Promoting the circular economy

In a sector in which technological renewal is a constant feature, the introduction of circularity principles, which transform wastes into resources by reusing or recycling them throughout the value chain, is especially relevant.

To reduce the production of waste in our products, we sought first to minimize the quantity of materials used in their manufacture and packaging, using principles of eco-design and responsible procurement.


Giving new life to used equipment

We were the first operator in Portugal to offer reconditioned Apple smartphones with a two year guarantee, promoting reuse and reducing the production of e-waste. Find out more here.

For customers’ devices, the new generation of TV UMA boxes was designed in order to consume the minimum of materials, using 61% less plastic than the prior version. In November 2020, we launched NOS’ first environmentally friendly auto-installation kit, in which, using sustainable materials in the packaging and excluding one-use plastics, NOS offered the possibility for customers to install their own service, without the need for the time and travel of a technician.

We collect and put back onto the market used equipment from the fixed service (TV boxes, routers), thus avoiding additional consumption of raw materials and energy, and increasing the levels of circularity of company processes. In 2020, we put back more than 479,000 pieces of equipment.

De-materializing processes


In 2020, 64% of supplier invoices were received electronically, equal to an increase of 9p.p. compared to the previous year. In the same year, we also saw significant growth in the use of eSIMs, with several thousand users already using this technology.

During 2020, use of electronic invoices by our customers increased 12p.p. to 73%, while applying to do this was made possible via digital channels. At the end of the year, 81% of users of 3P and 5P services (services which include at least television, internet and telephone) out of a total of more than 1 million customers, were already receiving electronic invoices.

NOS was the first operator to produce SIM cards from 100% recycled plastic and made from waste resulting from the industrial production of packaging and printing materials. Also in 2020, NOS focused on de-materializing SIM cards, launching the first eSIM service on the Portuguese market.

We manage our waste


We have implemented systems to selectively collect waste, which since 2015 have ensured that more than 90% of the total waste produced by our operations is sent for multi-material recycling or used to produce energy.