Cisco's Circular Design Revolution: Pioneering Sustainable Products for a Greener Future

How Cisco Uses Circular Design for Sustainable Products

Date: October 27, 2025
Author: Georgia Collins
Source: Manufacturing Digital

Overview

Cisco now makes all new products and packaging with circular design. The company hit a key goal this fiscal year. Six years of hard work led to this win. Cisco also won the 2025 Reuters Global Sustainability Award for Circularity.

What Is Circularity?

Circularity is a method that keeps materials in use. It stops waste by reusing, repairing, and recycling. This way stands apart from the old take-make-dispose path. Each word ties directly to its purpose in a closed loop.

Cisco’s Circular Economy Initiative

Leadership: Mary de Wysocki, Chief Sustainability Officer, drove this change for six years.
Employee Engagement: Over 7,000 employees took circular design training.
Philosophy: Circular design cuts waste, extends product life, boosts efficiency and security, and gives clear wins to customers and communities.

"We use circular design to cut waste. We extend product life, boost efficiency, and raise security. We also drive true progress for our customers and communities."
— Mary de Wysocki, CSO at Cisco

Governance and Implementation

Cisco runs a strong system for design checks:

A web-based Circular Design Evaluation Tool links each new product and package to 25 clear principles.
Each item must score at least 75% to pass.
Oversight teams and audit groups guard the plan and keep all parts in sync.

Material and Cost Savings

Webex Room Bar: This product dropped foam and uses 55% recycled plastic. It saves over 14,515 kg of material each year.
Catalyst 9000 Product Line: This line stopped using oil-based paint. The change cuts 318 tonnes of harmful chemicals and avoids about 3,400 tonnes of CO2 emissions. It also slashed costs by US$9 million between fiscal years 2020 and 2025. ---

Data Infrastructure & Future Outlook

Cisco built the Sustainability Data Foundation. This platform holds all the key data on circular design:

It helps track the impact of every new design.
It measures product carbon footprints and gains in efficiency.

The Purpose Reporting Hub and the annual Purpose Report keep the process clear and open. Mary de Wysocki said, "Circular design is a smart move. It gives clear value to our customers, partners, and suppliers."

Cisco sees the full use of circular design as just the start. The firm now gathers feedback and hosts teardown events with engineers, marketing teams, and supply chain partners to find new green moves.

Significance for the Industry

Cisco’s clear path in circular design sets a model for other tech and manufacturing firms. Its work shows that smart design brings gains for both business and the planet.