Cisco chief preaches green tech

WASHINGTON--Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers popped into the nation's capital on Wednesday to add his voice to the "green tech" movement.

In a brief appearance here at an event hosted by the TechNet, a political network composed of high-tech CEOs, Chambers called on all businesses to team up with government to adopt environmentally responsible practices.

"I think technology can enable many of the green innovations on a global basis," he said. His own company, for example, has applied its networking devices to help cities like San Francisco, Amsterdam and Seoul manage their public transportation systems in a manner designed to boost efficiency and reduce emissions, he added.

The purpose of Wednesday's event was to release a TechNet report (PDF) pushing Congress to support research into alternative energy sources and other energy-saving techniques.

Among its recommendations are doubling federal funding for energy research, upping the level of tax incentives aimed at spurring adoption of alternative energy technologies, and establishing a national, market-based program to encourage reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Tech investment guru John Doerr, whose venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers last year set up a $100 million fund dedicated to green technologies, suggested strong federal policies are central to boosting innovation, citing the government's funding that led to the Internet as an example. But "raging capitalists" like himself have good reason to adopt more environmentally-conscious policies on their own, he said.

"I deeply believe you can make green by going green," he quipped.