THE CIRCULAR FUTURE FUND: THE MILLION POUND CHALLENGE –

Grants of between £150,000 and £300,000 are available to a range of UK organisations, including charities, social enterprises, academic institutions and for-profit agencies for “trail-blazing ideas” that accelerate the transition towards a more circular economy.

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o Application deadline: SUNDAY 9th JANUARY at 23:59.

o Funders: The John Lewis and Partners and HUBBUB (the John Lewis Partnership is the UK's largest employee owned business, started as an experiment in industrial democracy by its founder Founder, John Spedan Lewis. The HUBBUB Foundation is an award-winning environmental organisation, which runs creative campaigns to encourage positive everyday actions for the environment).

o Who can apply: UK registered charities, Community Interest Companies (CICs), social enterprises, academic bodies and institutions and for-profit organisations (as defined by “organisations that aim to generate profit from their operations, which have been operating for no longer than 5 years”). Collaborative proposals are welcomed.

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In partnership with HUBBUB, the John Lewis Partnership has launched a £1 million fund to support trailblazing ideas and innovations that can accelerate the transition towards a more circular economy. Nearly 92% of the world’s resources – which include the metals, plastics, wood, concrete, chemicals and all other materials in circulation – are used only once - in a single product - before becoming waste. The role of resources in the circular economy can be summarised in four central tenets: reduce, reuse, recycle and recover. 

Grants of between £150,000 and £300,000 are available for projects which cover one or more of the following areas:

Food - solution examples: full supply chain food waste reduction, smart food waste solutions or changes in consumption awareness and behaviour change.
Household products, technology and services - solution examples: zero emissions delivery, innovation in home goods, disruptive reuse/recycling platforms, consumption awareness and behaviour change, tech solutions and products, and/or
Textiles - solution examples: production factors such as water and energy efficiency, material innovation, disruptive reuse platforms, chemical reduction/alternatives.

Applications should demonstrate how they meet the programme objectives of:

1. A truly circular solution: applicants need to explain how their project offers a viable and truly circular solution.
2.
 Impact: the project needs to demonstrate its tangible impact. This could be a direct and immediate impact or a clear path to future impact.
3. 
Legacy: the funders want to see that the project will have a longer-term impact beyond the scope of the funded year, and ideally it would have wider social and environmental benefits too.
4. 
Project funding (rather than core costs): available funding is for a discrete project, or specific project activity rather than contribute towards an organisation’s core costs.
5. 
Innovation and "why you?": the funders want to know what is innovative about the project and why the people, and organisation(s) delivering it are the right ones.
6. 
Open sharing: how applicants will share the learnings and results to inspire and enable others to learn from and amplify your project and thereby increase the impact.

Further information, guidance and an online application form is available on the John Lewis Partnership website.

The deadline for applications is Sunday 9 January 2022 at 23:59. Successful applicants are expected to be announced in May 2022.

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