History in the Making: How Women at Cisco Are Making Strides in Sustainability

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 3, 2023 / Cisco Systems Inc.

The choices that we make today shape history, and this is certainly true when it comes to sustainability. March is Women's History Month in the United States, which began as "Women's History Week" in 1982 and evolved into a monthly commemoration in 1987 to celebrate women's contributions and achievements in a variety of fields.

In the field of sustainability, women are flourishing in leadership positions. According to GreenBiz, 58 percent of sustainability executives in large companies are female. This number is significant since, across different industries, the global share of women in leadership roles is 31 percent, according to high-frequency data from LinkedIn. But it isn't just the women in the C-Suite; it is about the women growing into their sustainability roles who will become trailblazers in the field.

Those who work in sustainability right now are making history by helping to ensure a healthy future for our planet. I want to recognize some of the amazing unsung heroes at Cisco doing this great work in sustainability, from engineering to operations, customer experience, supply chain, and climate impact investing.

Catherine Paquette, Sustainability Manager, Global Energy Management and Sustainability (GEMS)

Catherine joined the GEMS team within Cisco's real estate organization over eight years ago.

During that time, she's seen sustainability dramatically increase in importance both inside and outside of Cisco.

She shared:

"We've seen a huge shift in the amount of focus on environmental sustainability. It's been exciting to witness.

People are increasingly aware of climate change and are pushing for action.

During my time here, our team has made great strides in embedding sustainability within our workplace strategy, and within the day-to-day operation of our facilities.

We've also set and achieved two Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. I'm looking forward to this new chapter as we scale up our efforts to help Cisco reach net zero across its value chain by 2040."

Eve Richer, Sustainability Manager, Supply Chain Sustainability

Eve joined Cisco in 2017 as part of a cross-functional group shaping Cisco's holistic circular economy strategy.

Over the last five years, she has led a range of programs, including initiatives to embed circularity into product design, increase product takeback and reuse, and accelerate progress toward our net zero goals.