With the release of its 2022 Purpose Report, Cisco plans to continue its investment in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals across diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and sustainability. Yet among its newer efforts – like looking into the hybrid work era as means to catalyze diversity – the company’s refurbished equipment program, Cisco Refresh, remains a strong, in-demand method to reduce enterprise equipment waste after two decades of operating.

Originally founded as Cisco Authorized Refurbished Equipment (CARE) in 2001, the vendor wanted the Refresh program to focus on providing products “across multiple generations in a like-new condition,” with the same warranties as new products in efforts to offer a competitive price point, said Linda D’Amico, Cisco Refresh and Capital Global Compliance Lead at Cisco. Currently, the equipment is sold through resellers to various enterprises in over 70 countries.

D’Amico explained the program’s market and enterprise demand with SDxCentral over an email-conducted interview.

SDxCentral: What is the motivation behind Cisco Refresh?

D’Amico: Our planet’s resources are finite, so we want to make sure that as we create new technology, we do so sustainably. Similarly, the goal is to incentivize customers to return old or outdated equipment for refurbishment and to be made available again to the right customer. Remanufactured technology continues to be a critical part of our customers’ business strategy.

Cisco Refresh continues to evolve to provide same-as-new quality at lower cost – given budget constraints, tight timeframes and access to products being critical needs. Sustainability has emerged as an urgent global issue for governments and businesses alike with “Net Zero” targets expanding to contribute to the global sustainability effort. CIOs realize that IT can help, and remanufactured technology is another step toward them reaching those green benchmarks.

Central to the concept of a circular economy is maintaining assets at their highest and best use for as long as possible.  At the World Economic Forum in 2018, our CEO Chuck Robbins joined forces with the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) in signing the Capital Equipment Pledge, committing to 100% product return upon request, at no cost to our customers.

SDxCentral: What have been the main use cases and enterprise drives for this program?

D’Amico: The main use cases for this program are for organizations with smaller budgets and organizations growing quickly. With smaller budgets, the remanufactured equipment comes with a smaller price tag, but still allows these companies to conduct business with the level of connectivity they require to be successful.

A lot of customers expect their businesses to grow at a rapid rate and their equipment needs vary greatly. The flexibility of purchasing remanufactured equipment along with new means that they can maintain their existing infrastructure while acquiring new allows customers to grow their business without compromise of product quality and within budget.

If equipment is needed rapidly, remanufactured equipment may be an ideal option for our customers. Cisco Refresh helps support customers’ business resiliency with immediate product availability.

Additionally, Cisco Refresh provides customers with equipment with a reduced environmental footprint, since remanufactured products generally have less environmental impact due to raw materials extraction and manufacturing compared to new products.

SDxCentral: Have there been any challenges with the program?

D’Amico: There is significant demand for remanufactured Cisco products – Cisco Refresh is the only provider of Cisco certified like-new products with like-new warranty. Given our history of performance and the strength of the Cisco brand, we do not experience challenges with interest in our products.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.