This weblog is a part of our concentrate on Cisco staff who’re “Striving for Sustainability” by discovering alternatives to combine sustainability of their day-to-day work.
After years in companies and enterprise improvement, Christopher Weiland charted a brand new path — making use of his know-how experience to drive sustainability innovation at Cisco. Very like 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 — actually, I used to be commonly pulled out of center college lessons to troubleshoot points within the college’s laptop lab. That curiosity and technical know-how led me to review industrial engineering, which set the muse for roles at Microsoft, IBM, and finally Cisco, which I joined in 2000.
At Cisco, I targeted on companies and gross sales, performing some thrilling work to assist main service supplier clients 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 function to at least one centered on sustainability.
What did that exploration seem like and the way did you navigate a profession shift inside Cisco?
Christopher: After having a tremendous profession in tech at Cisco, I used to be thrilled to appreciate that I might discover sustainability inside the Cisco group. Initially, I believed I would want a grasp’s diploma in environmental science or that I might need to depart the corporate to chart a brand new path. However then I found a bunch of passionate Cisco staff who had been supporting sustainability, spanning clear vitality, provide chain and circularity — all thrilling and impactful efforts. Product circularity specifically 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 improvement — Publicity, Training, and Expertise. I began studying, taking lessons, and connecting with Cisco staff working on this discipline, 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 targeted 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 necessary?
Christopher: Inside Cisco’s environmental sustainability technique, the Plan for the Doable, one among our three priorities is evolving our enterprise to a round mannequin.
Which means holding merchandise in use for so long as doable — 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 method, overlaying your entire product life cycle. First, we concentrate on 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 methods for environment friendly take-back and product redeployment, and third, we’re growing choices to help a round economic system. For instance, with applications like Cisco Refresh, which sells licensed remanufactured tools, our aim is to allow our clients and companions to undertake circularity.
It appears like circularity is extra than simply product design — how do methods 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 analyze methods to try this — gathering insights and exploring methods to develop a scalable method. There’s a chance for us to take an energetic function in product redeployment, supporting clients who want 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: Most 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 workforce — 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 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 hook up with nature — and discover my limits. I’m proud to notice I competed within the Bailey Hundo 4 occasions — a tremendous albeit dauting 100-mile mountain bike race with 10,000 toes of elevation achieve.
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 without doubt one of the nation’s solely long-distance trails that enables bikes. I’ve bikepacked your entire path — over 550 miles over the course of 20 days.
However past the journey and the path itself, what makes it much more significant is the story of the way it was created by a bunch of people that had 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 superb wilderness route by way of sheer persistence. She rallied individuals round a shared imaginative and prescient and stored the mission shifting ahead regardless of seemingly countless obstacles — bodily and bureaucratic.
In some ways, her story mirrors the work being executed in sustainability — huge change occurs by way 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 targeted on the long-term influence.
What recommendation do you’ve gotten for Cisco staff 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 Crew — these are employee-led teams devoted to supporting environmental initiatives. I’m energetic with the Denver Inexperienced Crew, and it’s been rewarding to see the native influence we are able to have. We’ve labored on a wide range of volunteer tasks and group initiatives, together with working at an animal sanctuary, wetland remediation, and path constructing.
I additionally encourage anybody considering sustainability to coach your self on how Cisco is driving sustainability influence in our operations and for our clients. An incredible 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 typically say these applications are Cisco’s finest stored secrets and techniques, and I encourage my colleagues to know their advantages and to share them with our clients and companions.
I’d additionally advise individuals to take a look at how their expertise could switch to new alternatives. You may be stunned how the talents you’ve developed in different components 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 development doesn’t at all times imply leaving — generally, it’s about uncovering new alternatives proper the place you’re.
I’ve additionally realized that sustainability, like profession development, 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 best way.
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