What Empower.eco does

Empower Foundation, branded as Empower.eco and operating as a social impact initiative of Norwegian parent Jörð.tech, builds digital infrastructure that formalises the informal waste collection sector and connects it to brands seeking verified recycled materials. The platform issues digital identities to individual waste collectors, captures collection data in real time via Jörð.tech's compliance-first blockchain stack, and produces immutable chain-of-custody documentation that supports verified social-plastic and recycled-content claims. The underlying market problem is structural: the informal sector collects 57% of global waste but remains invisible to formal supply chains because workers lack legal status, materials cannot be traced, and exploitative middlemen dominate value distribution.

The product portfolio follows a platform-plus-modules architecture. Three core solutions — Circular Supply Chain, Informal Sector Inclusion, and Sustainability & Custom Reporting — are extended by six feature modules: Digital Product Passport, Compliance Navigator, Reporting Suite, Virtual Inventory, Smart Warehouse, and Chain of Custody & Traceability. Together these enable collector registration and verification, real-time material logging, sortable impact metrics, and reporting aligned with EU regulatory frameworks such as DPP, EPR, and recycled-content standards. Between 2022 and 2025, the platform reports 1.2 million tons of material registered and 356,000 transactions processed, with pilots including a Swedish Match snus box consumer deposit system and a Dow/NORAD feasibility study in Nigeria.

Revenue is generated through three modelled streams: transaction fees on premium payments for collected materials, licensing of verified impact credentials to corporate buyers, and recurring platform-access and data-services fees; individual donations are also accepted via a dedicated channel. Go-to-market is hybrid: enterprise field sales to sustainability-focused brands, channel partnerships with NGOs operating collection networks, and event-driven credibility-building through accelerator programmes (Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV, UNDP SDG Accelerator) and earned media (BBC Reel documentary, WEF Uplink, MIT Solve). Customer segments are brands and corporations (primary), governments and municipalities (primary), and NGOs and collection network operators (secondary).

Name

Empower.eco

Legal name

Empower Foundation

Website

https://empower.eco

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Empower Foundation (Empower.eco), an Oslo-based initiative of Jörð.tech, builds blockchain-based digital infrastructure that formalises the informal waste collection sector by issuing digital identities to collectors and providing real-time traceability for brands seeking verified recycled materials.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Supply Chain Traceability Software

NAICS

Waste Collection (56211), Waste Management and Remediation Services (562), Materials Recovery Facilities (562920)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Supply Chain & Inventory/Warehouse Receipt Tokenization (FSADAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

On-site Recycling Programs (Single-Stream, Source-Separated) (BPABALAB)

Keywords

• Circular economy infrastructure
• Waste traceability platform
• Plastic recycling supply chain
• Blockchain supply chain traceability
• Informal sector inclusion

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Premium Payments for Collected Materials: Incentivises responsible waste management through premium payments to collectors, funded by brands seeking verified recycled content. The platform facilitates transactions between collectors and formal buyers, taking a share of the value chain.
2. Verified Impact Credential Licensing: Generation and licensing of verified environmental and social impact credentials to brands requiring documented proof of recycled content and social plastic sourcing for compliance and sustainability reporting.
3. Platform Access and Data Services: Digital infrastructure services provided to partner organisations and brands, enabling traceability, incentive management, and supply chain data access.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Empower Foundation provides a blockchain-powered digital traceability platform that connects informal waste collectors to formal recycling supply chains. The platform registers individual waste collectors with digital identities, captures collection data in real-time with immutability, and issues verified environmental and social impact credentials that allow brands to source traceable social plastic and recycled content.

