On February 4, Nophol Techaphangam, our Founder & CEO and one of Thailand’s leading circular economy entrepreneurs, was invited by VERSO International School to join VERSO HACK 2023 as one of the seven mentors.

VERSO HACK 2023 is a guided hackathon for students aged between 13 and 18 from anywhere in Thailand to develop fundamental tech skills and entrepreneurial mindset. Given the growing pressure from a rising world population and global warming and changing views on sustainability, Circular Economy was chosen by the school as the focus of the hackathon, with Sustainable Fashion, Sustainable Tourism and Food Waste & Plastic Management as the three sub-themes.

As a Mentor, our Founder & CEO took his real-world industry experience to the event and coached and inspired the participants to embark on their own startup and impact entrepreneurship journey. 

For more information, visit VERSO HACK 2023.

Nophol Techaphangam, nornnorn Founder & CEO, was invited by Bualuang SME, Bangkok Bank’s club for small and midsize entrepreneurs, to share with their members the Circular Economy concept and nornnorn’s award-winning mattress subscription platform at their New Year party at the bank’s headquarter in Bangkok on December 23. 

As a fourth generation heir of Thailand’s leading mattress and bedding business with over 90 years of history and the Founder and CEO of nornnorn, the world’s first circular economy mattress subscription platform, Nophol Techaphangam is one of the 17 recipients of the Business and Professional Women’s Association of Thailand - Bangkok under the Royal Patronage of HM the Queen’s (BPW Bangkok) “Family Business Successor of the Year Award 2022”.

Given by Khunying Natthika Wattanavekin Angubolkul, the President of the Federation of Business and Professional Women of Thailand under the Royal Patronage of HM the Queen (BPW Thailand), at the gala celebrating the 58th anniversary of BPW Bangkok in honour of HM Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother on December 14, the Award recognises outstanding successors of major Thai family businesses who have furthered the legacy of their families.

BPW Bangkok is a chapter of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW International) and the leading part of BPW Thailand. Since 1964 the Association, together with BPW Thailand, have built friendship and understanding among Thailand’s top business and professional women; promoted and honoured professional women; uplifted the standard of business practices; provided society with various services related to all kinds of business and professions; and enabled business and professional women to appreciate their roles in driving positive impact both in Thailand and abroad. 

Nophol Techaphangam, nornnorn Founder & CEO, shares with Thunyawat Chaiyatrakulchai, one of Thailand’s leading marketing gurus, how nornnorn helps provide easier access to premium mattresses and make Circular Economy a reality.

Broadcasted in Thailand on FM96.5 on November 22, 2022.

Watch now (in Thai only.)

On November 1-2, the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), University of Cambridge and nornnorn (under Circularity Co., Ltd.) hosted the inaugural Circular Systems Innovation for Plastic Waste Workshop (CSI-PW 2022) at the Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square Hotel, Bangkok.

The hybrid event was an opportunity for all wanting to contribute to the realisation of a circular economy for plastic to hear from key experts from Thailand, wider Asia and Europe the challenges and innovations pertaining to circular and sustainable plastic waste management as well as interact with like-minded peers.

The areas under focus were:

• Circular economy for plastics

• Closing the loop on plastic waste

• Sustainable materials & manufacturing

• Plastic waste recycling & upcycling innovations

• Plastic waste policies & societal acceptance.

 The speakers featured were:

• Prof. Abdul Salam, Professor and Chair, Sustainable Energy Transition Programme, AIT

• Aprilia Nidia Rinasti, Research Associate, Geoinformatics Centre, AIT

• Celine Moreira, New Product Development Manager, Polymateria, UK

• Chaiya Boonchit, Director, Planning and Evaluation Section, Waste and Hazardous Substances Management Division, Pollution Control Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand

• Prof. Chettiyappan Visvanathan, School of Environment, Resources and Development, AIT

• Dr. Curie Park, Research Associate, Centre for Industrial Sustainability, Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge, UK

• Dominic Chakrabongse, Director, Precious Plastic Bangkok, Thailand

• Prof. Joyashree Roy, Director, Centre on South and Southeast Asia Multidisciplinary Applied Research Network on Transforming Societies of Global South (SMARTS)

• Nano Morante, Co-Founder, PLASTICPeople, Vietnam

• Nophol Techaphangam, Founder & CEO, nornnorn

• Dr. Ward Mosmuller, Director Partnerships & Coalitions, Niaga at Covestro, the Netherlands.

