Telefónica reused and recycled 4 million devices by 2025, accounting for 95% of its waste

• The company manages more than 4 million devices from customers, operations, and offices, of which 75% have been reused and 25% have been recycled.
  
  
• Telefónica is thus making progress toward its “Zero Waste” goal by 2030.
  
  

Telefónica continues to make progress toward its “Zero Waste” goal by 2030 and reinforces its commitment to the circular economy by reusing and recycling 95% of the waste generated by 2025.

This milestone cements circularity at Telefónica as a key driver of its climate strategy, resource efficiency, and competitiveness. This commitment aligns with its purpose of taking on the challenge of becoming the best gateway for citizens to digital technologies, driving a sustainable growth model that generates long-term value for society and the business.

In 2025, more than 4 million devices from customers, operations, and offices were managed according to reuse and recycling criteria. Of the total electronic devices collected, 75% were reused and the remaining 25% were recycled, including 3 million routers and set-top boxes. This approach helps avoid the manufacture of new devices and results in significant savings in resources and associated CO₂ emissions.

“The circular economy is a priority pillar in our sustainability strategy and a key driver for advancing toward a more efficient, innovative, and competitive company. Through this approach, we contribute to a more responsible use of resources and the reduction of environmental impacts associated with technological activity, aligning with our purpose of facilitating more sustainable access to digital capabilities for society,” says Maya Ormazabal, Global Director of Sustainability at Telefónica.

For this reason, Telefónica prioritizes reuse and, when this is not possible, promotes the recovery of material value through recycling, integrating circular criteria into technical and investment decision-making.

In the area of network equipment, by 2025 more than 780,000 units have been reused, enabling the company to meet the industry-wide commitment promoted by the GSMA, the association of telecommunications operators, by reusing and recycling 100% of the equipment collected.

Regarding mobile devices: the company has collected nearly 95 tons of handsets and reused more than 357,000 devices. This represents the collection of 15% of all devices distributed, with a 100% reuse or recycling rate for the recovered handsets.

Alignment with the supply chain is essential to move toward this more innovative, efficient, and sustainable model. For this reason, the company actively cooperates with its suppliers to incorporate circular criteria into the procurement of electronic equipment and promotes aspects such as recycling, durability, and repairability from the design stage.

This collaboration has enabled the company to launch devices such as the FTTR or the Movistar WiFi 7 router, which incorporates energy-efficiency features and contains 70% recycled materials and packaging made from FSC-certified recycled materials (an international certification guaranteeing that the product has been manufactured with recycled materials, contributing to the responsible use of forest resources).

With these advances, Telefónica reinforces its commitment to a more sustainable, innovative, and competitive business model, aligned with its corporate purpose and its ambition to reduce environmental impact throughout its entire value chain, while accelerating the responsible digitalization of society.