Cisco Tells Partners: Sustainability Is a Competitive Business Differentiator

How can channel partners stand out from their rivals? One answer increasingly involves sustainability, according to networking giant Cisco Systems.

Indeed, the company will tout sustainability opportunities during Cisco Partner Summit 2023, which is scheduled for November 6-9 in Miami Beach, Florida.

Ahead of the conference, Andrew Sage, executive sponsor for sustainability within Cisco's global partner organization, described how Cisco will address sustainability opportunities for partners at the event.

One key session to note is BIS10: Grow with Green -- Sustainability as a Competitive Differentiator. Partners will be able to view the session online or in-person.

Denise Lee, VP for Cisco's Engineering Sustainability Office, will drive much of the session. Among the key points she shared ahead of the event:

• Product refreshes aligned with sustainability represent a multi-billion-dollar opportunity.
• Partners can open new lines of business by assisting customers with circular asset management; energy consumption reduction; and energy management solutions.

During the conference, Cisco plans to unveil tools and training to help partners drive sustainability conversations with customers, Sage and Lee added.

Cisco Systems: Sustainability Research and Partner Milestones

The networking company has consistently increased its sustainability messaging to partners over the past two years or so.

Among the key conclusions from a Canalys research report funded by Cisco in September 2023: "Sustainability -- which until now has been more prevalent in professional services, logistics, and device management specialists -- has become an immediate issue due to new regulations, particularly with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive." (Related: Find CSRD information here.)

All types of partners are aligning with Cisco's sustainability efforts. Examples include:

• Distribution: TD Synnex in August 2023 achieved the Cisco Environmental Sustainability Specialization for its business in Europe. Among the benefits: TD Synnex partners can plug into the Cisco Takeback incentive, which enables the free return of used hardware to be remanufactured, recycled or safely disposed of, and up to 7% discount for new products on qualifying deals. 
• Managed IT Services: NTT and Cisco Systems partnered in May 2023 to promote IoT (Internet of Things) as a service capabilities that help customers meet their sustainability goals.

Within its own business, Cisco expects to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040 -- which is a decade ahead of most IT companies. Related: Here's a detailed timeline of Cisco's sustainability efforts.

Note: Blog originally posted October 4, 2023. Updated thereafter to reflect Cisco Partner Summit 2023's arrival.