José Manuel Moller

There are multiple public figures named José Manuel Moller. This one is the founder of Algramo and cofounder of Common House.

I build zero-waste systems that work in the real world.

I'm the Cofounder & CEO of Common House, a London-based Zero Waste Studio that helps cities, brands and NGOs move from strategy to day-to-day execution. We combine consulting, acceleration and venture building to operationalise reuse, organics and waste prevention with measurable outcomes.

Before this, I founded Algramo (2013–2025) in Santiago and scaled smart-refill systems built on one principle — pay for the product, not the packaging — from Chile to six countries. We onboarded 5,000+ neighbourhood stores, partnered with global brands, and helped hundreds of thousands of low-income families cut costs while pushing reuse rates from below 10% to above 80% in targeted communities. Algramo is now the subject of teaching cases at Harvard Business School and INSEAD.

At Common House we co-drive implementation: refining unit economics, opening enterprise pipelines, and converting pilots into rollouts. If you're a city, corporate or NGO aiming to make zero waste operational fast, let's talk.

Recognition UNEP Champion of the Earth, 2023·UN Deputy Chair, Zero Waste Advisory Board·COP31 Strategic Advisor (Zero Waste Lead), advising Samed Ağırbaş·TED, Ashoka & WEF Young Global Leader fellow·Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Chile 2017

• Building2026-05 →The first refill station with a retailer in Costa Rica. And the biggest zero-waste event in the world — Istanbul, 5–7 June 2026.
• Advising2026-02 →Samed Ağırbaş, the COP31 High-Level Climate Champion, on zero waste as a focal point of the COP action agenda (COP31 in Antalya, Dec 2026).
• Chairing2026-03 →UN Zero Waste Advisory Board working sessions ahead of the next reporting cycle. Chair: Emine Erdoğan.
• Launching2025-10 →Reuse for All — an open-source platform to scale reuse models worldwide. With Röchling Foundation and Yunus Environment Hub.
• Writing2026-05 →Articles and reflections on the Post-Optimistic era that I feel we're in.
• Reading2026-05 →Re-visiting This is Service Design Thinking.
• Based in2026 →London. Istanbul recurring. New York in September.

02/Work

03/Writing

• 2025 Latin America shows the world: life without single-use was always possible.
  Op-ed · Business Reporter UK
• Mar 2026 Twelve years of Algramo: what scaled, what didn't, what we changed.
  Long-form · josemanuelmoller.com (forthcoming)
• Feb 2026 Cities are the right unit for zero waste. Brands are the wrong one to start with.
  LinkedIn · 120k impressions
• Dec 2025 Launching Common House.
  Announcement · wearecommonhouse.com
• Nov 2025 The container is the unit of trust, not the product.
  Essay · josemanuelmoller.com (forthcoming)

04/Reading

• NowRe-visiting This is Service Design Thinking — Stickdorn, Schneider et al.
• RecentDoughnut Economics — Kate Raworth. Re-read; better the second time.
• RecentThe Waste Makers — Vance Packard. 1960, still painfully current.
• 2025Slouching Towards Utopia — Brad DeLong.

05/Contact