Deadline Date: August 07, 2026
The Circular Solutions Innovation Challenge seeks scalable private sector innovations to strengthen local government unit (LGU) systems in managing waste and promoting green tourism under the EU-PH Green Economy Partnership.
The focus areas of the challenge include plastic circularity, food and organic circularity, and green tourism, covering solutions such as sustainable packaging alternatives, reuse and refill systems, waste collection models including deposit return schemes, recycling and upcycling businesses, digital traceability platforms, food rescue and redistribution systems, composting solutions from household to city scale, biogas and animal feed production, AI or data-driven waste tracking platforms, resource-efficient operations in hotels and restaurants, zero-waste practices in the hospitality and tourism sector, and the development of local upcycled souvenir products.
The initiative is co-led by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and UNDP Philippines, aiming to support innovators with market-ready circular economy solutions that can be piloted in collaboration with LGUs. It also seeks to foster inclusive and sustainable business models by engaging communities, including youth and women, while integrating innovative technologies, systems, and service models that advance circular economy practices at the local level.
Eligible applicants include individuals, organizations, NGOs, corporations, academic institutions, MSMEs, social enterprises, technology startups, and private sector institutions such as chambers of commerce and cooperatives, provided they have legal registration, an active bank account under the applicant name, and at least one year of commercial operation of the proposed solution. Applicants must not be receiving duplicate funding for the same project under related EU-PH initiatives.
Selected projects may receive funding between USD 35,000 and USD 40,000 per organization for implementation in a single LGU over a period of 10 to 15 months, with allowable expenses covering project staffing, services, advisory inputs, materials, technology deployment, community engagement, monitoring, evaluation, and limited travel costs. Certain expenditures such as capital expenses, debt-related costs, marketing, and previously funded items are not eligible under the program.
For more information, visit UNDP.
