The European Union SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component on Sustainable Consumption and Production and the ASEAN Corporate Social Responsibility Network’s “Mobilising Business Action for Circular Economy in the ASEAN Countries” initiative has highlighted nornnorn as one of Southeast Asia’s circular economy business case studies. The start-up is the only venture from Thailand to have received the recognition.

The initiative aims to mobilise, catalyse and facilitate business actions and commitment for the circular economy in the ASEAN Member States as well as support further development and implementation of the 2021 ASEAN Circular Economy Framework.

The initiative approaches circular economy as an ideation and co-creation framework facilitated by responsible business practices that contribute to closing the loops on the use of materials, energy, water and other natural resources in product and service lifecycles.

To ground-truth the initiative, SWITCH-Asia and the ASEAN CSR Network have documented and analysed practical business applications of the circular economy in ASEAN. nornnorn, as one of the enterprises with a strong, localised business rationale and actionable circular economy business model highlighted, serves to inspire more businesses, industries and governments to further create an enabling circular economy ecosystem.

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“nornnorn - An eco-friendly sleep.”

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“Into dream land: The quest for better sleep”

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As the Founder and CEO of nornnorn, one of Thailand’s pioneering start-ups providing circular economy product subscription service, Nophol Techaphangam was invited to give a talk on “Towards a Greener Future with Mattresses” and join a panel discussion on “Strategies and Best Practices for Hotel Environmental Sustainability” at THAIFEX-HOREC Asia 2024 on March 7. Held at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok, the event is Southeast Asia’s newest trade show for hotels, restaurants and catering (HORECA).

Moderated by Samantha Lauver-Marion, Director of Global Partnerships, Asian Institute of Hospitality Management (AIHM), the panel discussed how hotels could play a pivotal role in fostering a sustainable and responsible future. On the panel were:

1. Ailynn Seah, Commercial Advisory Board Member, Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI)

2. Emmanual Tay, Founder, Circular Unite

3. Nophol Techaphangam, Founder & CEO, nornnorn

Jointly presented by Thailand’s Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) and Koelnmesse, the three-day event aimed to establish new HORECA standards for excellence in Asia and beyond and attracted 15,851 trade attendees from 68 countries

nornnorn cited by TechRound as one of the ten Thailand-based start-ups worth keeping an eye on.

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“nornnorn, a mattress subscription platform. A solution to mattress wastes and global warming!!”

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As the Founder and CEO of nornnorn, a circular economy start-up active in research and development (R&D), Nophol Techaphangam was invited to give a talk on “Circular Economy Ventures and R&D” during a breakout session on “Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste Management - Towards Circular Economy” at the “Sustainable Circular Economy Waste Management” seminar in Bangkok on February 22.

Organised by the Centre of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management and the Environmental Research Institute (ERI), Chulalongkorn University, the national event formed a part of the “Hub of Waste Management for Sustainable Development” project supported by the National Research Council of Thailand.

Other speakers featured at the breakout session were:

• Dr. Sujitra Vassanadumrongdee, ERI

• Dr. Nujarin Ramankul, National Metal and Materials Technology Centre (MTEC)

• Teerachai Suppameteekulwat, Designer Director, Qualy

• Dr. Krithpaka Boonfueng, Executive Director, National Innovation Agency (NIA)

• Assist. Prof. Dr. Rattanawan Mungkung, Director, VGreen, Kasetsart University.

The event aimed to foster collaborations among researchers, experts, and practitioners from various sectors—including education, public, and private sectors and civil society—engaged in waste management innovations and technologies, both locally in Thailand and abroad. It was hosted in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the ERI. 

As an entrepreneur driving a circular economy start-up, Nophol Techaphangam, our Founder & CEO, was invited by the AIT Entrepreneurship Centre (EC) at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) to inspire AIT and university students from China to embark on their own entrepreneurial journey through a talk on the topic “Beyond Profit: Crafting Sustainable Dreams in the Mattress Industry” and a panel discussion on “Youth Entrepreneurship for a Sustainable Future” at the “Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Empowering the Youth” seminar at the EC Creator Space, AIT, on January 30.

Moderated by Dr. Lakeesha Ransom, Enterprise Engagement Director, AIT EC, the panel featured:

1. Alexander and Elodie Radach, Co-founders, Sai Yok Springs

2. Prof. Dieter Trau, Director, AIT EC

3. Kevin Marks, Managing Director, Landmarks Company

4. Nophol Techaphangam, Founder & CEO, nornnorn.

Organised by AIT EC, the half-day event aimed to ignite the passion for impact entrepreneurship among and provide the participants with valuable insights from accomplished entrepreneurs who had successfully integrated sustainability into their entrepreneurial journeys.

