From Design to Affect: Round design throughout Cisco’s product life cycle

The next is an excerpt from our FY24 Goal Report, celebrating 40 years of affect at Cisco. Information and metrics are reflective of Cisco’s fiscal 12 months 2024, ending on July 31, 2024.

Round design means designing merchandise, packaging, and methods that allow reuse, reduce environmental impacts, drive innovation, and notice worth for our stakeholders. We design our merchandise and packaging with circularity in thoughts, aligning them to 25 Round Design Rules organized throughout 5 focus areas.  

We developed a round design analysis methodology and web-based device to assist us monitor progress towards our round design purpose. Each new product and packaging design should be scored within the analysis device and obtain a rating of a minimum of 75% earlier than its launch to manufacturing. A rating of 75% or larger represents substantial incorporation of our Round Design Rules into our new merchandise and packaging and counts towards our round design purpose. We formalized processes and dashboards to help and implement the obligatory scoring requirement, leading to all new designs launched in fiscal 2024 being evaluated within the device. 

Cisco’s merchandise are designed to convey our model of high quality and innovation. In fiscal 2024, Cisco up to date the economic design tips to include model necessities and Round Design Rules, together with tips similar to avoiding the utilization of solely beauty and nonfunctional plastic components and optimizing the product packaging. In fiscal 2025, we’ll evaluation the Round Design Rules, methodology, and gear based mostly on key learnings, stakeholder suggestions, and exterior necessities, to establish alternatives to additional our efforts. 

Pinnacle Awards 

A cross-functional crew from Provide Chain and Engineering gained the Sustainability Affect Award on the 2024 Cisco Pinnacle Awards, the best recognition of product and engineering innovation at Cisco, for serving to rework our firm technique and meaningfully accelerating Cisco and our clients towards key environmental sustainability targets. 

Assessing Our Merchandise’ Environmental Impacts 

 A life cycle evaluation (LCA) is used to mannequin the environmental impacts of a product throughout a number of affect classes over the product life cycle, from cradle to grave. We use LCAs to quantify key environmental impacts of our merchandise, establish sizzling spots for steady product design and operational enchancment, and alternatives to cut back assets used all through our provide chain. 

In fiscal 2024, to handle the necessity for LCAs throughout our product portfolio, we developed a scalable LCA mannequin together with environmental affect experiences aligned to the Worldwide Group for Standardization (ISO) 14040/44 requirements. The intent of this mannequin is to enhance the standard and reduce the resource-intensiveness of performing LCAs. It may be used for many Cisco {hardware} merchandise to handle inside and exterior stakeholder curiosity. With the big variety of merchandise in our portfolio, we began by utilizing this mannequin for consultant merchandise throughout Cisco product households. In fiscal 2024, we printed our first LCA report utilizing the scalable LCA mannequin. 

To study extra concerning the progress we’re making to Energy an Inclusive Future for All, go to our Cisco Goal Reporting Hub.

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