Environment governance

The LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV-GOV grant opportunity is part of the EU's LIFE Programme, specifically aimed at fostering environmental governance. This call is within the Standard Action Projects (SAP) framework and seeks to enhance compliance with environmental legislation, support public administration decision-making, and encourage behavioral change regarding environmental issues.

Eligible applicants include a broad range of legal entities such as public and private organizations, governments, NGOs, and research institutions located in EU Member States, EFTA/EEA nations, and EU acceding countries (including Moldova, North Macedonia, and Ukraine). The funding type is non-repayable action grants, with a total budget of €4 million allocated for this specific environmental governance topic, while similar projects may fall within a funding range of €0.7 to €2 million.

This call allows single applicants but does not explicitly require consortium formation, although collaboration may enhance project outcomes. The geographic scope encompasses EU and EEA countries, reinforcing the call's inclusive nature for stakeholders in environmental governance within these regions.

The project is expected to be in the development or validation stages, focusing on practical implementation rather than purely research-oriented endeavors. The application process is a single-stage open call, with a submission deadline set for September 23, 2025.

Co-funding is necessary, with applicants expected to contribute at least 40% of project costs, supported by up to 60% EU funding. Various topics under this call may include initiatives that support public administration, ensure environmental compliance, and promote behavioral change and awareness.

Proposals will be evaluated based on their alignment with the call's priorities and demonstrated potential impacts. The entire process is structured around specific open and clear guidelines outlined in the call document, which applicants are encouraged to consult regularly. This call represents a significant opportunity for organizations focused on sustainable practices and environmental improvement, aligning their projects with overarching EU goals within the European Green Deal framework.

The LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV-GOV call for proposals is part of the Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) under the Circular Economy and Quality of Life - Standard Action Projects (SAP) (LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV) call. It is a LIFE Project Grant (LIFE-PJG) with a LIFE Action Grant Budget-Based [LIFE-AG] type of Model Grant Agreement. The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline. The opening date was April 24, 2025, and the deadline for submission is September 23, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected impact of this call is that applicants define, calculate, explain, and achieve the expected impacts as described in the Award criterion ‘Impact’ (see Call document section 2 and 9). The objective is to facilitate the transition toward a sustainable, circular, energy-efficient, and climate-resilient economy, a toxic-free environment, and at protecting, restoring, and improving the quality of the environment in line with the European Green Deal and recent policy developments. The specific objective is to cover one or more of the following topics as fully defined in section 2 of the Call document: Activities in support of public administrations’ decision-making and voluntary approaches for the public and the private sector, Environmental compliance assurance and access to justice, and Behavioural change and awareness-raising initiatives. The assessment of the project's alignment with the specific priorities of the call (part of Award criterion 1) will be based on the topics identified and described under the ‘Compliance with LIFE programme objectives and call topic’ section of the Standard application form. A maximum of two sub-topics can be selected (e.g., “Activities in support of public administration (…) private sector” and “Behavioural change (…) initiatives”), and only those will be considered in the evaluation.

The scope of this call topic targets Standard Action Projects (SAP) aimed at achieving the objectives of the Circular Economy and Quality of Life sub-programme. SAP are defined in section 2 of the call document (Type of Action), while the general objectives of the sub-programme are in section 1 (‘Circular Economy and Quality of Life’). This call topic focuses exclusively on environmental governance projects; other projects as defined in the related Call topic named LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV-ENVIRONMENT as well as LIFE-2025-SAP-NAT-GOV are excluded.

Conditions for application include: Admissibility Conditions described in section 5 of the call document, with proposal page limits and layout described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System; Eligible Countries described in section 6 of the call document; Other Eligible Conditions described in section 6 of the call document; Financial and operational capacity and exclusion described in section 7 of the call document; Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes described in section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual; Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds described in section 9 of the call document; Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement described in section 4 of the call document; Legal and financial set-up of the grants described in section 10 of the call document.

The call document and annexes include the Call document itself, the Standard application form (mandatory and call-specific, available in the Submission System), mandatory annexes such as a detailed budget table and participant information, and optional annexes such as letters of support, maps, description of sites, and other annexes like lifecycle analysis and business plans. Additional documents include FAQs in the LIFE website, LIFE Reference Documents, the Annotated Grant Agreement, LIFE General MGA v1.0, LIFE Regulation 2021/783, and EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.

