Calls

The EIT Circular Economy Community is hosting the next Calls in Q2 of 2022:

  • The EIT Circular Economy Community launches the Circular Economy Prize – CLOSED

  • Call on the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Programme – CLOSED

The EIT Circular Economy Community launches the Circular Economy Prize – CLOSED

Are you an SME or start-up with an innovative service, technology, or product around circular economy? Compete for the chance to showcase your idea to an expert panel, secure the award prize and be part of the European innovation community!

The EIT Community Circular Economy aims to identify and award relevant start-ups and SMEs with significant new solutions around circular economy.

Compete for a chance to pitch your idea in front of our expert Jury, secure a substantial financial award to boost your product, service or technology and be a part of the vibrant circular economy network of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT).

Within the EIT Circular Economy Community, EIT RawMaterials, EIT Climate-KIC, EIT Food, EIT Manufacturing and EIT Urban Mobility are joining forces to craft favorable environments for creative thought processes and innovations in circular economy to flourish.

The Application is now open and closes on 31 August 2022 23:59 CEST.

Thematic scope

We are looking for solutions in the areas of:

  • Topic 1: New circular business models in two specific areas:
    • From products to services: This model is an alternative to the established “buy and own” approach and includes lending, renting, or pay-for-use agreements. It allows the customer to purchase a service or desired result, rather than buying the product itself.
    • Sharing economy: The primary feature that defines a sharing economy is cooperation. It creates the opportunity for consumers to tap into the unused potential of products by reducing their idle time and increasing access to goods and services.
  • Topic 2: Circular economy assessment methodologies: new methodological approaches to monitor and/or quantify circular economy from a general perspective or in specific sectors as critical raw materials, building, food.
  • Topic 3: Waste valorization including logistics: new ideas and approaches for waste valorization in specific sectors as critical raw materials, building, food including digital solutions to improve logistics.
  • Topic 4: Digital Products Passports: new ideas and developments in the field of Digital Products Passports as efficient tool to improve materials traceability to support the implementation of sustainable products.

The contest is open to any legal entity or group of legal entities established in an EU Member State or in a country associated to HorizonEurope. For partners and entities that have already received funding by the participating EIT KICs (EIT RawMaterials, EIT Climate-KIC, EIT Food, EIT Urban Mobility and EIT Manufacturing) restrictions may apply. For more information refer to the Rules of the Prize.

Call Document

Apply Here!

Call on the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Programme – Extended Deadline – CLOSED

Funding is available to help start-ups and projects get verified on their environmental performance

The Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) is a service provided by the European Commission with the aim to help technology providers proposing innovative, green technologies verify their solutions and provide a quality stamp. The ETV process takes the technology through a third-party validation, which assesses the performance of the technology based on independent and credible information using international standards. The end product is an ETV Statement of Verification published on the ETV website and used in business-to-business relations. This enables technology owners to document the reliability of their claims and differentiate them from competitors, and it helps technology purchasers identify innovations that suit their needs.

The EIT Circular Economy Community launches a call to support companies in obtaining the ETV. The call is open until 30.06.2022 (23:59 CEST). The call guidelines and application form can be downloaded at the end.

ETV is implemented by accredited Verification Bodies in three technology areas:

  • Water treatment and monitoring (e.g., monitoring water quality, treatment of drinking water and wastewater)
  • Materials, waste and resources (e.g., separation and sorting of solid waste, recycling of materials, end-of-life products and chemicals, biomass-based products)
  • Energy (e.g., renewable energy, energy generated from waste, energy efficiency)

The call is open to any partner and start-up participating in the EIT Circular Economy Community (EIT RawMaterials, EIT Climate KIC, EIT Food, EIT Manufacturing and EIT Urban Mobility) with a technology included in any of the previously defined areas that have been supported in any ongoing or finished demonstration project.

Application deadline: 30.06.2022, 23:59 CEST

Call Document

Apply Here!

Upcoming Events

More to come in 2023!

Past Events
Circular Economy Event Poster (2)

December 1, 2022 / 10:00-17:00 CET

EIT Community on Circular Economy presents The Future is Circular!

On Thursday 1 December 2022, we will be holding a day of celebration to mark our recent activities within the community and to look forward to what we have coming up next. Held in Brussels, we will be inviting stakeholders in our community to reflect on the past year and align on strategic priorities for the year ahead.

The morning programme, which the public will be able to join online, will feature

  • An address by the EIT representative in charge of the strategic oversight of the EIT Community Circular Economy Initiative;
  • An address from a European Commission official responsible for the Circular Economy Action Plan
  • An overview of the activities carried out by the EIT Community on Circular Economy and future opportunities for collaboration; 
  • And the award ceremony for the EIT Circular Economy Prizes. 

The afternoon session will be a closed workshop for our stakeholders to align for the year ahead. 

You can sign up to stream the morning live session here. Please join us as we celebrate our wins in circular economy this year!

July 8, 2022 / 9:00-10:30 CEST

#EUCircularTalks – Digital Product Passport: Learning from frontrunners

The EIT Circular Economy Community, as ECESP Leadership Group on Sustainable products and design, in collaboration with Ecopreneur, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, European Environmental Bureau, TCO and the ECESP, invite you to this #EUCircularTalk on 8 July from 9:00 to 10:30 CEST. The event is a timely opportunity to assess EU regulatory initiatives and thinking on digital product passports.

What are the challenges and pathways ahead? Let us hear the answers directly from frontrunner stakeholders that have already conceptualised digital product passports and are operating them in the EU market and learn from their experience.

Agenda

  • 9.00 – 9.05 Welcome and introduction

Maria Nikolopoulou, EESC member

  • 9.05 – 9.45 Presentation of frontrunners on digital product passports, 

Julie Brown, Head of sustainability, product, Eon

Nathan Williams, CEO & Founder, Mindspider

Sascha Bloemhoff, Marketing Director, Niaga

  • 9.45 – 10.00 Presentation by the European Commission

Michele Galatola, Policy officer, European Commission

  • 10.00 – 10.25 Q&A
  • 10.25 – 10.30 Conclusions and wrap-up

LinkedIn Group

April 29, 2022 / 11:00-12:00 CEST

Webinar on the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Programme

The transition to a climate neutral society is currently at the top of our Europe’s agenda. The objective: To find the right path for sustainable growth, while preserving the environment and society.  That’s why six of the EIT’s Innovation communities: EIT Manufacturing, EIT Digital, EIT RawMaterials, EIT Food, Climate-KIC, and EIT Urban Mobility have joined forces to launch a project on Circular Economy.  This newly created Cross-KIC project aims at strengthening the collaboration the EIT’s Innovation Communities to fight climate change and promote circular economy. For starters, the project has launched a specific call on Environmental Technology Verification (ETV).  ETV is a tool designed to help innovative environmental technologies access the market. Curious to know more? Join EIT Manufacturing’s webinar on April 29 from 11:00 to12:00 CEST.

Agenda

  • Short introduction of the Cross-KIC Circular Economy Project and the ETV Support call | (10 minutes) Ignacio Calleja, Senior Advisor Circular Economy and Recycling en EIT RawMaterials
  • ETV description ­| (30 minutes)  Izabela Ratman, ETV Expert
  • ETV Secretariat | (10 minutes) Martin Pecanka, Senior Project Manager at LGI Consulting
  • Questions & Answers | (40 minutes) 
More

To know more about the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Community call for proposals, please check the respective call section of the participating communities for any currently open calls: