Cisco Systems

I am writing a research paper on Cisco Systems and their environmental strategies for my Business and the Environment Class. I just finished reading Cisco's Environment section in the Corporate Citizenship Report 2008. It makes me want to puke! LoL I mean I'm glad to see a company as large as Cisco is taking such huge steps to green itself, but it's like the perfect child or something. The only improvement I can say they could do is to set actual number goals, but they are changing the way their business runs and they're changing how OTHER businesses run too.

They cover it all...
-urban development
-real estate
-company efficiencies (e.g., work spaces)
-carbon reductions (travel and operations) - Did you know 100% of Cisco's power in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, and the U.K. is from renewable energy sources?
-Water
-Air
-Waste
-Employment education/involvement
-Food

Plus, they're partnered with so many government and third-party organizations it's tough to find/research everything. Not to mention they're also working on a global level too. I do think the most interesting thing is that 3rd party rankings list Cisco pretty favorably. You have to be cautious when reading a company's CSR and such because they'll always try to paint themselves in a good light. So it's nice to see that different 3rd parties are also agreeing that Cisco is giving it their all.

Anyway, time to sleep now. I have a CEQA/NEPA workshop from 9am-4pm tomorrow with a quiz/test at the end (to ensure we all stay since the workshop is worth credit). That should be interesting...hopefully it's interesting and I don't want to shoot myself because it's 3 hours, 1 hour lunch, and 3 hours. I have enough trouble sitting through a 1 hour and 15 minute lecture. Not sure how I'll survive 3 hours...