The world’s most sustainable companies revealed

They may not have the glitz and glamour of the Oscars or the Golden Globes, but two significant corporate sustainability award rankings were released this week, and Cisco was recognized in both.

First, Barron’s released its annual ranking of the 100 Most Sustainable Companies in America, and Cisco was #7. Calvert Research & Management creates this ranking by looking at the 1,000 largest publicly traded companies by market value and how they performed for five key constituencies: shareholders, employees, customers, community, and the planet.

It’s not surprising that Cisco is near the top of this list, given our commitment to serve stakeholders beyond just our shareholders. As Chairman and CEO Chuck Robbins wrote in a recent World Economic Forum blog, “Running a good business goes beyond generating profits, caring for customers or delivering solutions to our markets. It also carries a responsibility to think about the communities in which we operate around the world and our role in helping them thrive.”

In making the rankings, Calvert looks at more than 230 performance indicators that address issues, such as workplace diversity, data security, and greenhouse-gas emissions.

According to the Barron’s article announcing the rankings, sustainable companies are better at retaining talent, and “good, sustainable practices are also a magnet for customers, who increasingly want to show that their partners treat the environment, workers, and other stakeholders well.”

“It creates a place where future employees want to work and creates significant brand value with customers,” Robbins told Barron’s.

And just this morning, Cisco was recognized with a 2019 SEAL Organizational Impact Award, which honors the 50 most sustainable companies globally. Winners are selected by combining and ranking the aggregated results of two rigorous, world-class sustainability assessments: the recently released 2019 CDP A-List and the SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment. The ranking methodology weighted CDP and SAM scores at 65 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

Cisco has reported to CDP every year of its existence, receiving more awards from CDP for our climate change submissions than any other North American company.

The SEAL (Sustainability, Environmental Achievement & Leadership) Awards is an awards-driven environmental advocacy organization. Its other programs include environmental journalism awards and environmental research grants.

We are proud of our continuing work on corporate social responsibility. You can read more about our commitment to sustainability in our annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report.