Cisco Uses Sustainability Data to Shape Business and Customer Decisions

Cisco is expanding the role of sustainability data beyond traditional reporting, integrating it into core business decisions. Colin Seward, Chief Sustainability Officer, highlights that sustainability data is now influencing product design, customer evaluations, and strategic planning. The shift reflects a growing demand for trusted, transparent, and decision-ready information that shapes choices before they are made.

To support this evolution, Cisco developed the Sustainability Data Foundation (SDF), an enterprise data platform that consolidates, analyzes, and integrates environmental sustainability data across the company. The SDF ensures that data is accessible, reliable, and actionable for teams involved in reporting, strategy, product design, and customer engagement. However, Seward emphasizes that the true value lies in using this data to understand trade-offs and make better decisions.

Sustainability data is increasingly influencing customer decisions, particularly in large-scale technology investments. Customers are evaluating not just performance and cost, but also energy, carbon, and lifecycle implications. Product carbon footprints, lifecycle assessments, and circularity data are becoming critical inputs. Cisco is also exploring how infrastructure performs as a system, identifying underutilized resources and optimizing energy and resource demand.

Looking ahead, Cisco aims to unify energy and carbon data to provide a more integrated approach for customers. Seward believes that trusted, connected, and decision-ready data will strengthen business decisions and support sustainability goals. The ultimate measure of success is whether the data leads to measurable improvements in environmental and business outcomes.