This weblog is a part of our concentrate on 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 improvement, 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 — in truth, I used to be frequently pulled out of center faculty courses to troubleshoot points within the faculty’s laptop lab. That curiosity and technical know-how led me to check industrial engineering, which set the muse for roles at Microsoft, IBM, and finally Cisco, which I joined in 2000.
At Cisco, I centered on providers and gross sales, performing some thrilling work to assist main service supplier prospects navigate advanced networking options. After twenty years, I started to consider the following part of my profession and began exploring how I may transition from a technology-focused function to at least one centered on sustainability.
What did that exploration appear to be 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 comprehend that I may discover sustainability inside the Cisco neighborhood. Initially, I assumed 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 had been supporting sustainability, spanning clear vitality, provide chain and circularity — all thrilling and impactful efforts. Product circularity particularly caught my consideration as an space the place my skillset may apply and the place I assumed I may make a contribution.
So I actually embraced Cisco’s three E’s for skilled improvement — Publicity, Training, and Expertise. I began studying, taking courses, and connecting with Cisco workers working on this discipline, even earlier than we had our Chief Sustainability Workplace. Ultimately that led to a chance for a stretch project 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, certainly one of our three priorities is evolving our enterprise to a round mannequin.
Meaning protecting merchandise in use for so long as attainable — by means of reuse, refurbishment, and accountable recycling. Circularity is all about extending the lifetime of know-how, lowering waste, and minimizing the necessity for brand spanking new uncooked supplies.
We take a holistic method, protecting all the product life cycle. First, we concentrate on round design, which suggests bettering 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 assist a round economic system. For instance, with applications like Cisco Refresh, which sells licensed remanufactured gear, our purpose is to allow our prospects and companions to undertake circularity.
It seems 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 assist environment friendly take-back, recycling, and reuse.
We’re persevering with to analyze methods to try this — gathering insights and exploring methods to develop a scalable method. There’s a chance for us to take an lively function 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 expertise 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 at least one group — it requires coordination throughout a number of enterprise features. 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 dwell in Denver, Colorado, and spending time within the pure world is a crucial a part of my life. Snowboarding, climbing and biking all enable me to connect with nature — and discover my limits. I’m proud to notice I competed within the Bailey Hundo 4 instances — an incredible albeit dauting 100-mile mountain bike race with 10,000 ft of elevation achieve.
The Colorado Path holds a particular place in my coronary heart — it runs parallel to the Continental Divide, passes by means of 5 wilderness areas, and is without doubt one of the nation’s solely long-distance trails that permits bikes. I’ve bikepacked all the path — over 550 miles over the course of 20 days.
However past the experience 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 had been prepared 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 means of sheer persistence. She rallied individuals round a shared imaginative and prescient and saved the challenge shifting ahead regardless of seemingly infinite obstacles — bodily and bureaucratic.
In some ways, her story mirrors the work being finished in sustainability — large change occurs by means of long-term dedication and flattening 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 individuals collectively, fixing issues alongside the best way, and staying centered on the long-term influence.
What recommendation do you could have for Cisco workers to become involved in sustainability?
Christopher: A good way to become involved in sustainability at Cisco is by becoming a member of your regional Inexperienced Group — these are employee-led teams devoted to supporting environmental initiatives. I’m lively with the Denver Inexperienced Group, and it’s been rewarding to see the native influence 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 excited by sustainability to teach your self on how Cisco is driving sustainability influence in our operations and for our prospects. An excellent start line 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 finest saved secrets and techniques, and I encourage my colleagues to know their advantages and to share them with our prospects and companions.
I’d additionally advise individuals to have a look at how their expertise could switch to new alternatives. You may be shocked how the talents you’ve developed in different elements of Cisco will pay 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 — generally, it’s about uncovering new alternatives proper the place you’re.
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.
Large change occurs step-by-step, by means of dedication, collaboration, and a willingness to adapt alongside the best way.
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