nornnorn Joins ASEAN Circular Economy Forum 2025 to Champion Green Skills and Unlock ASEAN SMEs’ Potential

Kuala Lumpur, October 16, 2025 — nornnorn’s Founder and CEO, Nophol “Naps” Techaphangam, joined a distinguished panel at the ASEAN Circular Economy Forum 2025 (ACEF2025) to discuss “Green Skills and Innovative Solutions — Unlocking the Potential of SMEs in ASEAN.”

Held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), ACEF2025 brought together over 200 participants from government, academia, and the private sector across ASEAN under the theme “Accelerating the Circular Economy Transition in ASEAN with Green Skills, Innovative Solutions, and Investments.”

Building ASEAN’s Circular Future

The session delved into how academia, business councils, and SMEs can work together to develop green skills and foster a dynamic, inclusive circular economy ecosystem across the region. As ASEAN accelerates its transition toward sustainability, new skillsets, circular business models, and innovative financing mechanisms have become vital for growth.

Key objectives of the discussion included:

  • Showcasing innovative circular business models and green SMEs in ASEAN.

  • Identifying the skills and capacities needed to drive circular entrepreneurship.

  • Highlighting best practices in public–private–academic collaboration.

  • Exploring investment and policy mechanisms to scale circular innovation.

A Cross-Sector Dialogue

Moderated by Dada Bacudo, Climate Finance and Partnership Engagement Expert at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the panel featured leaders from GIZ Vietnam, Siam Cement Group (SCG), Mycotech Lab, nornnorn, Pan-Pacific University of the Philippines, the EU-SCOPE Higher Education Programme, and the EU-ASEAN Business Council & ASEAN Circularity Coalition.

Together, the panelists emphasised the shared responsibility among governments, financial institutions, and private enterprises to invest in green skills, data-driven innovation, and collaborative platforms to accelerate ASEAN’s circular transition.

nornnorn’s Circular Vision

Naps shared insights into nornnorn’s Circular Economy Product-as-a-Service model, which allows customers to enjoy brand-new premium mattresses through a subscription system while reducing environmental impact via an end-of-life collection and recycling programme.

He highlighted how the nornnorn model creates measurable environmental impact and contributes to broader sustainability goals, referencing findings from our Life Cycle Assessment that shows significant potential reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutions and toxicity impacts.

Naps also spoke about the mindset shift needed for the green transformation — urging the region to embrace “degrowth and conscious consumption” as essential principles for long-term sustainability.

“We need to train young people not only with technical green skills, but also with a sustainability mindset,” Naps stated. “Want doesn’t equal need. Our desire for better and more must always be balanced by awareness of environmental impact.”

A Regional Effort for Circular Change

ACEF2025 was jointly organised by the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue (ACSDSD) and its ASEAN Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ACESP), together with the European Union (through its Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument – E-READI), the ASEAN Secretariat, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), and other partners, with support from the Malaysian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRES).

nornnorn is proud to contribute to ASEAN’s journey toward a more circular and sustainable economy — one where innovation, collaboration, and conscious consumption shape a greener future for all.

Watch the session (4:58–6:35)

Nophol Techaphangam