How Cisco Is Turning Sustainability Into a Business Advantage | ESG Decoded #192

Sustainability is no longer a side initiative—it’s a core driver of innovation, resilience, and long-term business growth. In this episode of ESG Decoded, Emma Cox joins forces with Mary de Wysocki, Chief Sustainability Officer at Cisco, to discuss how one of the world’s largest technology companies is embedding sustainability across its business—from circular product design to AI-driven energy challenges. Mary shares how Cisco is aligning innovation with impact, building more resilient communities, and collaborating across the value chain to accelerate climate action. She also reflects on her unconventional path into sustainability leadership and what the future of leadership looks like in an AI-powered world. Thank you to our sponsor, Amazon Sustainability, for supporting this episode. Amazon is known for speed and scale. That same approach drives their sustainability efforts. Guided by data and science, and powered by invention, Amazon works backward from ambitious targets to drive measurable progress. Every package delivered, every data center powered, every product designed is an opportunity to make tomorrow better.Learn more about Amazon SustainabilityAmazon’s Water spotlight: https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/stories/spotlight-on-waterAmazon’s Homepage: https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/Cisco Purpose Hub: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/csr.htmlCisco Purpose Report: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/csr/esg-hub/reports-and-data.htmlDesigning Your Life (Bill Burnett & Dave Evans): https://designingyour.life/the-book/-About ESG Decoded ESG Decoded is a podcast powered by ClimeCo to share updates related to business innovation and sustainability in a clear and actionable manner. Join Emma Cox, Erika Schiller, and Anna Stablum for thoughtful, nuanced conversations with industry leaders and subject matter experts that explore the complexities about the risks and opportunities connected to (E)nvironmental, (S)ocial and (G)overnance. We like to say that “ESG is everything that’s not on your balance sheet.” This leaves room for misunderstanding and oversimplification – two things that we’ll bust on this podcast.ESG Decoded Resource Links Site: https://www.climeco.com/podcast-series/Apple Podcasts: https://go.climeco.com/ApplePodcastsSpotify: https://go.climeco.com/SpotifyYouTube Music: https://go.climeco.com/YouTube-MusicLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/esg-decoded/IG: https://www.instagram.com/esgdecoded/*This episode was produced by Singing Land Studio -Sponsored Episode Disclaimer: This episode of ESG Decoded is sponsored by Amazon. The views and opinions expressed are those of the host and guest(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of ESG Decoded, ClimeCo LLC, the Sponsor, or the guest’s organization. Sponsorship provides financial support only and does not give the Sponsor any right to direct, review, or approve the editorial content of this episode, including topics discussed, questions asked, or opinions expressed by the host or guest(s). Views Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the host and guest(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions of ESG Decoded, ClimeCo LLC, any Sponsor, or any organization with which a guest is affiliated. Participation by a guest or Sponsor does not constitute an endorsement of any product, service, or organization. This conversation is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice.