Every year we produce over 600 billion plastic bottles, designed to be used briefly to then exist for centuries. The launch of the NBCo fibre botte, held during the World Economic Forum, symbolised NBCo's scale of ambition and intent to help solve one of our biggest global challenges.
With decades of experience in supply chains, NBCo understand the complexity for brands to switch from plastic to fibre-based solutions. They have therefore created a truly end-to-end supply chain, ensuring circularity from feedstock through manufacture to eventual waste streams. With plastic production set to treble by 2050, wide-scale collaboration and the creation of such a complete infrastructure is NBCo’s pioneering approach to the future of packaging.
At the Competition vs Collaboration roundtable hosted by Goals House, the team behind NBCo shared how they have forged a powerful alliance of brands, feedstock developers, R&D institutions, equipment manufacturers, coatings specialists, wet moulded fibre manufacturers, recycling companies, and marketing and consumer education groups, united by the belief that the plastic crisis will be solved by collective effort.
By bringing production closer to home, they significantly reduce carbon footprints, eliminate the unnecessary shipping of empty bottles, and create jobs within local communities. Their decentralised manufacturing approach, powered by this strategic global network and long-term partnerships, minimises emissions, shortens supply chains, and creates local economic opportunities.
“Our mission is to empower global brands to rapidly transition away from plastic and transform their supply chains,” said Alvin Lim, Founder & CEO of NBCo. “Through collaboration and innovation, we’re creating scalable, viable solutions that address the environmental crisis posed by traditional packaging”.
As part of its commitment to driving rapid change, NBCo announced its Fast Forward 50 initiative at Davos. This programme offers the first 50 brands a chance to test 50 of NBCo’s innovative fibre bottles for free. The goal is to speed up adoption by enabling companies to trial the solution in real-world applications, reducing barriers to entry and demonstrating the viability of sustainable packaging at scale. “Fast Forward 50 is about action,” Alvin Lim explained. “We want to help brands move quickly and decisively towards a more sustainable future”.
The session featured Alvin Lim, Founder and CEO of NBCo; Amit Kavrie, Managing Director of Supreme Group; Martin Stuchtey, Founder of Landbanking Group and Co-founder of Systemiq; and Henrike Schlottmann, Managing Director of Project Together. Moderated by Sian Sutherland, Co-founder of A Plastic Planet and PlasticFree, the discussion explored how collaboration can drive innovation, reimagining how we use materials for a truly regenerative and safe future.