Our low-carbon networking and communications solutions help users reduce environmental impacts and support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The potential of ICT to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The Smart 2020 Report, published by the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) in 2008, estimated that ICT could enable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of 7.8 gigatonnes of CO₂ by 2020 in Europe alone. That reduction represents a 15 percent drop compared with business as usual and would be five times larger than the predicted emissions from the ICT sector itself.

The report identified five key areas for emissions reductions:

• Dematerialization (virtual alternatives to physical objects)
• Transportation
• Buildings
• Power distribution
• Industry processes

Cisco cosponsored a follow-up study to Smart 2020 on the enabling effect of ICT in reducing greenhouse gas emissions across all industry sectors. Published in September 2010, the study applies lifecycle assessment standards to six ICT solutions with real-world examples to inform policy makers and businesses adopting low-carbon practices (see Story Highlight).

Realizing our products' potential

We see a business opportunity in low-carbon solutions. We invest in research and development of new technologies with the potential to address global sustainability challenges. We focus on four key areas:

• Collaboration and remote working technologies: reduce the need for business travel and commuting, and help customers use office space more efficiently
• Connected energy management: enables better control and monitoring of energy-consuming systems through the network
• Connected living and working: uses the network to bring together people and services, promoting low-carbon urban living and working
• Innovation for a sustainable future: develops and pilots network-enabled solutions to environmental issues through partnerships with industry peers, governments, and NGOs

To fully realize their potential, our low-carbon solutions must be accompanied by cultural shifts: new business processes, management practices, and individual work practices. By marketing both the business benefits and the environmental benefits of our solutions, Cisco aims to influence a wider change in corporate culture to embrace these technologies. Using our solutions has transformed the way we work at Cisco.