Circular Economy

According to the Circularity Gap Report (CGR 2025), global material extraction has tripled over the last 50 years and is projected to increase by 60% by 2060 if the trend continues. This is an unsustainable situation, given that the extraction of natural resources is responsible for 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress on our planet.

Currently, only 6.9% of the materials entering the economy are recycled or reused; this means that 93.1% remain trapped in the linear cycle of produce, use and dispose. We need to change the way we do things, and the circular economy is the answer, as it allows us to grow whilst using fewer resources and avoiding the indirect carbon emissions associated with the manufacture of new equipment. At Telefónica, we are becoming increasingly circular in our processes, with our suppliers and customers.

Zero Waste 2030

We promote the circular economy in our network transformation by prioritising the reuse of electronic equipment and, where this is not possible, extracting value from materials through recycling.

That is why we have set ourselves the goal of becoming a Zero Waste company by 2030, reusing and recycling 100% of our waste.

Circular Economy Plan

These are our actions to move towards a Zero Waste company:

1. We reuse electronic equipment from customers, operations and offices.
2. We recycle everything that cannot be reused
3. We collaborate with suppliers to integrate environmental criteria into electronic equipment bearing the Telefónica brand.
4. We share infrastructure to reduce duplication and environmental impact.

Thanks to these initiatives, we have achieved:

95%

reused and recycled

97%

waste diverted from disposal

70%

recycled material in new Wi-Fi Router 7

+64K

shared sites

Thanks to reuse and recycling, some resources such as gold, copper or aluminium can be used in a new product

Electronic equipment

Every year we reuse more than 4 million devices from customers, operations and offices, representing 75% of the electronic equipment collected, whilst the remaining 25% is recycled.

We reuse over 3 million routers and set-top boxes every year, thereby saving resources and reducing CO₂ emissions associated with the manufacture of new products.

We subscribe the following GSMA circular economy sectoral commitments:We subscribe the following GSMA circular economy sectoral commitments:

100%

of network equipment reused and recycled by 2025

20%

of mobile devices collected by 2030

100%

of mobile devices reused and recycled by 2030

Network equipment: By 2025, we had reused more than 780,000 units. We have met the industry commitment proposed by the GSMA by reusing and recycling 100% of the equipment collected.

Mobile devices: By 2025, we had collected nearly 95 tonnes and reused over 357,000 units, meaning the company had collected 15% of all devices distributed and reused or recycled 100% of the collected handsets.

Circular digital initiatives

Telefónica promotes the circular economy in its processes and with its electronic equipment through the following initiatives:

Suppliers as partners

We integrate the philosophy of the circular economy into our relationship with suppliers, who are essential allies in this transition. Therefore, within the framework of our global policy of sustainability in the supply chain, we introduce a series of requirements for them to develop their activity taking maximum care of the environment.

• Global Supply Chain Sustainability Policy
  PDF | 384 KB

Although Telefónica does not have production processes, we cooperate with our suppliers to integrate environmental criteria into the home connectivity equipment designed by Telefónica and bearing the image of one of the Company’s brands (Movistar, O2 or Vivo). Additionally, we work together to incorporate circular criteria into the acquisition of electronic equipment.

Global Environmental and Energy Policy

This Policy includes measures that promote circularity, such as encouraging the reuse and recycling of equipment and/or reduce the waste generation.