Why the EU supports circular economy research and innovation
We use 8 gigatonnes of materials each year in Europe. Most of it quickly ends up as waste - less than 10% is reused or recycled.
Extracting, processing, producing and consuming materials and products is responsible for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe and a third globally. This creates an enormous environmental footprint.
The Green Deal is the EU’s policy response to the environmental degradation that comes with continued economic acceleration. It is about fundamentally changing how we see and use materials and moving quicker to a circular economy. A circular economy means maintaining the economic value of materials and minimising their environmental impacts.
Funding opportunities
Horizon Europe
On this page you can find more information, the work programme and a link to circular economy-related calls
Recovery and Resilience Facility
Loans and grants available to support reforms and investments undertaken by EU countries for a sustainable recovery
European structural and investment funds
Environment research related calls may be found in this programme, particularly in the European regional development fund
European Circular Bioeconomy Fund
The ECBF is part-funded by the Commission and invests in late-stage bioeconomy start-ups
Innovation Fund
Funding supporting the deployment of biobased solutions in carbon intensive sectors
LIFE
The EU's funding instrument for the environment and climate action
Projects and results
Results packs on the circular economy
Thematic collections of innovative EU-funded research results in the circular economy
Research project database (CORDIS)
The Commission's primary portal for the results of EU-funded research projects
Project success stories
Stories of particularly successful EU-funded circular economy research projects
EU-funded projects relevant to the circular economy
Compilation of circular economy-relevant projects 2016-2018
Horizon Magazine
Latest news, interviews and features about thought-provoking science and innovative research projects funded by the EU
Horizon 2020 dashboard
Access to real-time programme data with the ability to filter by country, region, theme and more
Horizon Results Platform
Platform where framework programme participants present their results for you to search, contact their owners, and form partnerships
Collaboration and jobs
Biobased Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU)
BBI JU connects key biobased sectors to ultimately create a sustainable and competitive biobased economy in Europe
ERA CoBioTech
is an ERA-Net Cofund Action under Horizon 2020, which aims to strengthen the European Research Area in the field of biotechnology
Find project partners
Find partners for open EU calls for proposal
Jobs (EURAXESS)
Researcher jobs in the field of circular economy
Scientific publications, tools and databases
EU publications portal
Online library of EU research publications on the circular economy
OpenAIRE
You can access all scientific publications from Horizon 2020 via OpenAIRE
Scientific publications
Scientific research publications on the circular economy published by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC)
EU Open Data Portal
Single point of access to open data produced by the EU institutions - all data free to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes
Latest
Circular Economy Package II - ambitious packaging regulation reducing plastic waste
The Circular Economy Package II proposed the revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive - based on scientific evidence
European Week of Regions and Cities: Join our info session on how to implement circular systemic solutions in cities and regions
The 20th edition of EURegionsWeek under the motto ‘New Challenges for Europe’s cohesion’ is approaching and registrations are now open!
Incentives to boost the Circular Economy – A guide for Public Authorities
This guide supports public authorities in identifying the most suited incentives to speed up the transition towards a circular economy