As sustainability continues to be a strategic priority for organizations across the globe, networking giant Cisco has unveiled a new feature for its unified communication platform Webex by Cisco: Low Power Mode, which should help them achieve their carbon emission goals.
The addition, found in Webex’s Low Carbon Mode, provides users with location-based insights to manage energy consumption more effectively, particularly during periods when low-carbon energy sources are unavailable.
Webex’s Low Carbon Mode streamlines the administration and monitoring of Cisco collaboration services, offering centralized control and visibility to enhance efficiency and ensure optimal performance for organizations utilizing Cisco’s communication and collaboration tools.
The Low Carbon Mode feature operates by capturing location-specific energy resources, thereby offering administrators and users relevant data to optimize their energy usage.
By adopting a user-centric approach, the platform enables individuals to make informed decisions, such as deferring non-critical updates and optimizing video streaming, based on the availability of low-carbon electricity in their respective regions.
Cisco says that with Webex’s Low Carbon Mode, users can contribute to environmental conservation efforts by minimizing their reliance on traditional energy sources and maximizing the utilization of renewable alternatives.
Aruna Ravichandran, senior vice president and chief marketing and customer officer at Webex by Cisco, says the new capability is part of the company’s larger sustainability commitment.
The company has already set a goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and incorporating Circular Design Principles into all its new products and packaging by 2025.
“Webex identifies the energy sources being used based on the location of the user – giving admins and users a way to optimize their energy consumption until low-carbon electricity is available,” she explains.
Ravichandran says to accomplish goals to successfully reduce an organization’s carbon footprint, IT administrators need better tools to understand how workspaces are consuming energy.
“Low Carbon Mode in Webex offers a user-centric solution that allows adjustments such as deferring non-critical updates and optimizing video when the mode is active, based on the availability of low carbon electricity in the region,” she says.
She points out having the ability to detect and scale down non-renewable energy usage across workplaces is crucial as companies work to reach sustainability goals.
“As companies are rearranging their offices and incorporating new technologies, Webex by Cisco is committed to helping customers create workspaces that promote user wellbeing, while being inherently more sustainable,” she says.
Ravichandran says when it comes to adopting sustainable solutions for hybrid collaboration, ease of use is essential since many companies are in different parts of their journey to embracing and adopting hybrid work.
“Low Carbon Mode in Webex will make it easier for all companies to manage energy consumption – all from a singular place,” she says. “With a simplified design and easy-to-use UX controls, Low Carbon Mode will present IT administrators with the information most important to achieving their organization’s energy consumption goals.”
Critical information about their current Data Center emissions, non-renewable energy usage and more are just a few clicks away, presenting information in a simple and transparent manner.
Low Carbon Mode builds on the organization’s efforts to address the demand for sustainable solutions.
Last year, the company announced Carbon Emissions Insights in the Webex Control Hub to help organizations optimize energy consumption with insights on their current data center emissions resulting from the usage of Webex services like meetings, messaging and calling.
Other goals Cisco Collaboration video devices hope to attain in the fiscal year 2025 is for half of the plastic used in those products to be made of recycled content, and for all textiles used in the products to be made with 100% recycled content.
“Additionally, Cisco’s Product Takeback and Reuse Program lets Cisco equipment owners return hardware that has reached end-of-use, at no cost,” Ravichandran says. “We reuse and recycle more than 99% of what is returned, helping to ensure responsible disposition of equipment.”
