This weblog is a part of our deal with Cisco workers who’re “Striving for Sustainability” by discovering alternatives to combine sustainability of their day-to-day work.
After years in providers and enterprise growth, Christopher Weiland charted a brand new path — making use of his know-how experience to drive sustainability innovation at Cisco. Very similar to the paths he rides within the Colorado backcountry, Weiland is a trailblazer — serving to form new approaches to product circularity.
Inform us about your journey in know-how and the roles you’ve held at Cisco earlier than shifting into sustainability.
Christopher: My curiosity in know-how began early — the truth is, I used to be frequently pulled out of center faculty lessons to troubleshoot points within the faculty’s laptop lab. That curiosity and technical know-how led me to check industrial engineering, which set the inspiration for roles at Microsoft, IBM, and finally Cisco, which I joined in 2000.
At Cisco, I centered on providers and gross sales, doing a little thrilling work to assist main service supplier prospects navigate advanced networking options. After twenty years, I started to consider the subsequent part of my profession and began exploring how I might transition from a technology-focused position to 1 centered on sustainability.
What did that exploration appear like and the way did you navigate a profession shift inside Cisco?
Christopher: After having an incredible profession in tech at Cisco, I used to be thrilled to understand that I might discover sustainability throughout the Cisco neighborhood. Initially, I believed I’d want a grasp’s diploma in environmental science or that I might need to go away the corporate to chart a brand new path. However then I found a gaggle of passionate Cisco workers who have been supporting sustainability, spanning clear power, provide chain and circularity — all thrilling and impactful efforts. Product circularity particularly caught my consideration as an space the place my skillset might apply and the place I believed I might make a contribution.
So I actually embraced Cisco’s three E’s for skilled growth — Publicity, Training, and Expertise. I began studying, taking lessons, and connecting with Cisco workers working on this subject, even earlier than we had our Chief Sustainability Workplace. Finally that led to a chance for a stretch task and my first foray into sustainability-focused work at Cisco.
I’m now centered on circularity — serving to to maximise the lifespan of Cisco know-how with higher processes for product reuse and accountable recycling.
Circularity is a crucial focus at Cisco. Are you able to clarify what it means and why it’s essential?
Christopher: Inside Cisco’s environmental sustainability technique, the Plan for the Attainable, one in every of our three priorities is evolving our enterprise to a round mannequin.
Meaning holding merchandise in use for so long as potential — by way of reuse, refurbishment, and accountable recycling. Circularity is all about extending the lifetime of know-how, lowering waste, and minimizing the necessity for brand new uncooked supplies.
We take a holistic strategy, masking the whole product life cycle. First, we deal with round design, which implies enhancing product design for sturdiness and reusability. And that’s prime to backside — from the merchandise themselves to the packaging they arrive in. Second, we’re creating programs for environment friendly take-back and product redeployment, and third, we’re creating choices to help a round financial system. For instance, with applications like Cisco Refresh, which sells licensed remanufactured tools, our aim is to allow our prospects and companions to undertake circularity.
It appears like circularity is extra than simply product design — how do programs and processes play into scaling this effort?
Christopher: Precisely. To scale circularity, we want extra than simply good product design. We want processes that help environment friendly take-back, recycling, and reuse.
We’re persevering with to research methods to do this — gathering insights and exploring methods to develop a scalable strategy. There’s a chance for us to take an lively position in product redeployment, supporting prospects who need to Cisco to cleared the path in product reuse and recycling.
Sustainability at Cisco is a cross-functional follow. How has your prior expertise working throughout groups utilized?
Christopher: Lots of the abilities I developed in my technical and gross sales roles — like collaborating throughout groups, aligning enterprise wants with long-term technique, and problem-solving — translate on to sustainability initiatives.
Sustainability at Cisco isn’t confined to 1 group — it requires coordination throughout a number of enterprise capabilities. It’s a mix of technical experience, operational technique, and relationship-building.
Your dedication to sustainability has been fueled by your ardour for the outside. Are you able to share a few of your adventures and what you’ve gained from these experiences?
Christopher: I reside in Denver, Colorado, and spending time within the pure world is a crucial a part of my life. Snowboarding, mountaineering and biking all permit me to hook up with nature — and discover my limits. I’m proud to notice I competed within the Bailey Hundo 4 occasions — an incredible albeit dauting 100-mile mountain bike race with 10,000 ft of elevation acquire.
The Colorado Path holds a particular place in my coronary heart — it runs parallel to the Continental Divide, passes by way of 5 wilderness areas, and is likely one of the nation’s solely long-distance trails that permits bikes. I’ve bikepacked the whole path — over 550 miles over the course of 20 days.
However past the trip and the path itself, what makes it much more significant is the story of the way it was created by a gaggle of people that have been keen to dream. I’m extremely impressed by Gudy Gaskill, the “Mom of the Colorado Path,” who led the all-volunteer effort to create this wonderful wilderness route by way of sheer persistence. She rallied folks round a shared imaginative and prescient and stored the undertaking shifting ahead regardless of seemingly countless obstacles — bodily and bureaucratic.
In some ways, her story mirrors the work being carried out in sustainability — huge change occurs by way of long-term dedication and pulling down roadblocks, step-by-step. Whether or not it’s constructing a wilderness path alongside the rugged Continental Divide or shifting an trade towards circularity, it’s about bringing folks collectively, fixing issues alongside the way in which, and staying centered on the long-term impression.
What recommendation do you might have for Cisco workers to get entangled in sustainability?
Christopher: A good way to get entangled in sustainability at Cisco is by becoming a member of your regional Inexperienced Workforce — these are employee-led teams devoted to supporting environmental initiatives. I’m lively with the Denver Inexperienced Workforce, and it’s been rewarding to see the native impression we will have. We’ve labored on quite a lot of volunteer initiatives and neighborhood initiatives, together with working at an animal sanctuary, wetland remediation, and path constructing.
I additionally encourage anybody eager about sustainability to coach your self on how Cisco is driving sustainability impression in our operations and for our prospects. An amazing place to begin is our Function Reporting Hub. There are insights into our Round Design program, effectivity targets, and Cisco’s round choices, like Cisco Refresh and our no-cost Takeback and Reuse program for end-of-use merchandise. I usually say these applications are Cisco’s greatest stored secrets and techniques, and I encourage my colleagues to grasp their advantages and to share them with our prospects and companions.
I’d additionally advise folks to take a look at how their abilities might switch to new alternatives. You is perhaps shocked how the talents you’ve developed in different components of Cisco pays dividends — whether or not in sustainability or one other space of the enterprise.
What has your journey taught you about driving significant change inside Cisco?
Christopher: My journey at Cisco has proven me that profession progress doesn’t at all times imply leaving — typically, it’s about uncovering new alternatives proper the place you might be.
I’ve additionally discovered that sustainability, like profession progress, is an area of fixed evolution and alternative. Cisco has the worldwide attain, affect, and innovation capability to drive significant progress in circularity.
However what resonates with me most is that sustainability requires long-term considering, persistence, and dedication — identical to endurance biking or path constructing.
Huge change occurs step-by-step, by way of dedication, collaboration, and a willingness to adapt alongside the way in which.
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