OUR APPROACH
Our Vision
We envision a system where foodservice packaging materials are kept in circulation and designed with their next life and use in mind. By advancing innovative material solutions and scalable reuse models, while unlocking infrastructure pathways for recovery, we look to identify, accelerate and scale commercially viable and circular foodservice packaging solutions.
Our Three-Step Approach
Innovate
To push the boundaries of the status quo and see what could be possible
Test
To ensure that new innovations align with infrastructure and are viable when brought to market
Scale
To drive industry-wide change and create long-term impact
Our Approach In Action
Our flagship initiative, NextGen Cup, is the first example of how we bring our approach to life.
Innovate: The NextGen Cup Challenge
Show moreDeveloping cups for reuse, recycling or composting and efficient recovery across multiple geographic regions is complex, and it’s likely that more than one solution exists. Through an open-innovation challenge, we cast a wide net, inviting designers, businesses, students and innovators from around the world to submit ideas. The most promising cup system solutions that met our criteria and industry standards won funding and the opportunity to participate in the NextGen Circular Business Accelerator.
Test: The NextGen Circular Business Accelerator & In-Market Pilots
Show moreGood ideas don’t succeed in isolation––early- and growth-stage innovators need access to resources and networks to succeed at scale. Working alongside industry partners and sector leaders, we advance end-to-end solutions to the market. NextGen Circular Business Accelerator participants, and winning NextGen solutions not in the Accelerator, received access to a network of experts, business and technical resources and testing and piloting opportunities to support how they can align with operational realities and scale to larger markets.
Scale: Our Value Chain Partnerships
Show moreTo keep cups out of landfills and for new solutions to be effective, they need to benefit companies and markets across the entire cup value chain. Through upstream and downstream collaboration, NextGen ensures the cup is viable for recovery and that materials retain their value from production to consumers to recovery and back again. We’re working closely with recovery systems, suppliers, manufacturers, trade organizations, municipalities and NGOs to understand and overcome infrastructure and logistics challenges and bottlenecks.