On October 19, 2023, at the Circular Systems Innovation for Flexible Polyurethane Foam Waste Workshop 2023 (CSI-PW 2023) held in Bangkok, Athiwatr Jirajariyavech, a researcher from the Technology and Informatics Institute for Sustainability (TIIS), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), unveiled the comprehensive findings of the 20-month-long Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Circular Economy-based Product-As-A-Service Business Models: Mattresses for Hotel Businesses project. Commissioned by nornnorn, the groundbreaking study highlights the potential reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and waste resulting from the production, use and disposal of mattresses that nornnorn could lead to over the coming years.

LCA is a systematic analysis of the potential environmental impacts of products (or services) during their entire life cycle, from the extraction of the natural resources that form their raw materials to the logistics that deliver the materials into the production processes to the use of the products to their end-of-life disposal. In the study, the use of mattresses in the hotel industry are divided into five different Scenarios under a timeframe of ten years, namely:

• Scenario 1: A high quality mattress with a lifespan of ten years is used and totally landfilled at the end of its life;

• Scenario 2: A high quality mattress with a lifespan of ten years is used and disposed of at the end of its life in accordance with the disposal methods employed by the 354 hotels and 50 private and state-run waste management centres in eight key economic areas in Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pattaya, Phuket, Krabi, Nakorn Ratchasima and Khon Kaen) surveyed as a part of the study;

• Scenario 3: A high quality mattress with a lifespan of ten years is used and recycled at the end of its life in accordance with nornnorn’s business model;

• Scenario 4: 3.33 low quality mattresses with a lifespan of three years are used and totally landfilled at the end of their life;

• Scenario 5: 3.33 low quality mattresses with a lifespan of three years are used and disposed of in accordance with the result of the aforementioned survey.

The high quality mattress used as the functional unit in the assessment is a 107 x 198cm. Springmate Pocket Coil Heritage PT mattress manufactured by Somphol Bedding and Mattress Industry Co., Ltd. The low quality mattress is assumed to be that of the same size generally available in the market in Thailand. 

According to the aforementioned survey, at the end of their lives 50% of the mattresses (by weight) are landfilled; 30% sold, donated or sent on for reuse; 17% recycled; and 3% incinerated. (With nornnorn at least 62% of the mattresses (steel springs, polyurethane foams, etc.) would have been recycled and prevented from entering landfills or incinerated.)

The environmental impact of the five Scenarios are assessed with the Netherlands’s ReCiPe Midpoint and ReCiPe Endpoint methods, taking into account 17 different environmental impacts. It is found that the three most significant impacts in all the five Scenarios are global warming, fine particulate matter formation (air pollution) and human non-carcinogenic toxicity. The impacts arise from the following phases of the mattresses’ life cycles:

Sources of the three most significant environmental impacts under the five Scenarios

When compared the three impacts under the five Scenarios, it can be ascertained that nornnorn stands to help reduce the global warming, air pollution and human non-carcinogenic toxicity impacts by at least 31%, 28% and 24% respectively (see Scenarios 2 and 3).

Comparisons of the degrees of the three most significant environmental impacts under the five Scenarios

Additionally, the project also uses the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI), a measurement of a product’s circularity conceptualised by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, to calculate the degrees of circularity under the three Scenarios. The study finds that the MCI values in Scenarios 1, 2 and 3 are 0.10, 0.32 and 0.41 respectively, signalling that nornnorn may help improve the circularity of mattresses by at least 28%, for the higher the MCI value, the greater the circularity.

Conducted by TIIS between May 2021 and January 2023, the project was supported by a grant from Thailand's Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) through the Programme Management Unit for Competitiveness (PMU-C) and Somphol Bedding and Mattress Industry Co., Ltd. It is the first-ever LCA for Thailand’s mattress industry.

Watch the announcement of the results.*

*Some of the results have been updated since the announcement.

As a Circular Economy entrepreneur, Nophol Techaphangam, our Founder & CEO, was invited by SWITCH-Asia and the ASEAN CSR Network to share his experience in creating a Circular Economy start-up in Thailand alongside Soranun Choochut, Founder, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer, ETRAN, and Jirarot Pojanavaraphan, Managing Director, SC Grand, at the “Thailand Business Engagement Workshop on Circular Economy” on November 2 in Bangkok.

The workshop brought together business representatives and stakeholders from various sectors to initiate the conversation on the scope, criticality, and business case for circular economy in Thailand. The specific objectives of the event were:

1. To zoom in on a Thailand-specific scope, opportunities and relevance for business action on circular economy, with a view to contribute to a unifying, localised understanding of the circular economy, its criticality for Thailand and its business rationale;

2. To identify and reflect upon the existing or emerging, scalable business and industry examples of circular economy actions and achievements in Thailand; and

3. To identify elements of business commitment, potential individual and collective action, accountability, advocacy, and knowledge management for the adoption of circular economy, with a view to shape and formalise business commitment to and action for circular economy in Thailand.

