Cisco, San Francisco team up in green tech effort

By Elizabeth Browne
Sept 16, 2007

Cisco Systems and the City of San Francisco are looking to technology to battle climate change.
San Francisco is one of three cities initially selected by the San Jose-based networking giant to take part in its Connected Urban Development Initiative. Cisco is deploying expertise, equipment and research to Seoul, Amsterdam and San Francisco for the $15 million, five-year program.

The Connected Urban Development Initiative will develop ways to use information and communication technology to reduce carbon emissions while fostering economic growth. The initial stage of the project, which kicked off in late 2006, will culminate in a meeting of the three cities' mayors in San Francisco on Feb. 21-22, 2008.

"This is a different level of involvement than others have brought to the table," said Jared Blumenfeld, director of San Francisco's Department of the Environment. In San Francisco, that involvement focuses on public transportation and green IT, according to Wolfgang Wagner, head of sustainable cities for Cisco's Connected Urban Development Initiative. Project specifics are still being worked out, but in the area of transportation, Cisco will work with city departments to improve the performance of city transit systems through tech infrastructure, Wagner said. Blumenfeld suggested that might mean expansion of services like Nextbus that provide better schedule data to passengers, or a rethinking of the Translink program.

"The most critical thing is to get people on public transit," he said. Cisco will consider various technologies to promote sustainable urban development in the three cities, from vehicle tracking systems to GPS, RFID and other sensor technologies. The company will also use broadband, wireless and other infrastructures to change the nature of -- and need for transportation to and from -- work. Other possibilities that could come out of CUDI include better data on San Francisco's specific climate impact, Blumenfeld said, such as an examination of the fuel efficiency of residents' cars by neighborhood.

The Connected Urban Development Initiative is part of a commitment Cisco made to the Clinton Global Initiative in 2006. In addition to product donations and expertise from the company's Internet Business Solutions Group, the program draws on researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is likely to expand to other cities, possibly as soon as early 2008, said Noni Allwood, senior director of Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group. "Technology has a unique role," said Wagner. "It's part of the problem, but more importantly, it is an environmental solution."

© 2007 San Francisco Business Times
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