Cisco urges IT to be socially aware

After releasing its fourth annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, networking giant Cisco has stressed the onus is on the IT industry to promote green practices and social inclusion.

The report covers Cisco’s interaction with employees, the environment and society.
The Climate Group recently claimed green IT and communications equipment could cut US greenhouse gas emissions by more than a fifth over the next eight years.
Cisco compelled IT companies to set themselves green targets.

In an open letter, chief executive John Chambers wrote: “We have an opportunity to improve how people organise their lives, and how they interact with the environment.”

Mark Swendsen, EMEA managing director of IP telephony vendor ShoreTel, urged the industry to take a holistic look at environment issues.

“Many companies do not have at their core the philosophy of what it means to be green,” he said. “It is important to look at all stages of manufacturing.”

Keith Humphreys, managing consultant for analyst EuroLAN, said the IT industry is taking environmental responsibilities more seriously.

“Cisco has cut its travel budget by half and does sales meetings remotely,” he said. “The challenge is to engineer green IT into the product and look at how you can recycle it.”