How Cisco Partners Can Drive Sustainability

As we reflect on Cisco Live EMEA, we heard from our partners, customers, and employees that sustainability is a top business priority.  A recent IDC study showed that 63% of Technology Professionals Worldwide Believe Sustainability Is a Very or Extremely Important Business Priority. Cisco believes in the power of a sustainable future demonstrated by these different sessions available on demand from Cisco Live EMEA. Cisco has set a goal to reach net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its value chain by 2040 and is in a position to support other organizations in their own efforts.  Cisco products and technologies can help to reduce energy consumption, improve energy efficiency, and enable more circular business models. And Cisco networking, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence (AI), Silicon One, and other Cisco solutions can create a critical foundation for any journey to sustainability.

Cisco Live EMEA

To continue Cisco’s focus on sustainability initiatives, at Cisco Live Partner Day we launched our Cisco Sustainability Champions. We are seeking to recognize individuals from our partner organizations and Cisco employees who are leading sustainability initiatives together with Cisco.

We are fortunate to have an incredible Partner Community that has already rallied around this initiative, and we are thrilled to announce our first Sustainability Champions – Sarwar Khan, Global Head of Digital Sustainability for British Telecom (BT), and Stuart Woolgar, Cisco Partner Account Manager for BT. We are highlighting Stuart and Sarwar for their partnership on promoting sustainability initiatives with BT and Cisco.

In 2008, BT and Cisco jointly sponsored a whitepaper that illustrates how sustainability can raise profitability and innovation. Using this paper as a springboard, Stuart and Sarwar leveraged BT’s culture of commitment. They explored ways to better help our customers, and collaborated to create and supply feedback on tools that promote sustainability.

More recently, BT and Cisco once again collaborated on a whitepaper that highlights the role of digital services in helping enterprises achieve their net zero targets for reducing carbon emissions. BT has set a net zero target for its operations for 2031, with the goal of net zero for its supply chain and customer emissions by 2041. Fortunately for BT, they have Sarwar and Stuart leading the charge within BT on this next phase of sustainability!

This is a true and fantastic partnership that we are thrilled to recognize and promote.

 “We look forward to continuing work with our key partner Cisco to help our customers accelerate their journey to Net Zero.”
– Sarwar Khan, Global Head of Digital Sustainability for British Telecom (BT)

Get Involved in Sustainability

There are so many opportunities to dive into sustainability. If you are interested in listening to the Cisco Live EMEA Sessions on Sustainability here are the links:

1. Data-driven Sustainability through Cisco technology
2. Grow a sustainable IT Strategy with Cisco Capital and Cisco Refresh
3. Demystifying IT Sustainability: The Why, the What, and the How

Cisco also offers the Environmental Sustainability Specialization, which rewards partners for supporting Cisco’s sustainability pledge and participating in Cisco’s global initiative to responsibly repurpose or recycle end-of-use products.  The Specialization enables you to educate customers on the benefits of migration to cloud-enabled solutions while updating older technologies. Once accredited with the Specialization, Cisco partners have exclusive access to discounts provided through Cisco’s Takeback Incentive, currently available in participating countries.

As well, our Environmental Sustainability Black Belt track aims to help you meet your customer needs. If you would like a dedicated learning map on Environmental Sustainability this is for you! You will learn the fundamentals of net zero, the circular economy, GHG emissions, and how to engage customers in sustainability initiatives.

Finally, if you know someone (it might be you!) who is leading sustainability initiatives at our Partners or at Cisco – we would welcome you to nominate them as a Partner Sustainability Champion.

Environmental sustainability is everyone’s responsibility and increasingly a top priority for our customers – there are lots of unique ways to get more involved – so let’s go all in!

We’d love to hear what you think. Ask a Question, Comment Below, and Stay Connected with #CiscoPartners on social!

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** This Cisco Customer Story is based on information provided by Cisco’s customer at the time of posting. Cisco’s customer has confirmed the accuracy of the claims, data, and other information in the story. Cisco makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of such information, and we do not undertake any obligation to update it.

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