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Product returns, reuse, and recycling

Central to the concept of a circular economy is maintaining assets at their highest and best use for as long as possible. Cisco has had programs in place for more than two decades to facilitate product returns for reuse and recycling, offer comprehensive service and repair, and remanufacture used equipment for sale through Cisco Refresh. These programs can create a second life for equipment, thereby saving the resources required for new manufacturing and reducing waste.

Service programs

Cisco's Global Service Supply Chain organization delivers and supports customer and partner hardware Return Material Authorizations (RMAs). We are consistently optimizing our network and inventory levels as parts are used, customers deploy new products, and old hardware becomes obsolete. In an effort to maximize products' useful life, we replace, recover, and refurbish equipment and components through an extensive logistics, warehouse, planning, and repair operations network. Each device is repaired and repeatedly tested to ensure compliance with the latest manufacturing specifications.

Returns programs

Returns Portal—The Returns Portal is an online destination for customers and partners to find consolidated information for all types of Cisco returns. Some of the programs are highlighted below. Please visit the portal for a comprehensive list of options.

Customer and partner programs

Environmental Sustainability Specialization for partners—Provides Cisco partners the opportunity to both enhance their sustainability capabilities and stand out in the market as sustainability leaders.
Takeback Incentive—A global partner incentive that motivates partners to migrate customers to new advanced technologies and return displaced hardware back to Cisco for responsible reuse or recycling.
No-cost pickup and return for end-of-use products—Multiple options for customers to return working equipment to Cisco based on their needs and location, including using the Send IT Back app and the Cisco Returns Program. For non-working equipment, customers can use Customer Recycling Solutions (CRS).
Green Pay—A circular IT payment solution that offers predictable payments, an up-front incentive, and aligns with circular consumption models.

In fiscal 2022, we launched the Environmental Sustainability Specialization (ESS), a new business specialization available to all Cisco channel partners that recognizes them for supporting Cisco's sustainability initiatives and equips them to educate customers, promote product takeback, assist in customers' move to circular business models, and further their own sustainability practices. Alongside the partner specialization, we also introduced the Takeback Incentive (in eligible countries)—an incremental discount, exclusive to ESS partners, of up to 7 percent on new products when a commitment is made to return the used hardware back to Cisco. To further engage our channel partners, we also announced the Cisco Partner Digital Sustainability Challenge and announced three top winners from across the globe.

Customers are increasingly considering as-a-service models and want to extend the lifecycle of their equipment. In fiscal 2022, Cisco Capital launched Cisco Green Pay, a circular IT payment solution that makes it easier for customers to build a sustainable technology strategy to reach their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. It provides a path for customers of all sizes to acquire Cisco sustainable solutions. The program offers predictable payments for five years, with a 5 percent incentive on equipment at the outset, while Cisco retains ownership. This and our other long-standing programs focused on product return and reuse help us make progress toward our PACE Capital Equipment pledge.

Programs for companies producing or repairing Cisco products

Manufacturing Scrap/Reuse Program—The Cisco Manufacturing Scrap/Reuse Program collects and works to redeploy excess, obsolete, or damaged materials from our contract manufacturers, manufacturing partners, OEMs, original design manufacturers, and proprietary component suppliers.
Global Scrap—The Global Scrap Program supports the recycling needs of our contracted repair manufacturers and distribution depots.

Internal programs

eBin Program—The largest of Cisco's internal programs is the eBin/Lab Scrap Program. eBins are green plastic rolling bins, or in some cases gaylord boxes, that are placed in labs or Cisco offices around the world to collect orphaned, used, and test equipment for recycling.
Cisco DC Server Recycling—The Cisco Data Center Server Recycling Program serves data centers in 11 countries. When a data center no longer needs a server, it is offered to other Cisco data centers for possible reuse. When one of these servers reaches the end of its useful life, it is recycled, and all parts are shredded.
Recycle IT Day—We also hold an annual Recycle IT Day for our employees. Cisco employees and contractors can bring their e-scrap from home (both Cisco and non-Cisco products), and we pay to have the materials recycled properly. Any Cisco office location can host a recycling day event. Recycle IT Day usually takes place on or around Earth Day in April. Since Cisco started holding these events in 1995, our employees and contractors have helped recycle 3172 metric tonne of used electronics.

