Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) materiality A comprehensive understanding of priority ESG topics is crucial to Cisco’s CSR strategic planning, reporting, and ultimately our performance. We engage in regular dialogue with stakeholders that allows us to understand ESG topics that are most important to our stakeholders and continuously assess our strategy and commitments. We partner with a wide range of global and local organizations to shape and extend the reach of our CSR programs, including governments, nonprofits, multilateral organizations, and peers. A list of the types of stakeholders we engage and some of the forums where we engage them is available on our ESG Reporting Hub . Cisco continuously improves our data collection and analysis processes to assess the impact of our engagements. We use stakeholder inputs in our CSR strategy, programs, and reporting through an ESG materiality assessment 1 that is conducted in full every two years and refreshed in between. Our latest full assessment, supported by an independent consultant in fiscal 2021, identified 18 ESG topics as illustrated in Table 1. This assessment used multiple methods, with direct input from Cisco employees, including executives and sales professionals; investors; thought leaders; and an analysis of stakeholder inquiries and peer benchmarking. The analysis also incorporated big data from software platform Datamaran, which allows us to continue assessing emerging issues throughout the year. A full description of the ESG materiality assessment process 1 is available here . Reporting frameworks and standards Cisco’s CSR reporting is in accordance with the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): Core Application. We are a member of the GRI Community and support the mission of GRI to empower decision makers everywhere, through GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards and its multistakeholder network, to take action toward a more sustainable economy and world. Cisco also indexes against frameworks including the Value Reporting Foundation (SASB Standards), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, and CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), where applicable. We also align our targeted CSR efforts with many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 17 SDGs set forth a framework to build a better world for people and our planet by 2030 and are designed to be applied by governments and organizations worldwide. The SDGs’ success requires global cooperation and ambitious commitments—ideas that square perfectly with our own commitments to inclusivity and creating opportunity. A detailed picture of how Cisco’s most important ESG issues, strategies, programs, and goals support the specific SDGs and targets can be found on our ESG Reporting Hub . TABLE 1: ESG focus areas and pillar alignment 1 ESG Topics Reporting Pillar Human rights and working conditions in the supply chain Power Corporate governance Power Business ethics Power Data security and privacy Power Innovation and responsible technology Power Digital inclusion Power Inclusion and diversity Inclusive Employee health and safety and labor rights Inclusive Employee wellbeing Inclusive Talent Inclusive Community impact Inclusive Critical human needs and disaster relief Inclusive Economic empowerment Inclusive Climate change and GHGs Future Circular design and lifecycle management Future Environmental protection Future Operational waste Future Water Future 1. ESG materiality, as used in this report, and our ESG materiality assessment process, is different than when used in the context of Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) disclosure obligations. Issues deemed material for purposes of this report and for purposes of determining our ESG strategy may not be considered material for SEC reporting purposes, nor does inclusion of information in this report indicate that the topic or information is material to Cisco’s business or operating results. FUTURE INTRO POWER INCLUSIVE 9 2021 Cisco Purpose Report | csr.cisco.com | ESG Reporting Hub