Striving for Sustainability: Meet Mike King

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.

We’re seeing sustainability evolve into an area the place science, sensible enterprise choices, and environmental influence intersect. That’s the place Mike King, who leads Carbon Accounting and Analytics from Cisco’s Chief Sustainability Workplace, is available in.

Mike believes sustainability is an extremely fascinating engineering downside, and in his view, there isn’t any greater subject to deal with. Be taught extra about his method:

How did your engineering background form the best way you method your work in sustainability?

Mike: Having that technical basis, together with time spent within the provide chain as a mechanical engineer at Cisco, taught me to see sustainability as a methods downside. Understanding how Cisco designs, builds, and ships merchandise provides me a stable grasp of the entire course of, which is particularly priceless after we’re attempting to quantify our sustainability impacts. I really feel assured in understanding what the method seems to be like and what we’re coping with at every stage.

From an engineering perspective, I have a tendency to interrupt issues down into steps. I naturally transfer by way of the method step-by-step however all the time preserve the large image in thoughts. The engineering design course of is inherently iterative. For instance, I train an engineering class at Arizona State College, and we undergo cycles of developing with an concept, constructing it, testing it, seeing what labored and what didn’t, after which refining it. I deliver that very same method to our sustainability initiatives, equivalent to our Product Carbon Footprint course of. It doesn’t must be good on the primary attempt; it’s about constructing, discovering points, and bettering every iteration.

Why is high-quality knowledge so important to creating sustainability efforts credible and actionable?

Mike: Information is what grounds sustainability in actuality. When you’ll be able to clearly see the place impacts are concentrated, whether or not in elements, manufacturing, or power use, it helps groups concentrate on actions that may drive significant change.

Excessive-quality knowledge permits everybody to make extra knowledgeable and assured choices. For instance, an engineer can join environmental influence to product price, whereas a buyer can search for methods to decrease the electrical energy prices of working our merchandise.

With our Sustainability Information Basis (SDF), Cisco goals to supply a single supply of high-quality knowledge for each inside groups and prospects. Given the rising complexity and demand for environmental sustainability knowledge, it’s important that we consolidate datasets and make the information simple to entry and perceive. The SDF brings collectively a variety of knowledge, from product data and provide chain particulars to buyer utilization and third-party emission components, so that everybody has the information they should assist credible and actionable sustainability efforts.

How can giant firms steadiness the rising demand for synthetic intelligence (AI) and digitalization with the necessity to enhance power effectivity?

Mike: AI and digitalization provide alternatives for effectivity, however in addition they deliver growing power calls for. The secret is to be intentional about how we design and deploy know-how. Some firms, like Cisco, are prioritizing power effectivity proper from the beginning, making it a core a part of how new options and instruments are developed. Additionally it is necessary to contemplate the broader system’s impacts in order that innovation and sustainability can transfer ahead collectively.

Machine studying (ML), a core subset of AI, is only one space the place we now have already seen actual, constructive impacts. For instance, ML algorithms can optimize buildings and amenities through the use of predictive analytics to handle power use extra effectively. These sorts of functions have been round for many years and are confirmed to assist firms cut back their environmental footprint.

Primarily based in your expertise constructing Cisco’s Life Cycle Evaluation (LCA) program, how can LCAs drive innovation and assist companies make higher sustainability choices?

Mike: LCAs assist make environmental impacts seen throughout the total life cycle of a product, which frequently results in higher design conversations. For instance, if you’re designing a product, LCAs can present whether or not switching to recycled supplies or decreasing the power depth of a provider’s location will make a much bigger distinction.

At Cisco, LCAs have helped us pinpoint environmental “hotspots” in numerous life cycle phases, like manufacturing, transportation, or use. With out LCAs, it might be exhausting to know the place to focus. They offer engineers the insights wanted to optimize elements and provides prospects the information to decide on extra sustainable merchandise. LCAs additionally transcend simply carbon, highlighting different impacts like water use and materials selections. This helps groups perceive trade-offs and make knowledgeable design adjustments with out unintentionally growing different impacts.

Trying forward, the place do you see sustainability creating the best enterprise worth for giant organizations?

Mike: The best worth comes when sustainability is embedded into on a regular basis enterprise and know-how choices. Corporations that use sustainability knowledge to information design, sourcing, and innovation are usually extra resilient, extra environment friendly, and higher ready for the long run.

On the upstream facet, this implies discovering methods to cut back prices by way of smarter materials selections, growing product longevity, or boosting reusability. These methods will help an organization lower your expenses whereas decreasing environmental influence. Downstream, it’s about delivering worth to prospects and companions. That may imply serving to prospects obtain power financial savings or tackle emissions discount targets.

At Cisco, I see my group sitting proper in the course of that equation, serving to to drive advantages for each the enterprise and our prospects by making sustainability a core a part of our decision-making course of.

What do you want extra folks understood about sustainability?

Mike: It’s not about discovering an ideal reply. Actual progress comes from making higher choices over time, studying from trade-offs, and specializing in what issues most. It’s about utilizing knowledge to information enhancements, somewhat than ready for good options.