Product return, reuse, and recycling
KPI	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	Comments
KPI: Product returns, metric tonne	FY19: 9881	FY20:10,523	FY21: 9481	FY22: 11,217.14	Comments: All materials sent for harvesting, recycling, and reuse including materials received via a product RMA.
KPI: Refurbish, resell, and reuse rate, percent	FY19: 13.14%	FY20:15.29%	FY21: 14.1%	FY22: 29.7%	Comments: Material returned from customers, stock rotations, or internal sources that is redeployed by Value Recovery and Repo Depot groups to Cisco Service Supply, Cisco Refresh, or internal users to avoid new purchases.
KPI: Refurbish, resell, and reuse, metric tonne	FY19: 1298	FY20:1609	FY21: 1336	FY22: 3331.64	Comments: Material returned from customers, stock rotations, or internal sources that is redeployed by Value Recovery and Repo Depot groups to Cisco Service Supply, Cisco Refresh, or internal users to avoid new purchases.
KPI: Recycle rate, percent	FY19: 86.48%	FY20:84.55%	FY21: 85.82%	FY22: 70.2%	Comments: All remaining electronic waste materials, including plastics, precious, and non-precious metals, that are shredded and recycled by our contracted e-scrap recyclers.
KPI: Returned material sent to landfill, percent	FY19: 0.38%	FY20:0.16%	FY21: 0.08%	FY22: 0.098%	Comments: Landfill material consists only of nonelectronic waste materials, such as broken pallets, wet cardboard, and shrink wrap accompanying Cisco products returned by customers for recycling.

In fiscal 2022, our reuse, resale, and refurbishment rates increased compared to fiscal 2019 through fiscal 2021, which represented the impact of COVID-19 on product return volumes. The fiscal 2022 rates are consistent with fiscal 2018 rates, and the percent of returned material diverted from landfill remains consistent with fiscal 2021 at over 99%.

Reuse and recycling

Reuse is always our first priority. Returned devices that can be reused are remanufactured, refurbished, or repaired, and resold by Cisco Refresh, or used by Cisco service operations or our internal labs. Any products that are not reusable are harvested for components and recycled by one of our authorized recyclers. In fiscal 2022, Cisco expanded the Send IT Back app to 27 European Union countries and the United Kingdom. With the Send IT Back app, customers simply take photos of the products they want to return, and shipping agents contact them to arrange a free pickup. The ease with which a customer or partner can now process returns directly contributed to a doubling of customers and partners using the tool between fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022. CRS, our customer and partner recycling solution, remains available for those with non-working product to ensure equipment is recycled in a secure and responsible manner. Cisco is developing a long term roadmap to expand the ease and simplicity of product returns.

Alongside our efforts to increase the reuse of equipment, we must also address external barriers to scale these opportunities. We collaborate with peer companies, NGOs, and policymakers to address challenges and unintended consequences which can impact our ability to repair equipment.

Reuse programs

When products are returned to Cisco, we evaluate their condition and eligibility for reuse. If the product is in usable condition or repairable and there is demand for the product, it undergoes a testing and/or repair process to meet Cisco's quality standards. Cisco prioritizes data security by ensuring data sanitization to NIST 800-88 R1 specifications prior to reuse.

