Client: Cisco
Sector: Electronics
Locations: Thailand and Vietnam
Service: Training and Capacity Building
Year: 2025
The Challenge
As global technology leader Cisco continues to advance its net-zero ambitions, the company recognises that meaningful progress depends on collaboration across its extensive supply chain. Many of Cisco’s manufacturing partners in Thailand and Vietnam are at the early stages of their decarbonization journey, facing challenges in understanding product-level emissions, accessing accurate data, and navigating renewable energy opportunities within rapidly evolving local markets.
To address these challenges, Cisco partnered with RESET Carbon to develop a targeted supplier engagement program focused on two key enablers of emissions reduction: product carbon footprinting and renewable energy adoption. The aim was to equip suppliers with the knowledge and tools needed to measure and reduce emissions effectively, while signalling Cisco’s clear direction of travel towards a low-carbon, resilient supply chain.
The Approach
RESET Carbon designed and delivered a blended engagement model combining interactive, in-person workshops with ongoing virtual support. The in-person sessions, held in Thailand and Vietnam, created a dynamic environment for learning, collaboration, and dialogue between Cisco’s regional suppliers and sustainability experts.
The training covered the fundamentals of product carbon footprinting, including how to define and measure product-level emissions, the importance of using primary rather than secondary data, and how these insights feed into broader corporate net-zero strategies. Sessions on renewable energy provided suppliers with a practical understanding of the different procurement models available in each country, from onsite solar and offsite power purchase agreements to unbundled energy attribute certificates, and examined the policy, market, and infrastructure barriers affecting their adoption.
Equally important, the workshops served as a two-way communication platform. Cisco gathered valuable feedback on supplier readiness, capacity gaps, and local constraints, allowing it to refine future support programs to ensure they are both impactful and achievable.
The Impact
The program marked a significant step forward in Cisco’s efforts to operationalise its supply chain decarbonization strategy in Southeast Asia. Suppliers left the training with a deeper understanding of how to measure and manage product-level emissions, greater awareness of renewable energy solutions available in their markets, and renewed confidence in their ability to take meaningful climate action.
By combining practical learning with ongoing engagement, Cisco established a foundation for continuous improvement and stronger collaboration across its supplier network. The initiative not only strengthened supplier capability but also advanced Cisco’s broader commitment to a just and inclusive transition, ensuring that the shift toward net zero is achievable for all partners, regardless of their starting point.
Through this partnership, RESET Carbon and Cisco demonstrated how targeted, regionally tailored engagement can translate corporate climate ambition into measurable progress on the ground, building both technical capability and shared momentum for change.
RESET Carbon has deep expertise in engaging electronics supply chains across Southeast Asia. Their collaborative, locally-grounded approach made our workshops in Vietnam and Thailand highly impactful, turning supplier challenges into a clear roadmap for scaling renewable energy adoption.
Toddy Tu, Sustainability Manager at Cisco
Does your supply chain need support with effectively measuring and reducing their emissions? Speak to our team to get practical, step-by-step guidance on the path to decarbonization.