The workshop is a part of the ASEAN CSR Network’s initiative to mobilise, catalyse and facilitate business consensus seeking and action – individually and collectively – on circular economy in ASEAN, with an initial focus on Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The initiative is sponsored by the EU SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component.

As an entrepreneur behind a Circular Economy start-up, Nophol Techaphangam, our Founder & CEO, was invited by “Hult Prize at Chula” to speak about his experience in creating and running an impact enterprise at the second workshop of Hult Prize at Chula 2024 at the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, on October 20.

The Chulalongkorn University chapter of Hult Prize, the world’s largest annual student case competition that seeks ideas to help solve pressing global issues, Hult Prize at Chula aims to provide a platform for Chulalongkorn students to achieve a positive impact by creating social enterprises to address global challenges. 

Titled “Thinking Out of the Box”, our Founder & CEO’s session served to inspire this year’s contestants and spur them to develop new impact business ideas that are aligned with at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

On October 19, the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), University of Cambridge and nornnorn (under Circularity Co., Ltd.) hosted the Circular Systems Innovation for Flexible Polyurethane Foam Waste Workshop 2023 (CSI-PW 2023) at The Peninsula Bangkok, Bangkok, to disseminate the outcomes and challenges pertaining to:

- The nanotechnology-based polyurethane foam upcycling technology development project that had been conducted by AIT in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and nornnorn; and

- The inaugural Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of nornnorn's Circular Economy mattress subscription service by the Technology and Informatics Institute for Sustainability (TIIS), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Thailand.

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

 The speakers featured were:

• Athiwatr Jirajariyavech, Researcher, TIIS, NSTDA

• Ben Morley, Commercial Counsellor & Department for Business & Trade Country Director, British Embassy Bangkok

• Dr. Curie Park, Researcher, Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge

• Dr. Eleni Iacovidou, Senior Lecturer, Environmental Management, Brunel University

• Prof. Joyashree Roy, Director, SMARTSCentre, AIT

• Kannika Khwamsawat, Researcher, Centre of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management, Chulalongkorn University

• Asst. Prof. Dr. Raffaele Ricco, Researcher, Department of Industrial Systems Engineering, AIT

• Prof. Steve Evans, Director of Research in Industrial Sustainability, Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge

• Prof. Susan Jobling, Director, Institute of Environment, Health and Societies, Brunel University

• Asst. Prof. Dr. Tanujjal Bora, Director, Centre of Excellence in Nanotechnology, AIT

Sponsored by the UK Royal Academy of Engineering under the “Engineering X Transforming Systems through Partnership” programme, NSTDA and Circularity Co., Ltd., the highly interactive event is the sequel of the Circular Systems Innovation for Plastic Waste Workshop (CSI-PW 2022) that was held in November last year. 

The event was joined by representatives from more than 30 organisations from various sectors from both Thailand and abroad. 

Click to watch the recordings of the event.

Nophol Techaphangam, nornnorn Founder & CEO, shares with TNN Tech Reports Weekly how nornnorn helps reduce mattress wastes through our innovative Circular Economy mattress subscription platform. 

Broadcasted in Thailand on TNN 16 on September 23, 2023.

Watch now (in Thai only.)

As an entrepreneur driving a Circular Economy start-up, Nophol Techaphangam, our Founder & CEO, was invited by Yunus Thailand to join the panel discussion on “Driving green jobs and entrepreneurship: Bridging the skills gap(s) through a multi-stakeholder approach” at the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) “Green Jobs for the Future: Skills development, green jobs and technologies to accelerate the circular economy” workshop on September 14 at The Sukosol Hotel, Bangkok. 

On the panel were:

1. A university student representative from China

2. Suthida Chang, Thailand Country Director, ASEAN Youth Organisation

3. Nophol Techaphangam, Founder & CEO, nornnorn.

The session was moderated by Amir Radfar, a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) expert.

Organised by the UNEP and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in partnership with Yunus Thailand, the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and UNESCO with support from the Oak Foundation, the workshop aimed to raise awareness on the skills required by a circular economy and seek for solutions to overcome the skills gap. The workshop’s objective was also contribute to the UNEP, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and UNICEF’s “Green Jobs for Youth Pact” which aims to strengthen green youth employment opportunities. 

As an entrepreneur driving Circular Economy services and innovations, Nophol Techaphangam, our Founder & CEO, was invited by Star Media Group to join Malaysia’s Circular Economy experts at the panel discussion on “Ensuring circular models become financially viable” at the Circular Economy Conference 2023 on August 15. 