Product overview

Empower Foundation is a platform-plus-modules architecture powered by Jörð.tech's traceability infrastructure. The core platform provides digital infrastructure connecting informal waste collectors to formal supply chains, featuring real-time immutable data capture and chain of custody documentation. The product portfolio comprises three core solutions (Circular Supply Chain, Informal Sector Inclusion, and Sustainability & Custom Reporting) supplemented by six feature modules: Digital Product Passport, Compliance Navigator, Reporting Suite, Virtual Inventory, Smart Warehouse, and Chain of Custody & Traceability. Together these enable waste collection registration, material traceability, impact credential generation, and direct market access for brands seeking verified social plastic.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Circular Supply Chain Supply chain solution that connects informal waste collectors to formal recycling systems, enabling traceable material flow from collection to brand sourcing. Designed for brands, manufacturers, and consumer goods companies seeking verified recycled materials with documented provenance.
• Informal Sector Inclusion Digital infrastructure solution that registers and verifies individual waste collectors with digital identities, providing real-time immutable data capture and direct market access to brands seeking verified social plastic. Targets brands and NGOs building collection networks.
• Sustainability & Custom Reporting Reporting solution enabling brands and corporations to generate verified environmental and social impact credentials and meet sustainability reporting requirements such as EU EPR and recycled content standards.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.2 million tons of material registered through the platform (2022-2025)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Dow & NORADmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint feasibility study with Dow and NORAD exploring scalable, digitally enabled plastic circularity systems in Nigeria. This collaboration validates Empower's technology approach and opens access to major corporate and institutional networks for pilot expansion.
• Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIVcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSelected as finalist and Impact Potential Award recipient in Spring 2025 cohort of Mastercard's accelerator programme for Nordic and Baltic impact startups. Provides validation, peer network, and access to Mastercard's corporate sustainability partnerships.
• UNDP SDG AcceleratorcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerInstitutional partnership within SDG-aligned, multilateral-backed accelerator programme. Positions Empower within United Nations development framework and provides access to UNDP network of government and NGO partners.
• World Economic Forum UplinkmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerFeatured contributor to World Economic Forum Uplink circular economy platform. Multiple contributions on digital infrastructure for circular economy and platform architecture published through WEF channels.
• MIT SolvemajorGTM or Marketing PartnerSolution profile on MIT Solve platform describing global plastic deposit and tracking system. Positions Empower within MIT's innovation ecosystem and provides credibility with impact investors and corporate partners.
• EU REFLOW ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferenced as best-practice example of blockchain-enabled deposit ecosystems inspired by Nordic deposit-return systems within EU Horizon 2020 research project on circular economy.
• Swedish MatchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsumer-facing deposit system pilot for snus boxes, demonstrating circular incentives tied to everyday products. Pilot demonstrates platform versatility for applying deposit mechanisms to diverse product categories.
• BBC ReelmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerBBC Reel produced a short documentary featuring Empower's plastic waste deposit system, showcasing digital incentives and traceability at scale. Documentary provides significant global media visibility and credibility validation.
• Jörð.techcoreTechnology or IntegrationEmpower Foundation is an initiative powered by Jörð.tech, leveraging their compliance-first supply chain traceability infrastructure. Jörð.tech provides the underlying blockchain-enabled data capture and verification technology that enables Empower's operations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Plastic Bank: Social enterprise that builds collection networks of informal collectors and sells verified 'social plastic' to brands. Closely aligned business model: formalizing informal waste collectors, paying premiums, and issuing traceable recycled-content credits.
• Recykal: India-based digital waste management and recycling marketplace connecting waste generators, collectors, and brands. Comparable in digitizing informal collection and providing traceability/MRV across the recycling value chain.
• Circulor: Enterprise blockchain traceability platform for raw materials and circular supply chains. Directly comparable because it offers immutable chain-of-custody and ESG credentialing for industrial supply chains, mirroring Empower's core value proposition.
• Circularise: Blockchain-based materials traceability and Digital Product Passport provider for plastics and other materials. Comparable technology stack (blockchain traceability, DPPs, provenance verification) targeting the same circular-economy brand customers.
• RecycleGO: Blockchain recycling platform that tokenizes recycled materials and issues verified recycling credits. Overlaps in blockchain-based verification of waste flows and credential issuance for sustainability claims.

Broad incumbents

• SAP: Enterprise software giant with sustainability and supply-chain traceability offerings (e.g., SAP Responsible Design and Production). Represents the broad incumbent threat if it embeds comparable circular-economy traceability into its installed enterprise base.
• TOMRA: Global leader in reverse vending and deposit-return infrastructure for beverage containers. Comparable as an established incumbent in circular-economy collection infrastructure, though operating in the formal DRS segment rather than the informal-sector niche.

Emerging players

• Madaster: Digital materials passport registry for buildings and infrastructure, enabling circular material tracking. Comparable as an emerging player building material-passport infrastructure for circular-economy compliance.

Regional players

• Gringgo Indonesia Foundation: Indonesia-based social enterprise using technology to integrate informal waste collectors and connect them to formal recycling supply chains. Directly comparable mission and model, but focused on the Indonesian market rather than Empower's global footprint.

Others

• Delterra: Impact organization working on plastic circularity and recycling systems improvement, with explicit knowledge-hub engagement with Empower. Comparable as an adjacent ecosystem player focused on improving informal and formal recycling outcomes globally.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/posts/empowerplastic
• Xx.com/empowerplastic
• Facebookfacebook.com/empowerplastic

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Empower.eco