What is the Circular Economy Fund?
The Circular Economy Fund seeks to maximise total return. The Fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in the equity securities of companies globally that benefit from, or contribute to, the advancement of the “Circular Economy”. The Circular Economy concept recognises the importance of a sustainable economic system and represents an alternative economic model to the default “make-use-throw away” approach of consumption, which is believed to be unsustainable given scarce resources and the rising cost of managing waste. The Circular Economy concept promotes the redesign of products and systems to minimise waste and to enable greater recycling and reuse of materials.
The Fund aims to provide a return on your investment through a combination of capital growth and income on the Fund’s assets. The Circular Economy Fund has helped to accelerate Wales’ shift towards this, whilst facilitating business growth and the creation of new jobs. Its purpose is to enable capital investment in keeping resources in use for as long as possible, instead of being incinerated or going to landfill, and to drive demand for secondary materials.
The funding invites proposals from:
- Small to medium sized enterprises (less than 250 employees/turnover less than €50 million);
- Non-profit organisations (charities and social enterprises).
The main interest of the fund is in:
- Exploring markets for new circular economy products;
- Development and adoption of innovative business models for new circular economy products and services;
- Development and uptake of innovative technologies, products and services to support a circular economy.
