Network giant, Cisco released its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report for 2022, marking a 17-year history of the networking vendor's public impact reporting and efforts to reduce the environmental effects of its security, networking, collaboration, data center, and IoT services.

According to CEO Chuck Robbins, "setting clear goals and measuring our progress keeps us accountable and allows us to share what we are learning from our experience and work," he wrote in the report.

"As we move forward on our journey, we will continue to challenge ourselves to drive greater impact," EVP and Chief People, Purpose, and Policy Officer Fran Katsoudas added.

Katsoudas highlighted the networking giant's 2022 Purpose Report with SDxCentral over an email-conducted interview.

SDxCentral: What are your key takeaways from Cisco's latest Purpose Report?

Katsoudas: At Cisco we’ve been reporting on our work and impact in the communities we’re a part of for many years, and each year I'm inspired by how our work touches so many lives around the world. Our Cisco Networking Academy statistic is a great example: 17.5 million students is certainly impressive, but for the person who goes back to school because of a course they took or the person who gets their first job because of a certification, it is not a statistic – it is life changing. We’re also thoughtful about the way we report on our impact, and we take great care and diligence in the auditing process. I believe that when we as individuals participate in the community it makes us better in every aspect of our lives, and that is true for our business as well. When we do this work – connecting people to new opportunities and empowering diverse communities – we personify our purpose.

SDxCentral: What are Cisco's areas of improvement as identified by the report, and how does the company plan to move forward in those areas?

Katsoudas: As much as possible we stay in learning mode, and that means we’re always soliciting feedback and seeking to understand how we can increase our impact both internally and externally. We don’t shy away from questioning if the metrics we’re using are the right ones and thinking about how we can improve, with an eye always toward what the positive impact of our work on communities and the planet can be. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) approved our goal of net zero by 2040 across our value chain, and we continue to seek out ways to make our products and packaging more sustainable and find new ways to embed circular design principles. We’re continuing to focus on full spectrum diversity with our inclusion and DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] work, and we can always continue to improve our efforts in this area. We’re engaging our employees to learn about the best ways to support our vision for hybrid work; what works and what doesn't over time; and how we can improve our products to ensure that they foster an inclusive work experience as we continue to navigate scalable hybrid work strategies.