Sustainability is rapidly becoming established as a core discipline in business strategybeyond being an isolated initiative. Security and network specialists, Cisco, reveal the main trends that companies and administrations will adopt to improve energy efficiency, reduce operating costs, strengthen the resilience of supply chains and manage long-term risks.
The public, private and civic sectors are implementing sustainability strategies to improve energy efficiency, reduce operating costs, strengthen supply chain resilience and manage long-term risk. This is largely supported by advances in circularity, modern energy systems, artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging quantum technologies.
“But progress requires coordination, reliable data and solutions designed to scale”they say from Cisco. These needs increasingly impact customer and partner priorities and, as a result, are now high on board agendas. Across all sectors, organizations are incorporating sustainability decisions in your operational and technological decisions in response to changing market conditions and innovations of the AI era.
Sustainability Trends in 2026
Sustainability as a strategic discipline
Organizations are integrating energy efficiency, security, operational resilience and circularity into their daily operations and long-term planning. Global reporting standards and practices are being harmonized, facilitating transparency and comparability with frameworks the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). According to the OECD, 91% of large companies already disclose information related to sustainability.
Circularity by design
Circularity advances beyond traditional recycling, being incorporated from the beginning in the design and manufacturing process to reduce waste and prolong the useful life of products. Cisco has already managed to integrate circular design principles into 100% of its new products and packaging.
Innovation at scale in energy systems
The modernization of infrastructure and the adoption of solutions such as microgrids and smart buildings are accelerating the transition towards safer and more efficient energy systems. Technologies like Cisco Silicon One, which offers industry-leading performance per watt, enable infrastructure modernization with lower energy consumption and greater capacity.
AI redefines the energy equation
AI-optimized servers, which currently account for around 21% of data center power consumption, could account for 44% by 2030, imposing new demands. Cisco helps its customers optimize networks and operations for greater efficiency and security, preparing to support increasingly complex workloads.
Preparation for the quantum era
2026 marks the beginning of preparation for quantum technologies, with organizations planning secure networks and next-generation cryptography. Cisco is collaborating with leaders like IBM to develop fault-tolerant quantum systems, reflecting the first steps toward this future as organizations focus on long-term security, resilience, and trust.
Looking ahead, progress in all of these areas will depend on a closer collaboration between industries, governments and communitiesas well as the choice of technologies designed for longevity, security and adaptability. We anticipate that more organizations will integrate sustainability considerations into their core planning as they modernize their infrastructure and prepare for emerging technologies, as Mary de Wysocki, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Cisco, notes:
“We reaffirm our commitment to sustainability by supporting organizations in reducing environmental impact, strengthening resilience and designing safe and adaptable systems to meet the challenges of the future, whose progress will depend on closer collaboration between industries, governments and communities and on technologies designed for longevity, adaptability and security”.
