Climate Impact and Regeneration portfolio

In 2021, the Cisco Foundation made a bold commitment to address the climate crisis, pledging $100 million over 10 years to fund innovative climate solutions. This commitment is strategically divided: $50 million supports nonprofit grants that empower organizations driving climate and social impact, while the other $50 million is dedicated to equity and debt investments in early-stage climate startups (Seed to Series A) and venture funds. As climate challenges accelerate and natural disasters intensify, the…

As climate change accelerates, the need to make buildings more sustainable, energy-efficient, and healthier has never been clearer. While many climate tech solutions focus on reducing outdoor emissions, there’s a growing recognition that indoor air quality is also a growing issue. Americans spend about 90% of their time indoors, where pollutants like CO₂ and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can accumulate, making indoor air up to five times more polluted than outdoor air. Poor indoor air…

Meet four Cisco Foundation partners working to support farmers’ transition to regenerative practices to improve resiliency and mitigate the climate crisis. As the world faces the impacts of climate change, such as soil degradation, biodiversity die-off, and water pollution, regenerative agriculture has emerged as a pathway to restore our relationship with the earth and the food it provides us. Regenerative agriculture practices like cover cropping, no-till farming, and crop rotation help restore organic matter in…

This is the third blog in our three-part series about Cisco Foundation partner organizations working in the Amazon and South America region. You can read the other two, and more Climate Impact & Regeneration blogs here! This series introduces you to eight Cisco Foundation partner organizations working to support the preservation and protection of the Amazon basin through three main avenues, all of which are deeply entangled and in tandem, serving to promote enduring environmental protection…

This is the second blog in our three-part series about Cisco Foundation climate grantees working in the Amazon and South America region. You can read our first blog, about how Cisco Foundation Grantees prioritize Indigenous leadership to protect the Amazon Basin. This series will introduce you to eight Cisco Foundation Climate Impact & Regeneration grantees working to support preservation and protection of the Amazon basin through three main avenues, all of which are deeply entangled…

This is the first of our three-part series on Cisco Foundation grantees working in the Amazon and South America region. This series will introduce you to eight Cisco Foundation Climate Impact & Regeneration grantees working to support preservation and protection of the Amazon basin through three main avenues, all of which are deeply entangled and in tandem serve to promote enduring environmental protection and preservation: Prioritizing Indigenous Sovereignty, Promoting Sustainable Livelihood Opportunities, and Scaling Innovative…

Our conviction in Africa’s vast potential is part of what fuels the climate investment strategy of the Cisco Foundation. Among our vision, we see the transition to clean energy not just as a necessity, but as a catalyst for inclusive growth and digital innovation. And through the Cisco Foundation’s $100 million Climate Commitment, we are investing wholeheartedly in this vision. Our recent investments into early-stage climate ventures SHYFT Power Solutions and Jaza Energy, following our…

Cisco Foundation grant partner Vibrant Planet Data Commons harmonizes cutting-edge science, open-source data, and Tribal Forestry to reduce the risk and severity of wildfires while speeding the pace of forest restoration. Forests are a vital part of a healthy planet: they store carbon, regulate the water cycle, produce oxygen, prevent erosion, and are among the most biodiverse places in the world. Forests are also important for us as humans: economically,physically, and even spiritually. There are…