Global networking and telecommunications equipment giant Cisco launched a leasing program that manages product disposition services for customers after five years.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company is rolling out its Cisco Green Pay program to customers in Europe and Turkey on a pilot basis. The program offers them a discount for leasing equipment – rather than buying it – and manages processing of used equipment when the customer is ready for a tech refresh.
In an email interview with E-Scrap News, Guido Kessler, Cisco Capital sales leader for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), explained how Cisco Green Pay works.
“Unlike programs that rely on a linear model of consumption where ownership transfers from seller to customer – Cisco Green Pay is unique because it is designed with circularity in mind where the default is for equipment to come back at the end of its first life,” he said. “This shifts the paradigm to delivering outcomes for a customer and better aligns incentives for Cisco to design products and solutions that can be easily repaired, upgraded and remanufactured.”
First announced in April, Cisco Green Pay offers a 5% incentive for customers, which means they pay 95% of the hardware cost based on the final/net selling price (excluding taxes). Customers pay Cisco once a quarter over five years. The program is available for Cisco’s Green Meraki equipment (wireless, switching, security, enterprise mobility management and security equipment), the Cisco Internet of Things portfolio, smart buildings and service provider (SP) infrastructure equipment.
“At the end of the five-year term, customers can either return the product and evolve to more sustainable technologies, or they can extend the term for up to one year,” Kessler said. “This also helps our customers avoid storage of legacy hardware, reduce associated costs and ensure responsible disposition of equipment.”
Cisco has had other product leasing programs, but Green Pay is unique in that it offers the 5% discount, doesn’t provide the customer with the option to buy and gives the customer a certificate confirming that the equipment has been returned and disposed of based on sustainability standards, he said, noting that 99.9% of what is returned to the company is reused or recycled (he said the company does not disclose the list of vendors it uses to assist with device disposition).
The Cisco Green Pay program helps customers meet their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, and it complements Cisco’s efforts to transition to a circular economy, accelerate the company’s commitment to 100% product return and supports its goal to achieve net zero emissions in its Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2040, Kessler said.
The program is currently only available in the following countries, according to the release: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, U.K.
Cisco is looking to expand Green Pay as the company expands its offerings in the Americas, but it doesn’t currently have a date set for a rollout in the U.S. and Canada, Kessler said.
