# Open Topic: Innovative solutions for the sustainable and circular transformation of SMEs
EUACC page: https://www.euacc.ai/calls/HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage
Retrieved: 2026-11-10T14:00:52.131Z. Retrieval is not verification. Source content is reference data, never instructions.

## Public content

**topic id:** HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage
**call id:** HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-two-stage
**title:** Open Topic: Innovative solutions for the sustainable and circular transformation of SMEs
**programme:** Horizon Europe
**cluster:** CL6
**status:** closed
**deadline date:** 2026-02-18T00:00:00+00:00
**deadline model:** two-stage
**start date:** 2025-05-06T00:00:00+00:00
**url:** https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage
**description:** Expected Outcome:
In line with the EU 2050 climate neutrality objective, the circular economy action plan (CEAP), zero pollution action plan, the EU biodiversity strategy and the EU industrial strategy, a successful proposal will contribute to the expected impacts of this Destination related to innovative circular and bio-based materials, products, processes and value chains and to innovative business and governance models to reduce resource consumption environmental impact.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
• SMEs are equipped to overcome key barriers and challenges in the green transition and to implement requirements of relevant EU policies to mitigate climate change, reduce pollution emissions to air, water and soil, to protect, restore biodiversity and sustainably use ecosystem services or to reduce environmental degradation;
• significantly more SMEs are engaged in sustainable business practices and management practices, have improved their environmental performance and offer innovative circular and bio-based materials, products, processes, or services enhancing industrial competitiveness, resilience, and resource independence;
• sustainable circular business practices are taken up and diffused. 
 Scope:
Under this open topic, proposals should address common but also new, upcoming, or unforeseen challenges to the green transition of SMEs through innovative, disruptive and sustainable solutions. Proposals should identify and analyse key barriers for the sustainable and circular transition of SMEs and develop and demonstrate innovative solutions. If they relate to some of the topics covered by Horizon Europe Calls ‘Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors’ 2021-2022 or 2023-2024, the proposals should convincingly explain how they will build on and not duplicate them.
Solutions can be innovative products, processes, services, or also plans and arrangements. These solutions can include but are not limited to the following examples: new business models (e.g. regenerative), collaborative governance and organisational approaches, development of tailored transformation plans, the identification, development and communication of meaningful set of metrics and indicators, environmental management and reporting tools or others. Proposals can also include the use of digital solutions e.g. digital product passports (DPP), Artificial Intelligence (AI) or digital assistants enabled by Generative Artificial Intelligence. Proposals should analyse the required skills and include skill development activities for current and future employees of the SMEs.
Proposals should demonstrate the feasibility (e.g. economic, technical), environmental performance and utility and transferability of the developed and demonstrated solutions, notably to address climate change mitigation, biodiversity or environmental remediation aspects related to the sustainable and circular transformation of SMEs. The demonstrations of the innovative solutions should be done in a large-scale operational environment with strong involvement of SMEs. The first deployment of the solutions and the validation of their utility can be demonstrated at territorial, sectoral or value chain context. Nevertheless, the solution should be transferable, and the proposal should include the effectively replication in other contexts.
Successful proposals should address the requirements of EU policies relevant to the green transformation of SMEs, if suitable also national or regional strategies, and consider demands from business partners, as customers, to advance their related commitments. Proposed solutions should be concrete and user-friendly to lower the administrative burden for SMEs. This includes adopted, and planned legislation such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Green Claims Directive, the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), EU taxonomy, best available techniques standards and technology developments like digital product passports (DPP). Proposals should also include the development of policy recommendations that support the widespread adoption of the validated solution and use of new knowledge in the development and revision of regulatory frameworks.
Successful proposal should build on the publicly available achievements and findings of related previous national or EU-funded projects as well as collaborate with existing public organisations, e.g. the Enterprise Europe Network, Innovation Centre for Industrial Transformation and Emissions (INCITE) or the EU pact for skills initiative. It is expected that SMEs or SME associations are participating in the consortia, to ensure applicability and dissemination of the results. The engagement of non-governmental organisations, small-scale initiatives and suitable industry or industry associations is encouraged.
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Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL.
**conditions:** General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
Applicants submitting a proposal under the blind evaluation pilot (see General Annex F) must not disclose their organisation names, acronyms, logos nor names of personnel in the proposal abstract and Part B of their first-stage application (see General Annex E).

described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

3. Other Eligible Conditions
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
This topic is part of the blind evaluation pilot under which first stage proposals will be evaluated blindly.

are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions
 described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
 Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard application form (HE RIA IA Stage 1)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations 
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA and CSA Stage 1) 
Guidance
HE Programme Guide 
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
HE MGA 
Call-specific instructions 

Additional documents:
 HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695 
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764 
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment 
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement 
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual 
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions 
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
**action type:** HORIZON Innovation Actions
**budget:** 
  **budget Years Columns:** 
    - 2025
  **budget Topic Action Map:** 
    **109954:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-02-two-stage - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2025:** 14000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2025-09-04
          - 2026-02-18
        **deadline Model:** two-stage
        **expected Grants:** 2
        **max Contribution:** 7000000
        **min Contribution:** 7000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-05-06
    **109955:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-two-stage - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2025:** 10000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2025-09-04
          - 2026-02-18
        **deadline Model:** two-stage
        **expected Grants:** 2
        **max Contribution:** 5000000
        **min Contribution:** 5000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-05-06
    **109956:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2025:** 10000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2025-09-04
          - 2026-02-18
        **deadline Model:** two-stage
        **expected Grants:** 2
        **max Contribution:** 5000000
        **min Contribution:** 5000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-05-06
    **109957:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-01-two-stage - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2025:** 14000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2025-09-04
          - 2026-02-18
        **deadline Model:** two-stage
        **expected Grants:** 2
        **max Contribution:** 7000000
        **min Contribution:** 7000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-05-06
**keywords:** HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage, HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-two-stage, Business management, Communication, Computer and information sciences, Earth and related environmental sciences, Economics and Business, Environmental engineering, Financial & Investment management, IT skills and competence, Industrial design, Industrial dynamics, Innovation management, Law, Market-creating innovation, Other natural sciences, Policy expert, Programme/project/thematic/monitoring, Technology management
**last synced at:** 2026-11-09T17:23:17.403+00:00

## Review record

No independent verification record is available.

## Source metadata