Cisco Ireland honoured to be joining Business in the Community Ireland
“Powering An Inclusive Future for All” is Cisco’s corporate vision statement. This vision empowers Cisco and its employees to not just help business on their digital transformation journeys but also to help the population of the world prosper and develop. The Covid pandemic along with climate change has made the future a little bit more uncertain and Cisco’s corporate social responsibility is a key deliverable in helping with these key challenges of our time.
Cisco is delighted to have joined Business in the Community Ireland. BITCI’s purpose is to inspire and enable businesses to bring about a sustainable, low carbon economy and a more inclusive society where everyone thrives. Cisco’s vision for the future aligns perfectly with these objectives.
Shane Heraty, Cisco Regional Director for Scotland & Ireland commented – ‘It is an honour to be a member of Business in the Community Ireland and we look forward to continuing our positive contributions to Irish society’.
Our company focuses on
- “The Most Vulnerable”—a focus on partners and non-profits that cater to underserved communities, people who face systemic inequality, and people who are affected by crises disproportionately
- “Families and Community”—expanding care and well-being services outside of the Cisco workforce
- “Research and Resilience”—development of technology to accelerate healthcare research and combat social inequities
- “Strategic Recovery”—providing assistance to education and healthcare institutions so that they may adapt to the challenges of these uncertain times
- “Sustainability” – Cisco has set long-term goals to address the environment impacts from our products and business operations.
Cisco achieved 100% renewable energy for its U.S. and Irish operations this fiscal year. Our waste reduction program has also seen the relaunch of our 100% Product Takeback and Reuse Program. Looking ahead to 2025, we have four new goals:
- 100% of new Cisco products and packaging to incorporate circular design principles;
- 20% decrease in the use of virgin plastic (FY18 base year);
- 50% improvement in product packaging cube efficiency (FY19 base year);
- 75% reduction in Cisco packaging foam use measured by weight (FY19 base year).
Cisco Ireland has worked closely with many charities like Cope Galway (supporting the vulnerable in Ireland and the homeless) and Croí (conquering heart disease and stroke). The year 2020 has undoubtably been challenging and our Cisco teams have managed to raise over €50K with virtual fundraising activities using our Cisco Webex conferencing solution. Cisco encourages their employees to work on initiatives that will benefit the community, with each employee availing of five paid days per year to work on these projects through the time to Give programme. We continue our work with schools as part of the pTech initiative.
In the early days of the pandemic, Cisco working i conjunction with IBM, developed a solution called ‘ICU Familylink’, which enabled family members and relatives to keep in touch with their loved ones while in hospital. The solution won a Chambers Ireland award. Cisco in association with Irish Life Health won €10K for charity in the middle of lockdown, getting their employees to step it out every day for 28 days, competing against over 120 other companies nationally, managing to bring home this fantastic prize while ensuring our employees wellness was supported. Cancer Care West and The Galway Lions Club were the two benefactors.
