How Cisco Harnesses Circular Design for Sustainable Products

Overview of Cisco’s Circular Economy Success

Technology giant Cisco has achieved a significant milestone by integrating circular design principles into 100% of its new products and packaging, a goal set for the 2025 fiscal year. This comprehensive adoption underscores Cisco’s commitment to sustainability and earned the company a prestigious 2025 Reuters Global Sustainability Award for Circularity.

Mary de Wysocki, Cisco’s Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), who has spearheaded these initiatives for over six years, emphasizes that this effort extends beyond waste reduction to enhancing product longevity, efficiency, and security. This longstanding focus reflects Cisco’s strategic shift towards a circular economy—transforming how products are designed, manufactured, and used.

What is Circularity?

Circularity is an environmentally responsible model that aims to eliminate waste and reduce resource usage by keeping materials in circulation for as long as possible. Unlike the traditional linear "take-make-dispose" approach, circular design prioritizes reuse, repair, refurbishment, and recycling, fostering a closed-loop system that mitigates environmental impact.

Strategic Implementation & Governance

Cisco’s circular design initiative is underpinned by a robust governance framework featuring steering oversight and audit committees that ensure program integrity and alignment across divisions. A key enabler is the web-based Circular Design Evaluation Tool, which assesses each new product and packaging against 25 rigorous Circular Design Principles. Products must attain a minimum 75% score to be approved, ensuring consistency and high standards in sustainability practices.

To date, over 7,000 Cisco employees have completed circular design training, reflecting a deep organizational commitment to sustainability.

Practical Impacts and Cost Savings

Practical applications of circular design at Cisco include:

• Webex Room Bar: Elimination of foam packaging and incorporation of 55% recycled plastic, saving over 14,515 kg (32,000 pounds) of material annually.
• Catalyst 9000 Product Line: Removal of oil-based paint led to approximately US$9 million in cost savings (2020–2025), cut 318 metric tonnes of volatile organic compounds, and reduced CO2 emissions by about 3,400 metric tonnes.

These examples demonstrate the synergy between environmental responsibility and business efficiency, a core message highlighted by de Wysocki.

Supporting Infrastructure & Future Outlook

Cisco developed the Sustainability Data Foundation, a centralized platform to consolidate and govern sustainability data, enabling comprehensive analysis of carbon footprints and design efficiency. Results and progress are transparently shared via Cisco’s Purpose Reporting Hub and annual Purpose Report.

With digital infrastructure expanding—especially with demands from AI and emerging technologies—Cisco’s circular design approach offers a scalable framework for optimizing critical raw material use, reinforcing both growth and sustainability.

Continuing Commitment

Despite meeting its ambitious target of full circular design integration, Cisco views this as an evolving journey. The company plans ongoing refinement of its Circular Design Principles based on experiential learnings and customer input.

Additionally, Cisco hosts collaborative teardown events involving engineers, marketers, and supply chain partners to continuously identify innovation opportunities. This holistic approach addresses hardware design, packaging, sourcing decisions, and repairability across its product portfolio.

Key Takeaway:
Cisco’s experience exemplifies how embedding circular design principles systematically within product development can deliver substantial environmental benefits alongside cost savings and enhanced product value. Their structured governance, employee engagement, and transparency provide a replicable model for manufacturers and technology firms aiming for sustainable innovation.

Tags: Cisco, Mary de Wysocki, Circular Economy, Circularity, Sustainability, Waste Reduction, Recycling, ESG, Technology, Sustainable Products, Packaging, Manufacturing

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