Finland Sitra Circular Economy Fund: EUR 300,000 for Sustainability Pilots

If you’re working in Finland on circular economy solutions—projects that reduce waste, maximize resource use, enable reuse and recycling, or create carbon-neutral systems—Sitra’s Circular Economy Fund can provide up to EUR 300,000 (approximately $320,000 USD) to pilot and scale your innovations.

Sitra, Finland’s independent innovation fund, is laser-focused on accelerating Finland’s transition to a circular economy where resources are used efficiently, waste is minimized, and economic activity operates within planetary boundaries. This fund specifically supports pilot projects that can demonstrate circular economy principles at scale and be replicated across Finland and beyond.

What makes this opportunity particularly valuable is Sitra’s systems thinking approach and their data toolkits. You’re not just getting funding—you’re getting access to Sitra’s methodology for systemic change, measurement frameworks for tracking circular economy impact, and connections to Finland’s broader sustainability ecosystem. For coalitions working on ambitious circular economy pilots, this combination of funding and support can accelerate progress significantly.

The application deadline is September 30, 2025. Given the complexity of circular economy projects and the need for multi-stakeholder coalitions, competitive applications typically require 8-10 weeks of preparation.

Key Details

What This Fund Supports

Zero-Waste District Pilots: Municipal projects creating zero-waste neighborhoods through innovative collection, sorting, reuse, and recycling systems. These might include community sharing platforms, repair cafes, composting infrastructure, or circular construction material flows.

Circular Business Models: Company-led projects demonstrating product-as-a-service, sharing economy platforms, reverse logistics for product takeback and refurbishment, or industrial symbiosis where one company’s waste becomes another’s raw material.

Resource-Efficient Food Systems: Projects reducing food waste, creating circular agricultural systems, establishing local food loops, or implementing innovative food preservation and distribution models.

Carbon-Neutral Regional Initiatives: Multi-stakeholder projects working toward regional carbon neutrality through circular approaches to energy, transportation, construction, and consumption.

Circular Construction: Pilot projects demonstrating reuse of building materials, modular construction that enables disassembly and reuse, or marketplaces for construction waste that becomes secondary raw materials.

Textile and Fashion Circularity: Projects creating collection and recycling infrastructure for textiles, innovative reuse models for clothing, or new business models extending product lifespans.

Who Should Apply

Ideal Applicant Profiles:

Municipal-Led Coalitions: Cities or regions partnering with companies and nonprofits to implement circular systems at community scale. These projects might redesign waste management, create circular neighborhoods, or establish regional resource loops.

Company Consortia: Multiple businesses collaborating to create circular value chains, share resources, or establish industrial symbiosis relationships. Works well when several companies face similar circular economy challenges.

Public-Private-Academic Partnerships: Universities or research institutions partnering with municipalities and companies to pilot circular innovations with strong R&D components.

You’re a Strong Candidate If:

Your project involves multiple stakeholders working together—Sitra prizes collaborative approaches. You can demonstrate how your pilot project will generate measurable circular economy impact (waste reduced, resources saved, carbon avoided). You have a clear plan for how the model can be replicated in other contexts beyond your initial pilot. Your approach uses systems thinking to address root causes, not just symptoms. You’re committed to transparency and sharing learnings so others can adopt your model.

You’re Probably Not the Right Fit If:

Your project is purely research without piloting actual implementation. You’re working alone without stakeholder partnerships. Your approach isn’t genuinely circular—it’s just incremental improvement to linear models. You can’t articulate how the project will scale or be replicated. Your focus is entirely local with no broader applicability.

Insider Tips

Use Sitra’s Frameworks: Sitra has developed specific frameworks and tools for circular economy work. Reference these in your application to show you understand their approach. Demonstrate you’re applying systems thinking, not just addressing isolated problems.

Quantify Circular Impact: Be specific about environmental and economic benefits. How much waste will you divert? How many tons of CO2 will you avoid? What resource efficiency gains will you achieve? Sitra wants measurable impact, not vague sustainability claims.

Show Replication Potential: Your pilot should be a test case that others can learn from and adapt. Explain how your model could work in other Finnish municipalities or contexts. What barriers are you testing solutions for? What learnings will be transferable?

