A consortium coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute is preparing a proposal for a LIFE SIP project to advance the objectives set in the national Strategic Programme to Promote a Circular Economy. The overarching goal of the Circular Finland LIFE SIP (CircLIFE) project will be a systemic change towards a circular economy at both national and regional levels in Finland. This Planning of the Circular Finland LIFE SIP project (CircLIFE TA) (2025-2026) seeks to ensure high quality preparation of the final CircLIFE project.
In the Strategic Programme to Promote a Circular Economy, Finland has set targets to curb the use of natural resources. Steps have already been taken in heading towards a circular economy. Yet, reaching the targets and implementing the programme require several long-term transformations. These include changes in consumption and production patterns, finance and policy. To speed up the changes, the strategic CircLIFE project will focus on five transformation themes identified through a comprehensive collaborative process and research-based scenario work. The themes include:
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resource-wise built environment;
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industry based on a circular economy;
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sustainable consumption and business models;
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material-efficient energy system;
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and renewing food system.
The consortium of the LIFE SIP project will be built to represent these five themes in a comprehensive manner.
This CircLIFE TA project consists of three work packages: (1) Management and coordination; (2) Creating the content and writing the stage 1 proposal; and (3) Creating the content and writing the stage 2 proposal. In practice, the TA project involves recognizing and engaging the relevant national actors, designing the overall intervention logic for the project, elaborating the complementary funding plan and planning the practical implementation. The project seeks to finalise the stage 1 proposal in the autumn 2025 and the stage 2 proposal in the spring 2026.