Sponsored by the UK Royal Academy of Engineering under the “Engineering X Transforming Systems through Partnership” programme, Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and Circularity Co., Ltd. and supported by Korea University, the highly interactive event is the first of its kind in Thailand and a part of nornnorn’s ongoing project to develop innovative polyurethane foam upcycling technology that has been led by AIT. 

The event was joined by representatives from more than 40 organisations from various sectors from both Thailand and abroad. 

Click to watch the recordings of the event.

Nophol Techaphangam, nornnorn Founder & CEO, shares with Burin Journey the story behind nornnorn. 

Watch now.

Nophol Techaphangam, nornnorn Founder & CEO, was invited by the Rotary Club of Bangkok (RCB), Thailand’s oldest Rotary Club, to share with their members the Circular Economy concept and nornnorn’s mattress subscription service at their weekly meeting at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, Bangkok, on November 10.

Out of the 504 innovative projects competing for Thailand National Innovation Awards 2022, nornnorn’s circular economy mattress subscription service has emerged as the First Prize Winner in the Social and Environmental Contribution (Social and Community Organisation) Category.

Given annually by the National Innovation Agency (NIA) since 2004, the National Innovation Awards are the country’s most prestigious honour for Thai innovators working to advance the country’s economic and social development. The 2022 awards are divided into five categories, namely Economic Contribution, Social and Environmental Contribution, Product and Service Design, Media and Communication, and Innovative Organisation, with a total of 44 awardees.

Click to see the other winners. 

nornnorn, along with 19 other leading Thai small and medium-sized circular economy and impact enterprises, was invited by Thailand’s Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) to exhibit our circular economy mattress subscription service at the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Ministerial Meeting and the 54th APEC SME Working Group Meeting in Phuket between September 5 and 10 to highlight the country’s readiness to transition towards sustainable development through the “Bio-Circular-Green” (BCG) economic model. 

Click to read more about the two meetings.

On September 9 in Wuppertal, Germany, nornnorn was one of the 27 promising, early-stage circular economy start-ups from around the world pitching to more than 100 high-level representatives from the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia’s leading companies and institutes, including Bayer, Franz Haniel & Cie., GEFA BANK, Siemens, Vorwerk and the Wuppertal Institute. The “Demo Day” marked the culmination of the third batch of the Circular Economy Accelerator that had taken place over the three previous months. 

Co-funded by the European Union (EU) and North Rhine-Westphalia and organised by the Circular Valley Foundation, the accelerator supported the EU’s Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan that aim to reduce and eliminate pollution of all kinds and cut down EU’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50-55% by 2030. 

Over the course of this summer, nornnorn had connected with a leading research institute, technology developers and investors both in Germany and the wider EU that may help propel our growth and development in the near future. 

Click to watch all the pitches in full. (nornnorn’s pitch begins at 2:15:38.)

nornnorn was invited by Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) to share the experience gained from winning a research grant from the UK Royal Academy of Engineering’s (RAE) Engineering X Transforming Systems through Partnership Programme (TSPP) to develop an eco-friendly and economically viable technology for polyurethane foam waste upcycling at the TSPP Networking Dinner in Bangkok on September 8. 

Commencing in March 2021, the project has been carried out by the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and the University of Cambridge and is expected to yield a TRL4 technology by the end of 2023. 

