New LIFE 2026 Call: Circular Economy and Quality of Life
The European Commission has launched the LIFE 2026 – Circular Economy and Quality of Life call. Applications are being accepted until 22 September 2026, 17:00 CET.
What the call supports
The call is split into two main topics. Circular economy and zero pollution cover resource recovery from waste (e-waste, photovoltaic panels, batteries, plastics, textiles), bio-waste and critical raw materials, management of hazardous substances in waste, circular product design, and industrial symbiosis. It also covers protection of air, water, soil and the marine environment, noise reduction, chemical safety, prevention of major industrial accidents, and New European Bauhaus projects. Environmental governance focuses on strengthening public administration’s decision-making capacity, regulatory compliance, changing consumer behaviour, and preparing the ground for scaling up already tested solutions.
What type of project the call supports?
The call supports Standard Action Projects (SAP), which must meet one of four objectives.
The two most common routes are innovation and best practice – and the practical difference between them matters. Innovation means a company deploys a technology or process that has not yet been used at that scale in a given sector or country – the project tests, demonstrates and promotes this new solution. Best practice, by contrast, means applying already proven, cost-effective methods that reflect the current state of the art – the project doesn’t introduce anything new, but shows how to effectively deploy and scale up existing top-tier practices. Beyond these, a project can also be built around policy and governance support (strengthening public or private actors’ capacity to enforce EU legislation), or catalytic potential, meaning the replication of already achieved results into other areas and sectors.
If a project is close-to-market (C2M), the applicant must also demonstrate market readiness – production capacity, target market and economic feasibility. Each application can address a maximum of two sub-topics.
Who can apply
Applicants can be public authorities, companies including SMEs, non-profit organisations, international organisations, and self-employed individuals, applying either alone or as part of a consortium. Applicants must be established in an EU member state or a country associated with the LIFE programme; the project coordinator must always be established in an eligible country.
Funding parameters
- Co-financing rate: 60% of eligible costs
- Grant amount: EUR 2–10 million (circular economy and zero pollution), EUR 0.7–2 million (environmental governance)
- Projects with total costs below EUR 500,000 are rarely selected
- Project duration: 24–120 months
- Pre-financing of 30% of the grant paid within 30 days of contract entry into force, with the balance paid at project completion based on actual costs incurred
- Indirect costs: flat rate of 7% of eligible direct costs
What matters most for evaluation
The evaluation panel assesses four areas: alignment of the project with the call’s objectives and priorities, the ambition and credibility of expected impacts including their sustainability after project completion, feasibility and stakeholder involvement, and the adequacy of the budget and team composition. What matters most is whether the project delivers a real, lasting environmental impact, and whether it’s designed to be scaled up or replicated elsewhere once it ends.
We’re happy to help with your application – from structuring the project and budget to articulating its impact and catalytic potential.
