FINNOVA COMMEMORATES WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY WITH OVER 45 MILLION EUROS FOR CIRCULAR ECONOMY PROJECTS
· The Foundation currently participates in around thirty active European projects and innovation ecosystems such as LIFE, Interreg, AL-INVEST Verde, Horizon Europe, and Erasmus+
· New windows of opportunity are being promoted, such as the LIFE programme calls (open until September) and EU and AECID funds for Venezuela in July
Brussels, Friday, June 5th, 2026On the occasion of the celebration of World Environment Day, the Finnova Foundation reaffirms its commitment to the ecological transition, announcing that it has helped mobilize over 45 million euros in total funding through its participation in currently executing European projects, focused on environmental protection, circular economy, and sustainability.
A portfolio of high-impact active projects
The mobilized amount is distributed across transnational consortia where Finnova contributes its expertise in communication, dissemination, exploitation of results, and fundraising. Among the funding of these consortia, the following stand out:
· LIFE Programmes: Such as LIFE NextFUMIGREEN (€2.75M, https://lifefumigreen.finnova.eu/) to develop natural fumigants in agriculture, LIFE COSTAdapta (€3.33M, https://costadapta.energiagrancanaria.com/) focused on the adaptation of coasts to climate change, LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0 (€0.97M, https://www.lifecodigestion.com) for the production of biogas from waste, and LIFE RESSKILL (€1.58M, https://www.resskill.eu/) aimed at training for the energy transition.
· Horizon Europe: With large-scale initiatives such as One-Blue (€6.2M, https://one-blue.eu/) to evaluate the impacts of contaminants on marine biodiversity, SOCIAREM (€5.57M, https://sociarem.eu/media/communication) to accelerate solar energy communities, Res4City (€2.5M, https://www.res4city.eu) for the development of talent in urban renewable energies, and the pilot project ECOFFEE (€256 thousand, https://ecoffeeproject.eu/) framed within CIRCULOOS to convert coffee waste into bioproducts and biocides.
· Interreg Projects: Cross-border fire prevention with FIREPOCTEP+ (€3.32M, https://firepocteplus.eu) and CILIFO (http://cilifo.eu/), blue biotechnology in SMACC+ (€2.8M, https://smaccplus.eu), agri-food digitalization in HIBA+ (€2.84M, https://hubiberiaagrotech.eu/), social economy against depopulation in RuralSilverHubs (€1.26M, https://interreg-sudoe.eu/proyecto-interreg/ruralsilverhubs/), youth employability in nature in ALIS (€1.5M, https://interreg-sudoe.eu/proyecto-interreg/alis/), and circular economy in agriculture with ITACA. Added to this is MedGreenSkills (€3.15M) to boost green skills in the Mediterranean.
· AL-INVEST Verde (https://alinvest-verde.eu/es_es/segunda-convocatoria/): Promoting sustainable models in Latin America with Café Circular Perú (€363 thousand), Fruta Sostenible Chile (€365 thousand), and Sustainable Fashion in Peru and Colombia (€372 thousand).
· COSME and European Initiatives: FU-TOURISM (€4.18M) supporting the green and digital transition of tourism SMEs, and CircularInnoBooster - CIRCOAX (€1.13M) transforming the textile and fashion industry towards circularity.
· Erasmus+: Strengthening sustainable capacities for indigenous artisans in RAICES (€397 thousand, https://raicesproject.eu/) and youth circular entrepreneurship in C-SUSTAIN (€250 thousand, https://c-sustain.eu/).
What can we bring? Open funding opportunities
The Finnova Foundation accompanies companies, clusters, and administrations throughout the technical and consortium process to access the new calls of the European LIFE 2026 Programme. Its different sub-programmes (Circular Economy and Quality of Life, Nature and Biodiversity, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, and Clean Energy Transition) keep their submission deadline open until September 22, 2026.
In the field of international cooperation, Finnova promotes consortia for Latin America:
· Triangular Cooperation Programme (AECID): With a submission deadline of July 6, 2026, a scenario in which a new and innovative "Coffee Innovation Network for the Implementation of Practices in Regenerative Agriculture" is being developed in Venezuela, applying principles from projects like ECOFFEE.
· Delegation of the European Commission in Venezuela: A call framed within the Global Gateway strategy is open until July 20, 2026, endowed with 8,960,000 euros. This budget is divided exactly into 4,960,000 euros for Lot 1 - Circular Economy and 4,000,000 euros for Lot 2 - Access to Basic Services, focused on improving equitable and inclusive access to drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and sustainable basic energy in vulnerable communities.
Circular Economy Manifesto and Launch of Challenges
Aligned with World Environment Day, Finnova features on its website the Glocal Circular Economy Manifesto, a document that underlines the institutional commitment to generate green jobs for vulnerable groups and apply circularity in municipalities. This document promotes innovative solutions such as the transformation of primary sector by-products (coffee, cocoa, or avocado) into new raw materials, following the success of the ECOFFEE project.
To materialize this commitment and take action, Finnova promotes open innovation challenges aimed at finding disruptive solutions to specific and urgent problems, such as:
· Water management: Innovation in the treatment, reuse, and valorization of wastewater and sewage sludge.
· Organic waste: Innovative management of urban organic waste from homes, supermarkets, and the HORECA sector.
· Construction and sustainable materials: Creation of ecological insulators and materials for social housing from bulky waste (textiles, plastics, or rubber).
Added to this are other structural problems that are a priority for the Foundation, such as the need to advance towards sustainable fashion that transforms the consumption patterns of the textile and footwear sector, the coordinated management of electronic waste (WEEE) and batteries, and the promotion of the bioeconomy for forest cleaning as an effective measure for the prevention of forest fires.
About the Finnova Foundation
Finnova is a European foundation headquartered in Brussels, founded in 2010, with delegations in Spain and a presence in Latin America. With over 15 years of experience, its mission is to connect innovation with European funding, supporting companies, startups, regions, and public administrations in accessing programs such as Horizon Europe, LIFE, Interreg, Erasmus+, and NextGeneration EU, among others. Finnova is also a promoter of reference initiatives in the European entrepreneurial ecosystem, such as the Startup Europe Awards. It acts as a bridge between innovative talent and European Union funding opportunities, promoting sustainability, technology transfer, and competitive development on an international scale.