Co-hosted by Canopy alongside the NO.17 Foundation and Tsao Pao Chee (TPC) Group, the forum convened leading investors, philanthropists, and industry experts to explore the mobilization of $2 billion USD in investment, including a blended finance platform to unlock India’s rapid scale-up of Next Gen materials as an alternative to high-carbon wood-dependent products. Next Gen alternatives are lower impact and made from inputs like agricultural residues (that are otherwise burned) and recycled textiles (otherwise landfilled). The initial investment program is being designed for deployment in India and built for global replication. The initial infusion of $2 billion will enable the first 1.5 million tonnes of Next Gen paper, packaging, and textile production capacity in India and is part of a broader global initiative to mobilize $78 billion into the global Next Gen infrastructure transition by 2033.

The Davos event introduced the finance architecture behind Canopy’s first-of-its-kind blended finance blueprint: a model to de-risk early investments, attract institutional capital, and catalyze the large-scale production of Next Gen fibre for paper, packaging, and textiles. Next Gen solutions are essential to shifting global supply chains away from high-carbon wood fibre to more resilient, low-carbon alternatives.

Shifting global supply chains is one of the most effective levers that the world has to combat the climate crisis and deliver on critical climate and nature goals ahead of 2030. Current finance flows to nature-based solutions are $200 billion USD, only a third of levels needed to reach climate, biodiversity, and land degradation targets by 2030.

The blended finance model introduced today is designed to help correct this imbalance by mobilizing capital into India’s rapidly advancing Next Gen materials industry, enabling the commercial-scale production of low-carbon fibre made from agricultural residues and recycled textiles. Over the next decade, scaling this industrial shift in India is expected to require roughly $13–15 billion in investment — and the $2B investment program is designed to help establish market confidence, crowd in private capital alongside catalytic investors and public finance, and accelerate impactful project pipelines. For India, this transition can strengthen industrial competitiveness, reduce input volatility, improve air quality, and open new income pathways for rural communities — while positioning producers to serve rising global demand for traceable, lower-impact inputs.

“This is the moment to reimagine how capital flows to climate solutions at scale. The blended finance model that we’re unveiling today will lay the foundation for replacing high-carbon forest- fibre in global paper, packaging, and textile supply chains, while establishing a finance blueprint that can be replicated in other key markets,” said Nicole Rycroft, Founder and Executive Director of Canopy. “If we want to transform high-impact global commodity sectors at the pace required, we need finance models that share both risk and reward with the market — and that can scale across borders. Investors and brands here today are helping build exactly that.”

During the session, Canopy was joined by large brand partners as well as strategic and institutional investors and philanthropic leaders to discuss the design and early development of the model. Over the coming year, Canopy aims to secure partners interested in exploring anchor capital or future offtake agreements as the structure is finalized. More than 950 brands, representing over $2.1 trillion in combined annual revenue, are already working with Canopy — strengthening the offtake signal that investors look for when underwriting new capacity.

“With these targeted structures in place, we can drive the investment needed to turn waste into high-value and circular everyday commodities,” said Zoë Caron, Canopy’s Strategic Lead, Global Investments for Canopy. “Many agricultural residues are still being burned on the fields, when we know they can be used more sustainably, cutting air pollution and scaling a sustainable supply chain for paper, packaging, and textiles.”

Following the session, Canopy and its partners will deepen engagement with interested investors, refine the platform architecture, and advance the model toward establishment in India. In India, air pollution from crop residue burning contributes to an average of 150 premature deaths daily. Diverting agricultural waste would cut Delhi’s seasonal air pollution while supporting rural income and mill modernization. Additionally, global businesses benefit from reduced wood-dependent supply chain volatility and access to regulation-compliant and low-impact paper, packaging, and textiles.

1 https://penniur.upenn.edu/publications/state-of-finance-for-nature-in-cities-2023-time-to-assess-summary-for-local