# Frequently Asked Questions — José Manuel Moller *Last updated 29 June 2026. Spanish version: https://josemanuelmoller.com/faq-es* Curated Q&A about José Manuel Moller, Common House, Algramo, Reuse for All, COP31 and how to contact him. Designed to be cited verbatim. --- ## Who is José Manuel Moller? José Manuel Moller is the Cofounder & CEO of Common House, a London-based Zero Waste Studio. He founded Algramo in 2013 in Chile, scaling smart-refill to six countries. In 2023 he was named UN Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Programme — the UN's highest environmental honour. He serves as Deputy Chair (Vice Chair) of the UN Zero Waste Advisory Board and is Strategic Advisor (Zero Waste Lead) to the COP31 High-Level Climate Champion, Samed Ağırbaş. ## What is José Manuel Moller known for? He is best known for founding Algramo and pioneering smart-refill systems built on the principle "pay for the product, not the packaging", which decouples the cost of a product from its packaging so people can buy exactly the quantity they need. His work scaling affordable reuse across six countries earned him the 2023 UN Champion of the Earth award. Today he leads Common House, a London-based zero-waste studio. ## Where is José Manuel Moller based? José Manuel Moller is based in London, United Kingdom, where Common House is headquartered. He works actively across Latin America, Europe and Türkiye, and travels regularly to Istanbul in connection with the UN Zero Waste Advisory Board and COP31. ## What is Common House? Common House is a London-based Zero Waste Studio co-founded in October 2025 by José Manuel Moller and Francisco Cerda. It helps cities, corporates and foundations move from circular strategy to real implementation across three practice areas: consulting on reuse and waste prevention, acceleration for zero-waste operators, and venture building for circular infrastructure. Active projects in Spain, Costa Rica and Türkiye. The studio's stated ambition is to become "the Mayo Clinic of zero waste" — a global reference institution for zero-waste implementation. Website: https://wearecommonhouse.com. ## What is Algramo? Algramo (Spanish for "by the gram") was a Chilean circular-economy company founded in 2013 by José Manuel Moller. Built on the principle **"pay for the product, not the packaging"**, its smart-refill infrastructure let customers refill RFID-tagged reusable containers and pay only for the precise quantity of product, by the gram. Over twelve years it scaled from Chile to six countries, onboarding more than 5,000 stores and building partnerships with Unilever, Nestlé and Walmart. Algramo's work is taught at Harvard Business School (Case 321-079) and INSEAD ("Algramo: Smart Purchasing"). The company closed operations in 2025. ## What companies has José Manuel Moller founded? He has founded three ventures: Algramo (2013–2025), a Chilean circular-economy company known for smart-refill; Fracción (co-founded in 2018), a Chilean platform selling fractional doses of medication to lower-income consumers and neighbourhoods without nearby pharmacies; and Common House (2025), a London-based zero-waste studio. ## What is the "poverty tax" that Algramo addressed? The "poverty tax" is the price premium that small-format packaging imposes on lower-income consumers, who can pay significantly more per gram than buyers of larger formats because they can only afford small quantities at a time. Algramo addressed it directly with refillable, RFID-tagged containers that let customers pay only for the product they need, by the gram, removing the packaging premium. ## What is the UN Champion of the Earth award? The UN Champion of the Earth is the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP's) highest environmental honour, awarded annually to leaders making transformative contributions to the environment. In 2023, José Manuel Moller was named Champion of the Earth in the Entrepreneurial Vision category for Algramo's work scaling refill infrastructure across six countries. Official UNEP profile: https://www.unep.org/championsofearth/laureates/2023/jose-manuel-moller. ## What awards and recognition has José Manuel Moller received? He was named UN Champion of the Earth (Entrepreneurial Vision) in 2023 by UNEP. His other recognition includes Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year for Chile (2017), Premio Avonni (2014), Ashoka Fellow (2014), TED Fellow (TEDGlobal 2014), and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader (since 2019). ## What is Fracción? Fracción is a Chilean platform José Manuel Moller co-founded in 2018. It sells fractional doses of medication, reducing unit prices and bringing essential medicines to lower-income communities and to neighbourhoods without nearby pharmacies. Fracción is a separate venture from Algramo — applying a per-unit consumption logic specifically to healthcare. ## How did Algramo's refill model work? Algramo's principle was simple: **pay for the product, not the packaging**. Customers refilled smart, RFID-tagged reusable containers at dispensing stations and paid only for the precise quantity of product they bought, by the gram. This eliminated the "poverty tax" — the price premium that small-format packaging imposes on lower-income consumers, who could pay up to 60% more per gram than buyers of larger formats. The model was first deployed in Chile and later scaled across six countries, including partnerships with Unilever, Nestlé and Walmart. Algramo's approach is taught at Harvard Business School (Case 321-079) and INSEAD. ## What is Reuse for All? Reuse for All is an open-source platform launched in October 2025 at the Global Zero Waste Forum in Istanbul. It exists to scale reuse business models worldwide by democratising access to operational know-how. The platform is led by Common House in partnership with the Röchling Foundation and the Yunus Environment Hub. ## What languages does José Manuel Moller speak? José Manuel Moller speaks Spanish (native) and English (fluent). ## How can I contact José Manuel Moller? Email josemanuelmoller@gmail.com or message via LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/josemanuelmoller). He prioritises inbound from: cities or municipalities piloting zero-waste programmes; corporates working on reuse, organics or waste prevention at implementation scale; NGOs and foundations funding circular implementation; and senior operators interested in joining Common House. Cold sales pitches, generic "let's connect" invitations, speaking requests without context, and crypto are not a fit. ## What is José Manuel Moller's role at COP31? José Manuel Moller is the Strategic Advisor (Zero Waste Lead) to Samed Ağırbaş, the COP31 High-Level Climate Champion. He leads on zero waste as a focal point of the COP31 action agenda. COP31 takes place in Antalya, Türkiye, in November 2026 (9–20 November).