Alner Accelerate the Impact in Reducing Plastic Waste Through Reuse With Norwegian Retailer’s Environment Fund

We’re delighted to announce that our Alner teams have its recent recognition as the recipient of a prestigious award from the Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund! This achievement marks a significant milestone in Alner’s journey as the first provider of reusable packaging in Indonesia with a mission to prevent single use packaging waste at the source.

The Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund is Norway’s largest private environmental fund that supports projects focusing on reducing plastic pollution, increasing plastic recycling, and reducing plastic bag consumption.

Since its establishment in 2020, Alner has been targeting the prevalent issue of flexible plastic packaging, such as sachets and pouches, which significantly contribute to the global plastic crisis. Alner has succeeded in encouraging many consumers in Indonesia to switch to reusable packaging systems and contributed to reducing the amount of plastic waste in Indonesia by 502.180 pieces of single-use packages.

“With this Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund support, we strive to scale our business and impact tenfold, driving reuse solutions and sustainability, fostering a culture of conscious consumption for a cleaner, greener future in Indonesia and beyond.” Said Bintang Ekananda, Director and Founder of Alner, in an interview.

From this award, Alner received USD 142.000 last December 2022. With the fund given from the Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund, Alner will scale up to more locations of communities to be able to partner with us in becoming a reuse hub, that could also add extra income to their household from the incentive from reusable products sold. Beyond this, Alner plans to establish more partnerships for providing more products to be able to consume in reusable packaging.

“We are happy to fund an actor in Indonesia specifically aiming to scale up a reuse model, solutions like this are needed all over the world. Single-use packaging in the  volume consumed today is detrimental to the environment, and providing viable alternatives for everyday products is a big step towards more sustainable plastic consumption.” says Cecilie Lind from the Norwegian Retailer’s Environment Fund.

Until now, Alner has created many positive impacts not only for the environment, but also to many people, especially women. Alner is incredibly enthusiastic about expanding its efforts to empower more women-led communities as reuse hubs in Indonesia. As per May 2023, Alner already has 200+ women-led reuse point of sales and return locations in Greater Jakarta. Alner believes in the meaningful contributions that women make to society and believes in their ability to drive sustainable change. With a strong commitment, Alner is eager to collaborate with women-led initiatives across Indonesia, fostering a network of reuse hubs that will create a brighter and more sustainable future for all. 

Starting in early 2020, Alner once vision for the reusable packaging to enter the informal small shops or warung in Indonesian. When piloted at that time, the store proprietors declined to recognize the urgency or significance of altering the manner in which they sell their products. So Alner (at that time Koinpack) had to modify my strategy. Instead of emphasizing the environmental value of altering their sales practices, I emphasized the tangible benefits, which in this case were increased profits. It was also intended as a loyalty program, as consumers would return the empty packaging to your store and purchase from you again.

As Alner continues to make significant strides in combating plastic waste and empowering communities, the recognition from the Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund validates the importance of Alner’s work. Alner remains committed to its mission of driving lasting change by revolutionizing the way society perceives and consumes single-use packaging. With their innovative reusable solution, Alner is leading the charge towards a more sustainable and circular economy in Indonesia and beyond.

Alner, a company devoted to promoting responsible consumption in Indonesia, looks forward to working with additional partners and funders to empower and showcase more communities to adopt reuse, promote empowerment, and encourage responsible consumption for a greater positive impact.  

Interested in partnering, engaging or learning more about Alner? Please connect with Enviu Indonesia's Program Lead, Darina Maulana at darina@enviu.org.