categories. Additionally, Cisco participates in EPEAT's Conformity Guidance Group from which EPEAT seeks technical input and expertise on technical requirements in EPEAT Criteria and implementation of updated and amended EPEAT Criteria for product categories. |
| OrganizationGlobal Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Circularity |
Engagement DescriptionGeSI is a global membership organization dedicated to enabling the ICT industry to meet opportunities generated by applying digital solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges. |
| OrganizationInformation Technology Industry (ITI) Council | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Circularity |
Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of ITI, the global association of leading ICT companies across all segments of the tech sector. Cisco participates in ITI's committees working on accessibility, energy, climate, and sustainability. |
| OrganizationInitiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) | CategoryHuman Rights | TagResponsible Minerals | Engagement DescriptionCisco supports IRMA’s independent assessments of mine sites in line with environmental and human rights standards, helping to advance responsible mining practices at the source of the supply chain. |
| OrganizationInstitute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Water |
Engagement DescriptionCisco partners with IPE to prevent, mitigate, and remediate environmental risks at supplier sites in Greater China and Vietnam. We also promote transparency in the Greater China supply chain through the PRTR (Pollution Release and Transfer Record) and carbon reporting projects. |
| OrganizationInternational Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) | CategoryEnvironment | TagCircularity | Engagement DescriptionCisco participates in IEC 62474 Americas Validation Team. |
| OrganizationInternational Telecommunication Union (ITU) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Circularity |
Engagement DescriptionCisco is a contributor to many ITU-T SG5 standards on environmental efficiency of digital technologies, E-waste, circular economy, sustainable supply chain management, climate change, and assessment of digital technologies in the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. |
| OrganizationManufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Circularity |
Engagement DescriptionCisco collaborates with peer companies at MAIT in representing India’s electronics and ICT hardware sector on environmental matters. |
| OrganizationNational Retail Association (NRF) | CategoryEnvironment | TagCircularity | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of NRF, the world’s largest retail trade association with membership including retailers, industry partner companies, insights partner firms, universities and their students and international retail association members. |
| OrganizationProduct Attributes to Impact Algorithm (PAIA) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco is part of a multistakeholder consortium of ICT companies using shared industry-standard inputs in the PAIA platform — hosted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology — that provides a streamlined methodology for ICT product environmental footprinting. |
| OrganizationPublic-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA) | CategoryHuman Rights | TagResponsible Minerals | Engagement DescriptionCisco participates in the PPA to collaborate with governments, companies, and civil society on strengthening due diligence and governance in conflict-affected and high-risk areas. |
| OrganizationRE100 | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of RE100, the global corporate renewable energy initiative bringing together hundreds of large and ambitious businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. |
| OrganizationRenewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of the RTC, a coalition focused on scaling up renewable heating and cooling technologies to cut carbon emissions. |
| OrganizationResponsible Business Alliance (RBA) | CategoryHuman Rights Environment |
TagClimate Water Worker Well-being Forced Labor Circularity |
Engagement DescriptionCisco is an original founder and full member of the RBA, with a representative on its Board of Directors. Through the RBA, Cisco participates on the Steering Committee of the following initiatives:
Cisco also participates in the following working groups:
|
| OrganizationSemiconductor Climate Consortium (SCC) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of SCC, which is focused on speeding the decarbonization of the semiconductor value chain through collaboration, transparency, and ambition. |
| OrganizationTechNet | CategoryEnvironment | TagCircularity Climate Digital Rights |
Engagement DescriptionCisco participates in TechNet, which actively works at state and federal levels to advise policymakers on the benefits of authorized repair to ensure cybersecurity, product safety, and intellectual property rights protection. |
| OrganizationtechUK | CategoryEnvironment Human Rights |
TagClimate Circularity Worker Well-being Forced Labor |
Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of techUK, the United Kingdom’s national technology industry association. techUK helps Cisco monitor and understand a wide range of technology-related policy, engage with and share expertise with policymakers, and collaborate with peer companies. |
| OrganizationThe Green Grid | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco is part of The Green Grid, where we help create tools, provide technical expertise, and advocate for the optimization of energy and resource efficiency of data center ecosystems. |
| OrganizationUnited States Information Technology Office (USITO) | CategoryEnvironment | TagCircularity | Engagement DescriptionUSITO is an independent, nonprofit, membership-based trade association, representing the U.S. ICT industry in China. |
| OrganizationU.S. Council for International Business (USCIB) | CategoryEnvironment Human Rights |
TagClimate Forced labor |
Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of USCIB, the U.S. affiliate of leading international business organizations including Business at OECD (BIAC), the International Chamber of Commerce, and the International Organisation of Employers. USCIB advances the U.S. business perspective to policymakers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate commerce, support sustainable development, and build trust in multilateral systems. |
| OrganizationU.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco has been working with the EPA to define ENERGY STAR® standards for networking equipment, including Small Network Equipment, Large Network Equipment, telephony equipment, and servers. Cisco has also worked with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the EPA/DOE technical arm; Navigant; the National Resources Defense Council; and Ecova on measurement methodologies and metrics. |
| OrganizationU.S. EPA Green Power Partnership | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of the EPA Green Power Partnership, a federal program that seeks to advance the U.S. green power market and encourage the development of U.S.-based renewable electricity sources. |
| UN Global Compact (UNGC) | Human Rights | Human Rights Worker Well-being |
Cisco participates in the UNGC, which brings businesses together with UN agencies, labor organizations, civic organizations, and governments to address critical issues affecting much of the world’s population. |
| OrganizationUN B-Tech Project | CategoryHuman Rights | TagDigital Rights | Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of the UN B-Tech Project, which provides guidance and resources for implementing the UNGPs in the technology space. Cisco participates in communities of practice and other working groups. |
| OrganizationWorld Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) | CategoryEnvironment | TagClimate Circularity Nature |
Engagement DescriptionCisco is a member of WBCSD, a global community of over 200 of the world’s leading sustainable businesses working collectively to accelerate the system transformations needed for a net-zero, nature-positive, and more equitable future. |
1 Cisco publicly discloses membership of associations/(con)federations/networks and other bodies in the European Union (EU), via the EU Transparency Register. Additionally, Cisco discloses U.S. trade association payments of US$25,000 or more on our government affairs webpage.