nornnorn at ‘Circular Economy Innovation Policy Forum: Financial Sector and Capital Market’

Based on our plan to issue green bonds to support our growth, Nophol Techaphangam, our Founder & CEO, was invited to give a virtual talk on the topic “Green Bonds under the Circular Economy Concept” at the “Circular Economy (CE) Innovation Policy Forum: Financial Sector and Capital Market” on August 6. He was joined by Teerawut Sripinit, an associate professor at the Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University, and Pimpan Diskul na Ayudhaya, a representative of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, who shared their thoughts on other related topics.

Organised by the Sustainable Consumption and Production Association (Thailand) (SCP (Thailand)) in association with SDG Move Thailand, the forum was a part of the Circular Economy Direction Development Project, an initiative of Thailand’s Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) and SCP (Thailand) that aims to develop 1) the ‘Circular Economy Innovation Policy Forum’ into a knowledge exchange and brainstorming platform that will help drive Thailand towards circularity and 2) circular economy innovation policies between June and October this year.

Click for a summary of the event (in Thai only).

Parinda Sakdanaraseth
nornnorn shortlisted for SEED Awards 2021

nornnorn is one of the 100 impact enterprises out of over 1,000 from Botswana, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malawi, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda and Zambia shortlisted for the SEED Awards for Entrepreneurship in Sustainable Development 2021, an annual awards scheme designed to identify the most innovative and promising locally led start-up eco-inclusive enterprises in developing and emerging economies founded by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2002.

The final result of the awards will be announced in the third quarter of this year.

Parinda Sakdanaraseth
nornnorn wins grant from NXPO for Life Cycle Assessment

nornnorn has won a THB900k-grant (USD28k) from Thailand's Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) through the Programme Management Unit for Competitiveness (PMU C) to support our attempt to estimate the amount of waste and greenhouse gas emissions that our mattress subscription service will save over the coming years through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of our business model. Expected to be completed by May 2022, the one-year project will be conducted by Thailand's Technology and Informatics Institute for Sustainability (TIIS).

Parinda Sakdanaraseth
nornnorn at Circular Economy Leadership & Partnership (CELP) Summit 2021
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Nophol Techaphangam, nornnorn Founder & CEO, was invited to join the “Thailand CE Ecosystem-Business Leadership” panel at the Circular Economy Leadership & Partnership Summit (CELP) 2021 alongside representatives from PTT Global Chemical PCL., SC Grand and Thai Union Group PCL. on March 18 in Bangkok.

Co-organised by the STEAM Platform together with Thailand's Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Asia and the Pacific Office, CELP 2021 provided "a platform for industry leaders to share their circularity solutions, researchers to re-prioritise their R&D efforts, policymakers to provide strategic interventions to accelerate the circular economy transformation [...] and citizens of the world to align consumption behaviour towards a circular economy."

Parinda Sakdanaraseth
nornnorn wins grant from Royal Academy of Engineering to ‘develop polyurethane foam upcycling technology’

nornnorn has won an £80,000-grant from the UK Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) through the Engineering X Transforming Systems through Partnership programme to develop an eco-friendly and economically viable technology for polyurethane foam waste upcycling. The project will be conducted by the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in collaboration with the University of Cambridge.

Run by the RAE, supported by the Newton Fund and delivered in partnership with innovation agencies in six countries, the Engineering X Transforming Systems through Partnership programme aims to build engineering teaching, research and innovation capacity within partner countries' universities through collaboration between local stakeholders and UK academics that meets local and global development challenges.

Parinda Sakdanaraseth
nornnorn selected as ‘Finalist for World Tourism Forum Lucerne Start-up Innovation Camp 2021’
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Due to the postponement of the World Tourism Forum Lucerne (WTFL) Start-up Innovation Camp 2020 that had been due to take place in Ras-Al Khaimah, UAE, in 2020, nornnorn was in November last year invited to apply to join the 2021 Camp instead.

Out of more than 450 start-ups in the tourism space from 100 countries around the world that applied, nornnorn is among the 15 successful applicants chosen to join the Camp this November in Andermatt, Switzerland, as one of the three high-potential start-ups in the Impacting (Social Impact & Sustainability) category.

The WTFL Camps are yearly flagship initiatives of the Switzerland-based WTFL, a leading interactive platform where CEOs, Ministers, Academia, Finance, Start-ups, NextGens and Young Talents join force to address the future challenges of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry and shape a more sustainable future.

The Camps aim to boost the industry’s innovation ecosystem by connecting innovators with industry players and investors as well as helping scale and commercialise innovative solutions.

Parinda Sakdanaraseth