Read more

Nophol Techaphangam, nornnorn Founder & CEO and one of Thailand’s key drivers in circular economy development, was invited by the STEAM Platform to take part in the “Case Studies on Circular Economy Biz Model - Mechanisms, Opportunities and Challenges” webinar on July 26 alongside other circular economy business founders from Singapore and Taiwan. 

The webinar is a part of a series of webinars held by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that aims to provide knowledge and insights for policymakers and investors.

For more information, visit STEAM Platform.

On July 5, nornnorn was selected by Impact Shakers as one of the “Impact Startups to Watch” along with five other start-ups working on services and products related to sleep from around the world.

According to Impact Startups, “the quality of sleep has a huge impact not only on our health but on our general wellbeing, productivity and performance. However, according to recent studies, roughly 62% of adults worldwide don’t sleep well. Sleep disturbances are such a common occurrence that the sleep market is forecasted to be worth 585 billion dollars by 2024 (by Statista).”

See the full list of all the highlighted start-ups here. 

Nophol Techaphangam, nornnorn Founder & CEO and one of Thailand’s key drivers in circular economy development, was invited by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Thailand) (FES Thailand) and the Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, to take part in the “Incentives for a Circular Economy in Thailand” webinar on June 28 alongside the Secretary General of the Green World Foundation, Deputy Secretary General of Thailand’s Office of the Board of Investment (BOI), Senior Policy Specialist of the Sustainable Future Policy Group, Thailand’s Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO), and Chulalongkorn University’s Environmental Economist. 

The webinar aimed to present how various stakeholders could be incentivised to make circular economy a reality in Thailand.

Watch the recording (in Thai only).

The Circular Economy (CE) Innovation Policy Forum’s organising committee has published the “Circular Economy Policy Forum Report 2022” to summarise the thoughts and advice on circular economy policy development as contributed by 877 specialists and experienced practitioners from 370 organisations from the industry; agriculture and food; policy and planning; tourism and service; education; science, technology and innovation; and finance and capital market sectors, including the Founder & CEO of nornnorn, between June and December last year.

The CE Innovation Policy Forum is 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 the Sustainable Consumption and Production Association (Thailand) (SCP (Thailand)) that aims to ignite collaborations between various sectors to drive forward Thailand’s circular economy policy innovation to support the Thai government’s commitment towards the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) sustainable economic development strategy. 

Download the report (in Thai only).

nornnorn’s first green bond issuance in December 2021 has been highlighted in the 9th (January - March 2022) issue of the ASEAN Low Carbon Energy Programme (LCEP) Quarterly Newsletter as a strong indicator of how the green bond market has developed in Thailand. 

Funded by the UK government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, ASEAN LCEP aims to drive inclusive growth and poverty reduction through increased energy efficiency and adoption of low carbon energy in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The programme will run until 2022.

Download the newsletter.

The documentary highlights how Thailand is making Circular Economy a reality through interviews with key change makers, including those from government funding agencies, large corporations, SMEs, start-ups (including nornnorn) and research institutions, who are driving the country’s four key industrial sectors -  agriculture & food, plastic packaging, building & construction, and textile & apparel - towards circularity. 

Watch now

Nophol Techaphangam, nornnorn Founder & CEO, shares with Social Enterprise Thailand (SE Thailand), the country’s official centre of social enterprises, the story behind nornnorn. 

Watch now (in Thai only).

Nophol Techaphangam, nornnorn Founder & CEO, shares with Suwat Klingkesorn (Na Ting), Thailand’s top hit and most loved sport commentator, the story behind nornnorn. 

Broadcasted in Thailand on FM 98 MHz Spirit Wave on May 6, 2022.

Watch now (from 3:50 onwards). (In Thai only)

Out of the 357 startups and scaleups providing zero waste travel solutions that StartUs, Europe's leading startup and innovation network, reveals through its Global Startup Heat Map, nornnorn has been highlighted as one of the top five. 

Click to read more.