Cisco continues to maintain its strong position in demonstrating and measuring the energy savings potential of the IT sector, bested only by Fujitsu in the Solutions category, and shows signs of increasing its investment in its solutions offerings, particularly those related to the smart grid.

Cisco earns top marks for its increased leadership in addressing its growing energy footprint, with an update to its greenhouse gas (GHG) and renewable energy targets, along with a performance-based commitment to direct its growth toward cleaner sources of electricity and away from coal.

Cisco scored higher for its policy advocacy leadership than it did last year, but nearly all of its advocacy occurred in the EU - particularly the UK - while being nearly non-existent in the US and even its home state of California.  As a company that has clearly shown its interest in both increasing its supply of renewable energy and business opportunities with IT-enabled energy management and the smart grid, Cisco needs to demonstrate much stronger advocacy leadership in its home market. For inspiration or ideas on how to improve, Cisco would be well served by looking at the leadership shown by its California neighbour and the company with whom it shares top honours in this year’s Leaderboard: Google.

Cisco's performance in detail: Download the company’s Scorecard here