How Cisco Harnesses Circular Design for Sustainable Products

Published: October 27, 2025
Author: Georgia Collins | Manufacturing Digital

Overview

Cisco has achieved a significant sustainability milestone by integrating circular design principles into 100% of its new products and packaging, fulfilling its 2025 fiscal year environmental goal. This accomplishment earned Cisco the 2025 Reuters Global Sustainability Award for Circularity, highlighting its leadership in eliminating waste and advancing sustainable manufacturing in the technology sector.

What is Circularity?

Circularity is a sustainability model that focuses on minimizing waste and resource consumption by keeping products and materials in use through reuse, repair, refurbishment, and recycling. This approach contrasts sharply with the traditional linear model of "take-make-dispose." Cisco’s circular economy efforts aim to create a closed-loop system that extends product life cycles and reduces environmental impact.

Cisco’s Strategy and Execution

• Leadership: Mary de Wysocki, Cisco’s Chief Sustainability Officer, has spearheaded these circular economy initiatives for over six years.

• Internal Training: More than 7,000 employees have completed circular design training, fostering a company-wide culture of sustainability and innovation.

• Evaluation Tool: Cisco developed a proprietary Circular Design Evaluation Tool—a web-based platform that assesses every new product and its packaging across 25 design principles. Products must achieve at least a 75% compliance score before launch.

• Governance: The program is supported by a governance structure comprising steering oversight and audit committees to ensure accountability and consistent progress across all divisions.

Practical Impacts and Material Savings

Cisco’s circular design has resulted in tangible environmental and financial benefits:

• Webex Room Bar: Eliminated foam packaging and replaced materials with 55% recycled plastic, saving over 14,515 kg (32,000 lbs) of packaging material annually.

• Catalyst 9000 Product Line: Removing oil-based paint led to a US$9 million cost reduction between 2020 and 2025 and eliminated:

  • ~318 metric tonnes of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
  • ~3,400 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions

These changes demonstrate how circularity can yield both ecological and economic advantages.

Supporting Infrastructure and Future Outlook

• Sustainability Data Foundation: Cisco established this platform to consolidate sustainability metrics, including carbon footprints and circularity effectiveness, aiding transparent reporting and continuous improvement.

• Public Accountability: Cisco shares progress via its Purpose Reporting Hub and annual Purpose Report, strengthening stakeholder trust.

• Innovative Culture: Regular teardown events unite engineers, marketers, and supply chain professionals to identify new sustainability opportunities in hardware design, materials sourcing, packaging, and product repairability.

Mary de Wysocki emphasizes that while the 100% circular design integration is a landmark achievement, it marks “just the beginning” of ongoing efforts to refine and deepen Cisco’s commitment to circularity.

Conclusion

Cisco’s integration of circular design principles across its product portfolio sets a pioneering example for the technology and manufacturing sectors. By embedding sustainability at the heart of product development, Cisco not only reduces waste and carbon emissions but also enhances product longevity, efficiency, and security. This holistic approach reinforces the commercial viability of sustainable practices and demonstrates that environmental stewardship and business success can go hand in hand.

Tags: Cisco, Circular Economy, Sustainability, ESG, Circular Design, Waste Reduction, Packaging, Technology, Mary de Wysocki

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