Open Topic: Innovative Solutions For The Sustainable And Circular Transformation Of Smes
HORIZON Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage
- Programme
- Cluster 6 Call 01 - two stage
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- May 6, 2025
- Deadline
- September 4, 2025
- Deadline Model
- two-stage
- Budget
- €10,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €5,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €5,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 2
- Keywords
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stageHORIZON-CL6-2025-01-two-stageBusiness managementCommunicationComputer and information sciencesEarth and related environmental sciencesEconomics and BusinessEnvironmental engineeringFinancial & Investment managementIT skills and competenceIndustrial designIndustrial dynamicsInnovation managementLawMarket-creating innovationOther natural sciencesPolicy expertProgramme/project/thematic/monitoringTechnology management
Description
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.
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.
Eligibility & 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).
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
Model Grant Agreements (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 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
Frequently Asked Questions About Open Topic: Innovative Solutions For The Sustainable And Circular Transformation Of Smes
Support & Resources
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.
Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.
National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’).
Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.
IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.
European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.
The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.
Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
Latest Updates
GENERALISED FEEDBACK for successful applicants after STAGE 1
In order to best ensure equal treatment, successful stage 1 applicants do not receive the evaluation summary reports (ESRs) for their proposals, but this generalised feedback with information and tips for preparing the full proposal.
Information & tips
Main shortcomings found in the stage 1 evaluation for call topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage for some proposals, are the following:
- The methodology is not fully elaborated, especially with respect to the processes and steps involved. In addition, there is insufficient information on the technical and economic feasibility.
- The contribution to scale and significance of the project outcomes and impacts appears limited in terms of technology application,
- Limited evidence is provided on the core technology and its readiness level, and as a result the indicated starting TRL is not convincingly justified.
In your stage 2 proposal, you have a chance to address or clarify these issues.
Please bear in mind that your full proposal will now be evaluated more in-depth and possibly by a new group of outside experts.
Please make sure that your full proposal is consistent with your short outline proposal. It may NOT differ substantially. The project must stay the same.
GENERALISED FEEDBACK for successful applicants after STAGE 1
In order to best ensure equal treatment, successful stage 1 applicants do not receive the evaluation summary reports (ESRs) for their proposals, but this generalised feedback with information and tips for preparing the full proposal.
Information & tips
Main shortcomings found in the stage 1 evaluation for call topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage for some proposals, are the following:
- The methodology is not fully elaborated, especially with respect to the processes and steps involved. In addition, there is insufficient information on the technical and economic feasibility.
- The contribution to scale and significance of the project outcomes and impacts appears limited in terms of technology application,
- Limited evidence is provided on the core technology and its readiness level, and as a result the indicated starting TRL is not convincingly justified.
In your stage 2 proposal, you have a chance to address or clarify these issues.
Please bear in mind that your full proposal will now be evaluated more in-depth and possibly by a new group of outside experts.
Please make sure that your full proposal is consistent with your short outline proposal. It may NOT differ substantially. The project must stay the same.
EVALUATION results
In accordance with the General Annex F of the Work Programme, the evaluation of the first-stage proposals was made looking only at the criteria ‘Excellence’ and ‘Impact’. The threshold for both criteria was 4. The overall threshold (applying to the sum of the two individual scores) was set for each topic/type of action with separate call-budget-split at a level that allowed the total requested budget of proposals admitted to stage 2 be as close as possible to 2 times the available budget (and not below 1.5 times the budget):
Topic ID | Topic short name | Overall threshold applied |
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-01-two-stage | Living labs and lighthouses co-creating innovative solutions for forests and freshwater ecosystems restoration | 9 |
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-02-two-stage | Breeding for resilience: enhancing multi-stress tolerance in crops | 9 |
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-two-stage | Substances of concern and emerging pollutants from bio-based industries and products: mapping and replacement | 9 |
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage | Open Topic: Innovative solutions for the sustainable and circular transformation of SMEs | 9 |
The results of the evaluation for each topic are as follows:
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-02-two-stage | HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage | HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-two-stage | HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-01-two-stage | |
Number of proposals submitted (including proposals transferred from or to other calls) | 56 | 31 | 7 | 31 |
Number of inadmissible proposals | 1 | |||
Number of ineligible proposals | 1 | |||
Number of above-threshold proposals | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals | 49,386,695.59 € | 19,695,000.00 € | 20,000,000.00 € | 27,995,000.00 € |
Summary of observer report:
“This report presents the observers’ review of the evaluation process for the first-stage proposals submitted under the HORZON-CL6-2025-01-two-stage call. The call included four topics which were HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-01-two-stage, HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-02-two-stage, HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage and HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-two-stage. The report outlines how effectively the procedures worked, how user-friendly the tools and systems were (including IT platforms), how fairly and professionally the evaluation sessions were carried out, and whether all applicable guidelines were followed. The purpose is to provide independent advice that can help enhance future EU funding evaluation practices.
In total, 125 proposals were evaluated across the four topics. The fully remote, online evaluation format proved both efficient and suitable for this phase of the two-stage call. The briefings and supporting documents the experts received were of excellent quality. Consensus discussions in SEP generally proceeded smoothly, supported by features such as the task comment box. All proposals were evaluated strictly in line with European Commission requirements and evaluation standards.
Strict confidentiality protocols were upheld throughout the process. The evaluation adhered closely to all published rules, with consistent emphasis on regulatory compliance at every stage. No breaches or irregularities were identified.
Overall, the process was well-structured, transparent, and fair, and the final scores and rankings were considered an accurate reflection of each proposal’s merit.”
We recently informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals.
For questions, please contact the Research Enquiry Service.
PROPOSAL NUMBERS
Call HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-two-stage has closed on 04/09/2025.
125 proposals have been submitted.
The breakdown per topic is:
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-01-two-stage: 32
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-02-two-stage: 55
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01-two-stage: 31
- HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-two-stage: 7
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in December 2025.
Please note that due to a technical issue, during the first days of publication of this call, the topic page did not display the description of the corresponding destination. This problem is now solved. In addition to the information published in the topic page, you can always find a full description of the 7 destinations (Biodiversity and ecosystem services; Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption; Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors; Clean environment and zero pollution; Land, ocean and water for climate action; Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities; Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal) that are relevant for the call in the Work Programme 2025 part for “Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment”. Please select from the work programme the destination relevant to your topic and take into account the description and expected impacts of that destination for the preparation of your proposal.