Cisco: Taking a Tech-Driven Approach to Circularity Design

For more than half a decade, tech giant Cisco has been advancing its commitment to circularity.

Since embarking on this journey, the US-based company has embedded circular design principles – ensuring materials are reused, repurposed or recycled wherever possible – across all new products and packaging.

This week, Cisco confirmed it had fully implemented its 25 Circular Design Principles by the close of its 2025 fiscal year, a milestone that also saw it receive the 2025 Reuters Global Sustainability Award for Circularity.

Training and governance drive implementation

The rollout demanded extensive internal collaboration, with more than 7,000 employees completing dedicated circular design training.

Cisco’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Mary de Wysocki, announced the achievement on the company’s website, describing it as the result of a sustained, collective effort.

"This moment represents years of partnership, creativity, and persistence across our teams," she says.

"By designing with circularity in mind, we are not only reducing waste; we are extending product life, improving efficiency and security, and driving meaningful progress for our customers and communities."

A key enabler of the programme was Cisco’s web-based Circular Design Evaluation Tool, which now reviews every new product and packaging design against the company’s 25 principles.

Each product must achieve a minimum score of 75% to gain release approval.

To ensure accountability and alignment, Cisco also established a governance structure featuring dedicated steering, oversight and audit committees.

Material and cost savings demonstrated

Several flagship products exemplify the tangible impact of Cisco’s circular design approach.

The Webex Room Bar, for instance, now eliminates foam packaging, incorporates 55% recycled plastic and saves more than 32,000 pounds of material each year.

Even greater efficiencies have been realised through updates to the Catalyst 9000 product line, where the removal of oil-based paint delivered US$9m in cost savings between fiscal years 2020 and 2025.

This design shift also reduced around 318 metric tonnes of volatile organic compounds and approximately 3,400 metric tonnes of CO₂e emissions over the same period.

Data infrastructure supports reporting

To strengthen data-driven sustainability efforts, Cisco established its Sustainability Data Foundation to unify and manage key environmental metrics, including those tied to circular design performance.

The platform supports comprehensive analysis of product carbon footprints and tracks efficiency improvements achieved through circular design principles.

Progress is regularly shared via Cisco’s Purpose Reporting Hub and annual Purpose Report, ensuring transparency on measurable sustainability outcomes.

The cross-functional team behind the initiative was recognised with the 2024 Cisco Pinnacle Award, the company’s highest honour for product and engineering innovation.

Industry context and future applications

As digital infrastructure scales to meet the growing demands of AI, Cisco sees circular design as a key strategy for conserving critical raw materials and optimising resource use.

Mary emphasises the commercial value of this approach, stating that “circular design makes good business sense and helps us deliver even greater value to our customers, partners, and suppliers”.

Cisco actively shares its methodologies through industry platforms such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Economic Forum’s Circular Transformation of Industries initiative.

Built-in modularity and repairability extend product lifecycles, enabling customers to upgrade or repair equipment rather than replace full systems.

Cisco's circular economy plans going forward

Although Cisco has achieved full integration of its Circular Design Principles, the company views this milestone as a step in an ongoing journey rather than an endpoint.

Mary says the milestone marks “just the beginning,” with plans to refine and expand the principles based on real-world insights and evolving customer needs.

The framework aligns waste reduction objectives with operational efficiency – an increasingly vital balance as the tech industry faces mounting pressure around resource use and electronic waste.

Hands-on teardown sessions bringing together engineers, marketers and supply chain specialists continue to uncover fresh opportunities for sustainable product innovation.

Cisco’s circular design methodology spans every stage of product development, encompassing hardware design, packaging materials, sourcing strategies and repairability across its entire portfolio.