Commercial, Sourcing Renewables  -  December 14, 2020

Cisco covers 100% of U.S. operations with RE in 2020

Cisco announced Dec. 10 that it officially achieved 100% renewable energy for its U.S. operations during this fiscal year.

The IT company estimates that over 90% of its carbon footprint comes from the emissions associated with the 24/7 use of its products in major data centers, mobile networks and digital operations around the world. 

“As the world’s largest provider of networking, collaboration and security technologies, we have the opportunity and responsibility to help the millions of customers, partners, and suppliers who rely on us to decrease their environmental footprints,” Irving Tan, executive vice president and COO, said in a statement. “Our breakthrough innovations in hardware, software, and silicon will help every government, community, and industry achieve their ambitious carbon goals.”

The company plans to focus more of its attention going forward on the development of local projects across the U.S. to bring renewable energy online. Cisco most recently signed a PPA with a 419 MW wind farm in Texas that covers 40% of the electricity needs for two Texas data centers.

Cisco is on a mission to minimize the IT industry’s impact on the environment. The company has reduced the carbon emissions associated with its products through the development of technology like the Cisco Silicon One, a platform that could save up to 580 kW of energy is deployed at a cloud data center with 110,000 servers, for example.

The company’s 2025 goals include continuing to reduce the environmental impact of its products, from ensuring 100% of new products and packaging incorporate circular design principles to decreasing the use of virgin plastic by 20%.

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