R2A—Our Return to A-Stock program sends unused products from our distribution centers to be reused by our contracted manufacturing sites. Returned products that are considered "new-in-box" are sent back to be tested and, if necessary, reconfigured. This allows us to better reuse products while also improving our ability to satisfy demand for new equipment without new manufacturing.
Services—Cisco Services (CX) evaluates products returned under service contracts for reparability. Repairable items are delivered to service repair vendors that categorize, repair, and refurbish products as equivalent to new. Once repair is complete, these items are shipped to Service Logistics warehouses to be supplied as advanced replacement parts to other customers and partners in the event of a Service RMA. CX keeps replacement parts strategically located near its customers to maximize RMA response efficiency and minimize transport emissions.
Cisco Refresh—Cisco's certified remanufactured products are backed by the same Cisco warranty and service options as new products. Equipment is sold through Cisco authorized resellers and is available in more than 70 countries. Inventory includes products from all technology areas, including switching, routing, wireless, IP telephony, security, and other advanced technologies.
Repo Depot—The Repo Depot program collects and redistributes lab equipment for Cisco internal use in the United States. In fiscal 2022, Repo Depot has redistributed nearly 8000 items, representing an estimated cost avoidance of over US$4.5 million while diverting approximately 66,000 pounds of equipment from Cisco's recycling stream.

Putting remanufactured products to work

The IT team at Busey Bank wasn't originally prioritizing looking for the most sustainable option when they discovered Cisco Refresh—they just needed equipment, fast.

Upon learning that that they could get certified remanufactured products right from Cisco sooner than they could get the new products they were waiting on, Busey ordered Catalyst 1000 ISRs and SFPs products from Cisco Refresh. Not only did they find what they needed, they discovered a new channel for reaching their sustainability and ESG goals. Remanufactured equipment uses less raw material than new and keeps e-waste out of landfills. Today, Busey looks for Refresh product first—rather than as a backup. "It's our preferred option now," said Vice President and Operations Manager Luke Wurl. "I'm on board from a sustainability perspective. We're committing to as little net new equipment as possible."

The Busey team is looking forward to taking advantage of Cisco's Takeback and Reuse program as well. Available through a web platform and an app, it allows equipment owners to return hardware that has reached end-of-use at no cost. They simply take a picture of the products they wish to dispose of and Cisco retrieves them, then either remanufactures or recycles them.

"I wish we had more partners like Cisco," said Wurl.

Recycling programs

Cisco's overarching goal is to redeploy as much material as possible, which includes recycling and harvesting of commodity components. We currently have two contracted e-scrap recyclers. Each recycler uses both company-owned facilities and subcontracted recyclers to provide global recycling coverage. Cisco's contracted recyclers are certified to one or more e-scrap-specific recycling standards, such as R2, R2 RIOS, eStewards, and WEEELABEX.

In addition, our contracts require recyclers to enforce our strict and formally documented recycling processes with any of their subcontractors doing Cisco work. We approve every prospective recycling company and every recycling location before sending any Cisco equipment for processing.

Each contracted recycler provides Cisco with monthly reports showing all cases opened and processed on a lot-by-lot basis. Reports include a mass balance showing the weight as received and the weights of each fractional commodity adding up to the gross weight received. On a quarterly basis, we hold business reviews with the recyclers to review recent results, action items, and upcoming focus areas. We also conduct random site audits of recycling facilities.

After material is received and weighed on a calibrated scale, recyclers review items for possible component harvesting. They may harvest processors, memory, and other hardware with sufficient market value to offset the cost of their harvesting, cleaning, packaging, and resale. Harvested components must be cleared of data in compliance with the NIST 800-88 R1 standard before being available for resale.

After harvesting, the unit proceeds to the recycling process. The recycling process starts with each load of e-scrap being dismantled and sorted into "commodity fractions." This separates steel, aluminum, cardboard, plastic, wire/cable, and PCBs. PCBs are shredded and sorted further before going to a specialized smelter where copper, palladium, silver, and gold are recovered. These metals are then sold on the global metals markets.

All other materials, including any batteries or packaging materials, are sent to downstream recyclers to become raw material inputs for new products.

Read about Cisco's Environmental Management System and Compliance with Environmental Regulations such as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) legislation under Environmental Compliance.