Yesterday, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented Cisco Systems with a Green Power Partner of the Year award. The Green Power Leadership Awards recognize Green Power Partners for their leadership, overall renewables strategy, and impact on the green power market.

Cisco Systems was one of only three organizations nationwide to be chosen as a Green Power Partner of the Year in 2016.

"Receiving the Green Power Partner of the Year Award is a great honor," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. "We applaud Cisco Systems' exemplary leadership in using and advancing the market for green power. This should serve as a model for the entire country."

Cisco has been recognized by the US EPA for green power use in the past. We won Green Power Partner of the Year for the first time in 2008 and again in 2013. Additionally, we have been listed on the EPA's Top Partner Rankings for multiple years.

As of July 25, 2016, Cisco Systems ranks 4th on EPA's National Top 100 list, 3rd on the Top 30 Tech & Telecom list, and 4th on the Fortune 500 Partners list. These rankings are updated quarterly at the EPA's site.

Purchasing electricity generated from renewable and low-carbon sources is a key component of our GHG reduction strategy to meet our GHG reduction goals. Cisco has been purchasing renewable electricity primarily in the U.S. and Europe since FY06.

Today, we have a comprehensive global plan to reduce GHG emissions which extend all the way to employee homes:

• Participate in utility green energy programs (Austin Energy and Duke Energy in the U.S., and various programs throughout Europe)
• Install onsite solar PV systems at campuses across the world (2.7 MW installed to date)
• Implement longer-term renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs); our first is a 20-MW solar photovoltaic project in southern California
• Purchase green-e-Certified RECs in the U.S. and India where utility green power, onsite systems, and PPAs are not readily available options to pursue
• Encourage employees to install solar on their homes through an employee solar discount program

In FY15, Cisco used over 1.1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power globally, making up 97 percent of our overall US and 72 percent of our global electricity use.

According to the EPA, this amount is equivalent to the electricity use of nearly 100,000 average American homes annually. By choosing clean, renewable energy, we are accelerating the transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon energy future.

Please read more about our commitment to environmental sustainability at csr.cisco.com.