On the panel were:

1. Malar Odayappan, Director, Social Impact, Sustainability and Climate Change, PwC Malaysia

2. Dr. S. Sri Umeswara, Executive Director, DIALOG ESECO Sdn Bhd

3. Nophol Techaphangam, Founder & CEO, nornnorn

The session was moderated by Dr. Gopalasamy Reuben Clements, a Sustainable Finance Specialist from the Zoological Society of London.

Featuring 26 speakers from globally recognised businesses from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, the online event delved deep into the role of green financing in the development of a Circular Economy. In particular, the question of “How can businesses take action in a way that is both sustainable and profitable?” was addressed.

Read the event’s summary.

Watch the recording [31:42 - 1:40]

nornnorn has been accepted by the Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP), the UK government’s initiative that helps innovative, high-growth overseas ventures relocate to and scale up their business from the UK. 

The ventures accepted onto the programme must have:

• a potentially groundbreaking product or service based on unique technology;

• a business plan outlining how they can expand from a headquarters in the UK;

• a customer-validated product or service either already in the market or ready to launch;

• a clear commercial proposition that addresses a large global opportunity.

For more information, visit GEP. 

As the lead researcher of nornnorn’s effort to develop an innovative polyurethane (PU) foam upcycling technology that has been supported by a UK Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) grant through the Engineering X Transforming Systems through Partnership (TSP) programme, Dr. Tanujjal Bora, Director, Centre of Excellence in Nanotechnology (COEN), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), was invited by RAEng to present an overview of the project to the current and past awardees of RAEng’s TSP and Industry Academia Partnership (IAP) programmes at the “TSP Thailand In-country event” on June 21.

Hosted by RAEng and the Programme Management Unit for Competitiveness (PMU-C), Thailand’s Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO), the event was held at Mahamakut Building, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

TSP helps create partnerships between industries and engineering academia in Colombia, India, Jordan, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and the UK who use engineering to tackle development and sustainability challenges. The research and development projects supported by the programme cover a wide range of sectors and themes, ranging from biodiversity, circular economy, sustainable agriculture, food security and societal changes.

To date TSP has provided grants worth GBP1.7 million to 39 projects in Thailand.

Commencing in April 2021 to support nornnorn's mattress recycling process, nornnorn’s polyurethane (PU) foam upcycling technology development project is expected to yield a lab-scale prototype of the technology (TRL-4) by December this year.

As the lead researcher of nornnorn’s effort to develop an innovative polyurethane (PU) foam upcycling technology that has been supported by a UK Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) grant through the Engineering X Transforming Systems through Partnership programme, Dr. Tanujjal Bora, Director, Centre of Excellence in Nanotechnology (COEN), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), had the pleasure of welcoming Subira Ismail and James Johnson, Engineering X Programme Officer and RAEng Grants Officer, to the project’s lab at COEN and presenting the project’s progress on June 20 during their visit from the UK.

Commencing in April 2021 to support nornnorn's mattress recycling process, the project is expected to yield a lab-scale prototype of the technology (TRL-4) by December this year. 

On June 2-5, nornnorn celebrated the World Environment Day 2023 by joining “Open Market: Daily Green for Our Home”, a pop-up market for eco-friendly products and services, at Open House, Central Embassy, Bangkok. 

nornnorn, together with the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge, and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), co-hosted a Cambridge Value Mapping Tool Workshop at Glowfish Sathorn, Bangkok, on May 12.

Using nornnorn’s polyurethane foam upcycling technology development project as a case study, the workshop trained those involved in innovative sustainability projects to use the Tool to systematically gather diverse perspectives and unpack hidden value opportunities that are often overlooked.

The Cambridge Value Mapping Tool is a part of the sustainable business innovation tool sets created by the Centre for Industrial Sustainability, Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge. Developed to help businesses explore from diverse stakeholders’ perspectives the value already captured and uncaptured by their innovation projects, the renowned tool has helped many stakeholder groups and businesses around the world discover hidden value opportunities from the holistic sustainability perspective.

The invite-only, intimate workshop was led by Dr. Curie Park, a Research Associate at the Centre for Industrial Sustainability and one of the original developers of the Tool. Among the participants were representatives from SCG Chemicals PCL., the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage, and Yunus Thailand.

The workshop is a part of nornnorn’s Circular System Innovation for Polyurethane Foam: Catalytic approach to upcycle foam waste from mattresses and beyond project and was supported by:

• The “Engineering X Transforming Systems through Partnership” programme, Royal Academy of Engineering, UK

• The Programme Management Unit for Competitiveness (PMU-C), Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO), Thailand

• National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Thailand

• Circularity Co., Ltd. (nornnorn).