Build Strong Coalitions Before Applying: The weakest proposals have partnerships that were clearly assembled just for the application. Show evidence of ongoing collaboration, shared vision, and complementary capabilities among partners.

Connect to Finland’s Circular Economy Roadmap: Finland has national circular economy goals and strategies. Show how your project advances these broader objectives. Sitra wants projects that contribute to systemic transition, not isolated initiatives.

Application Timeline

Early July (12 Weeks Before): Begin coalition building if you haven’t already. Identify potential partners, hold initial meetings about shared vision, and assess basis for collaboration. Research Sitra’s circular economy frameworks and tools.

Mid-July (10 Weeks Before): Finalize partnership structure and get commitments. Define roles, contributions, and governance. Begin developing your pilot project concept with specific objectives, activities, and measurable outcomes.

Late July/Early August (8 Weeks Before): Draft your proposal including problem definition and systems analysis, pilot project design with clear activities and timeline, expected circular economy impacts with measurement approach, replication and scaling strategy, and detailed budget.

Mid-August (6 Weeks Before): Get feedback from partners and advisors. Refine your approach based on input. Ensure your measurement framework is robust and your replication plan is credible.

Early September (4 Weeks Before): Finalize proposal and gather supporting documents—partnership agreements, letters of commitment, organizational descriptions, team bios, preliminary data or studies supporting your approach, and budget justifications.

Mid-September (2 Weeks Before): Submit well before the September 30 deadline. Confirm receipt and completeness of application.

Required Materials

Project Proposal: Comprehensive description of your pilot project including systems analysis of the problem, proposed circular solution and how it works, detailed implementation plan, stakeholder engagement strategy, and measurement framework for tracking impact.

Partnership Documentation: Formal agreements between partners, letters of commitment detailing contributions, governance structure for the project, and descriptions of each partner organization and their relevant capabilities.

Impact Assessment: Detailed projection of circular economy impacts (waste reduced, resources saved, carbon avoided, etc.), measurement methodology and data sources, baseline data for comparison, and timeline for achieving impacts.

Replication Plan: Analysis of how the model could be replicated, what barriers exist to wider adoption, what learnings you’ll generate and how you’ll share them, and potential markets or contexts for scaling.

Budget: Complete cost breakdown, justification for each expense, co-funding from partners if applicable, and timeline for spending.

Common Mistakes

Weak Coalition Structure: Partnerships that lack clear governance, defined roles, or genuine collaboration signal problems. Build real partnerships with formal agreements.

Vague Impact Projections: Saying your project will “reduce waste” or “improve sustainability” isn’t enough. Quantify specific impacts with measurement methodology.

Missing the Systems Thinking: Proposals that address symptoms rather than root causes, or that don’t consider interconnections and feedback loops, don’t align with Sitra’s approach.

No Replication Strategy: Pilots that work only in your specific context with no broader applicability aren’t attractive. Show how others can learn from and adapt your model.

Ignoring Measurement: Circular economy progress requires measurement. Proposals without robust plans for tracking and reporting impact are weak.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can companies apply alone? Yes, though coalitions are preferred. Solo company applications need to show strong stakeholder engagement even if formal partnerships aren’t required.

Must the pilot be in Finland? Yes, Sitra funds work in Finland, though the models developed can have international applications.

What if we don’t achieve projected impacts? Sitra recognizes pilots involve uncertainty. What matters is rigorous testing, honest reporting, and sharing learnings even from challenges.

Can we pilot multiple circular approaches? Yes, complex projects often test multiple interventions. Ensure you can measure each component’s contribution.

Is there a limit on organization size? No, but Sitra wants projects that need this funding to happen. If you can fully fund the project yourselves, explain why Sitra support adds unique value beyond capital.

How to Apply

Visit https://www.sitra.fi/en/topics/a-circular-economy/ for complete application guidelines, Sitra’s circular economy framework and tools, and information about past funded projects. Review Sitra’s approach thoroughly before applying—proposals that don’t align with their systems thinking methodology will struggle. Begin building your coalition and developing your project concept at least 10 weeks before the deadline. For questions, contact Sitra’s circular economy team through their website.

This is one of Europe’s leading funds for circular economy innovation. If you have a promising pilot project, strong partners, and clear thinking about systems change, this funding can help you demonstrate what’s possible.