The budget overview indicates that for the year 2025, the LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV-ENVIRONMENT topic has a budget of 77,000,000 EUR, while the LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV-GOV topic has a budget of 4,000,000 EUR. Both are single-stage calls with an opening date of April 24, 2025, and a deadline of September 23, 2025. There are 43 partner search announcements available for collaboration on this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into the Portal, as well as any user having an active public Person profile.

To start the submission process, applicants need to access the Electronic Submission Service by clicking on the submission button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to their proposal. Applicants can access existing draft proposals for this topic by logging into the Funding & Tenders Portal and selecting the My Proposals page of the My Area section. Applicants must select the type of submission: LIFE Project Grants [LIFE-PJG] or LIFE Action Grant Budget-Based [LIFE-AG].

For support, applicants are advised to read all provisions carefully before preparing the application, consult the FAQs on the LIFE website, get in touch with their National Contact Point (NCP), and add their NCP under the “Participants” step of the application. Additional resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – Submission of proposals, the IT Helpdesk for technical questions, and the Online Manual for a step-by-step guide through the Portal processes.

In summary, this is a call for proposals under the LIFE Programme focusing on environmental governance projects that aim to support the transition to a sustainable, circular economy and improve environmental quality in line with the European Green Deal. It targets Standard Action Projects (SAP) and requires applicants to address specific topics related to public administration support, environmental compliance, and behavioral change. The call provides funding through LIFE Project Grants, and the application process involves submitting a detailed proposal with mandatory and optional annexes through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Applicants are encouraged to seek support from their National Contact Points and utilize available online resources. The total budget for environmental governance projects is 4,000,000 EUR, while broader environmental projects have a budget of 77,000,000 EUR.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, based on the nature of the LIFE programme and the call for Standard Action Projects, eligible applicants could include public administrations, private sector organizations, NGOs, research institutions, and other entities involved in environmental governance and the circular economy. Further details would be available in section 6 of the call document.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a LIFE Project Grant (LIFE-PJG) and a LIFE Action Grant Budget-Based [LIFE-AG].

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required. However, the presence of a partner search announcement section suggests that consortia are possible and perhaps encouraged. Section 6 of the call document should provide more details.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is not explicitly stated in the provided text. Section 6 of the call document should provide more details on eligible countries.

Target Sector: The target sector is environmental governance, circular economy, and quality of life, aligning with the European Green Deal. Specific areas include activities supporting public administrations, environmental compliance assurance, access to justice, and behavioral change initiatives.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned in the provided text. The call is likely open to entities within the EU and possibly associated countries, as detailed in section 6 of the call document.

Project Stage: The call targets Standard Action Projects (SAP), suggesting projects that are in the development, validation, or demonstration stage, rather than purely research-oriented or at the idea stage.

Funding Amount: There are two distinct budget allocations: LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV-ENVIRONMENT has a budget of 77,000,000 EUR, and LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV-GOV has a budget of 4,000,000 EUR. The funding amount per project is variable and depends on the project's scope and activities.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to support their projects.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

This opportunity is a call for proposals under the LIFE Programme, specifically targeting Standard Action Projects (SAP) related to the Circular Economy and Quality of Life. The call aims to support projects that facilitate the transition toward a sustainable, circular, energy-efficient, and climate-resilient economy, aligning with the European Green Deal. There are two specific topics: LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV-ENVIRONMENT, with a budget of 77 million EUR, focusing on broader environmental projects, and LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV-GOV, with a budget of 4 million EUR, focusing exclusively on environmental governance projects.

The call is open for submission with a deadline of September 23, 2025. Applicants are expected to define and achieve specific impacts related to the call's objectives. The assessment of proposals will be based on their alignment with the call's priorities, as described in the standard application form. Projects should address one or more of the specified topics, such as supporting public administrations, ensuring environmental compliance, and promoting behavioral change.

The application process involves submitting a standard application form with mandatory annexes, including a detailed budget table and participant information. Optional annexes, such as letters of support and maps, can also be included. Applicants are encouraged to consult the FAQs, contact their National Contact Point (NCP) for support, and use the provided online resources for guidance on proposal preparation and submission. The call excludes projects related to LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV-ENVIRONMENT and LIFE-2025-SAP-NAT-GOV when applying for LIFE-2025-SAP-ENV-GOV. The call document provides detailed information on admissibility conditions, eligible countries, evaluation criteria, and the legal and financial setup of the grants.