Cisco Recognized for CSR Excellence in India

At Cisco India, we focus on addressing social issues where we believe we can have significant and lasting impact by applying our unique expertise to those issues.

For example, after floods devastated rural communities in Northern Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in October 2009, Cisco committed US$10 million in cash, services, solutions and equipment to support rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the Raichur district of Karnataka.

We called it Project Samudaya and our goal was to create a modern, rural community by giving it access to urban amenities such as quality healthcare and education. We deployed the Cisco Education Enabled Delivery (CEED) platform in Raichur to deliver remote education, and the Cisco HealthPresence solution to improve access to medical treatment and access to specialist consultants. Thousands of patients have benefited.

Other areas of focus for our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts in India include:

Education. We invest in programs that give students the foundation to succeed beyond school. We focus on the skills needed for information and communication technology (ICT), especially in underserved communities. We provide cash grants to help non-governmental organizations (NGO) promote digital literacy and education programs that focus on underserved groups, such as rural youth and women.

Hunger Relief. Through our annual employee fundraiser, the Global Hunger Relief Campaign, Cisco employees support dozens of organizations that provide food and water relief where it’s needed most. In India, we partner exclusively with the Akshaya Patra Foundation to provide a mid-day meal to thousands of government school children every year for the entire year; and subsequently help break out of the cycle of poverty through education.

Disaster Response. Our partnerships for emergency relief help increase preparedness and provide immediate assistance to the most vulnerable in the wake of natural disasters. The Uttarakhand Flood Relief program has been a major focus for Cisco in India over the past year. Cisco contributed in excess of US$162,787 to key NGOs working in the field.

Employee volunteering. Employee volunteers are at the heart of giving back at Cisco. The India Civic Council comprises employee champions who drive volunteerism and giving in cities across India. Employees undertake activities in the area of education, environment, civic issues, housing and more. By championing Cisco’s culture and increasing employee civic engagement, the Council fosters enthusiasm for giving back and creates meaningful change in communities.

During the past 12 months, Cisco volunteers have accumulated more than 10,000 volunteer hours, generating dollars as matched cash grants to NGO partners. Some of these partnerships include: Youth for Sewa, a rural education program at Northern Karnataka focused on reducing the digital divide, and The School Adopt Program, which supports 7 government schools near the Cisco campus providing basic amenities such as books, uniforms, stationary, and student mentoring and scholarships.

All of this good work culminated with Cisco India Winning a 2014 Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility. The awards were set up by the Institute of Directors (IOD) in 1991 to bring out the best in companies in the areas of CSR, human resources, quality and leadership, health and safety, environment, innovation, and corporate governance. The Peacock Awards are now widely recognized as amongst the best awards for excellence in these categories.

We were proud to accept the Award at the 9th International Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility on January 19, 2015, in Mumbai, India, in the presence of distinguished business leaders, jurists, academics, environmentalists, economists, legislators, and policy makers.

Cisco will continue our commitment to invest in scalable and self-sustaining programs that leverage our technology and expertise to meet some of India’s biggest social challenges. Investment in our India CSR strategy is a joint commitment by our India business units, our corporate entities, and the Cisco Foundation.

Please read more about our impact in India:

• Impact Story: Information is the solution to farmers
• Impact Story: Social innovation spreads digital literacy