Canopy Launches First-of-Its-Kind USD2 Billion Investment Blueprint to Transform Paper, Packaging and Textile Supply Chains
At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos recently, Canopy, the global solutions-driven environmental nonprofit, unveiled a groundbreaking finance model designed to accelerate the scale-up of low-carbon materials and reshape the paper, packaging and textile supply chains. The announcement was made alongside partners at a dedicated forum co-hosted by Canopy, the NO.17 Foundation and Tsao Pao Chee (TPC) Group.
The event featured a keynote address from D. Sridhar Babu, Honourable Minister for Industries and Commerce, IT and E&C, Government of Telangana, India. India is set to host the first deployment of the new investment blueprint, positioning the country as a global hub for Next Gen materials manufacturing.
The proposed model aims to mobilise USD2 billion in initial capital, including a blended finance platform designed to de-risk early investments and unlock institutional participation in India’s rapidly growing Next Gen materials sector. These lower-impact alternatives are produced from agricultural residues that are otherwise burned and recycled textiles that would typically be landfilled—reducing emissions while strengthening circular supply chains.
The initial USD2 billion program is expected to enable the first 1.5 million tonnes of Next Gen paper, packaging and textile production capacity in India. It forms part of a broader global ambition to mobilise USD78 billion by 2033 to support the transition to Next Gen fibre infrastructure worldwide. While India is the first focus market, the blueprint has been designed for replication across other key regions.
At Davos, Canopy introduced the underlying finance architecture of the blended model—an approach built to attract institutional capital, crowd in private investment and catalyse commercial-scale production of Next Gen fibre. These solutions are critical to shifting global supply chains away from high-carbon, wood-dependent inputs toward more resilient and climate-aligned alternatives.
Transforming global supply chains represents one of the most powerful levers available to address the climate crisis and meet climate and nature targets before 2030. Today, global finance flows to nature-based solutions total approximately USD200 billion, only one-third of what is required to achieve climate, biodiversity and land-degradation goals by the end of the decade.1
The blended finance model announced recently is designed to help close this gap by directing capital into India’s advancing Next Gen materials industry. Over the next ten years, scaling this industrial transition in India alone is expected to require USD13–15 billion in investment. The initial USD2 billion programme is intended to establish market confidence, catalyse project pipelines and attract private capital alongside catalytic investors and public finance.
For India, the transition offers significant co-benefits: enhanced industrial competitiveness, reduced input volatility, improved air quality and new income streams for rural communities—while positioning producers to meet growing global demand for traceable, regulation-compliant, lower-impact materials.
This is the moment to reimagine how capital flows to climate solutions at scale. The blended finance model we are launching today lays the foundation for replacing high-carbon forest fibre in global paper, packaging and textile supply chains—while creating a blueprint that can be replicated across markets. Transforming high-impact commodity sectors at the speed required demands finance models that share both risk and reward and are built to scale globally.
Nicole Rycroft, Founder and Executive Director of Canopy
During the session, Canopy was joined by major brand partners, institutional and strategic investors, and philanthropic leaders to discuss the design and early development of the platform. Over the coming year, Canopy will work to secure partners interested in anchor capital and future offtake agreements as the structure is finalised. More than 950 brands, representing over USD2.1 trillion in combined annual revenue, already work with Canopy—providing a strong offtake signal for new production capacity.
With the right financial structures in place, we can unlock the investment needed to turn waste into high-value, circular everyday commodities. Agricultural residues continue to be burned in the fields, despite their clear potential to reduce air pollution and supply sustainable fibre for paper, packaging and textiles.
Zoë Caron, Strategic Lead, Global Investments at Canopy
Following the Davos forum, Canopy and its partners will deepen engagement with interested investors, refine the platform architecture and advance the model toward formal establishment in India. Crop residue burning in India contributes to an estimated 150 premature deaths per day on average. Redirecting this waste into industrial supply chains would significantly reduce seasonal air pollution—particularly in Delhi—while supporting rural incomes and mill modernisation. At the same time, global brands benefit from more resilient supply chains and access to low-impact, wood-independent materials.
About Canopy
Canopy is a solutions-driven environmental nonprofit dedicated to protecting the world’s forests, species and climate. Working with more than 1,000 global brands, producers and innovators, Canopy transforms supply chains and scales Next Gen solutions to reduce reliance on climate-critical forests.
- University of Pennsylvania, State of Finance for Nature in Cities 2023 ↩︎
