Who the Awards Are For

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The All-Island Circular Venture Awards are designed to spotlight the next generation of circular economy innovators across the island of Ireland. The programme is intended for emerging ventures, including both:

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• Businesses that were founded with a circular business model at their core; and 

• New circular ventures, spin-outs or business units established within existing organisations. 

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For ventures originating within existing organisations, applicants must demonstrate that the venture has a distinct circular value proposition, defined objectives and growth plans, and a clear pathway to delivering measurable circular economy impact. 

 

The Awards are not intended for long-established circular businesses that already have a mature market presence. Rather, they seek to recognise and support emerging ventures that are demonstrating innovation, early market traction and significant potential for future growth. 

 

Irish Manufacturing Research, as the secretariat of CIRCULÉIRE, welcomes applications from ventures that meet the following eligibility criteria:

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Geographic Scope

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• Be operating on the island of Ireland.  

• Delivering a circular solution that tackles an environmental and/or sustainability challenge in the region. 

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Stage of Development & Commercial Traction 

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• Have moved beyond the ideation and prototype phases.  

• Have a business model or product/service already in the market or ready to launch. 

• Demonstrate commercial traction through at least one of the following criteria: 

  • A client base or recurring revenue; 

  • Signed commercial contracts or Letters of Intent (LOI);  

  • Successful pilot projects or customer trials; 

  • Be able to demonstrate meaningful progress towards commercialisation through one or more of the following: customer pilots, first sales, strategic partnerships, investment secured, operational deployment, or other evidence of market demand and growth potential. 

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Circular Economy Focus  

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• Demonstrate a novel and differentiated approach, showing how the solution improves on or goes beyond existing circular economy practices nationally or across the island of Ireland.

• Deliver a technically robust and scalable solution that enables or directly pursues one or more circular economy strategies, including: 

  • design for circularity;

  • repair, reuse, refurbishment, or remanufacturing;

  • product-service systems or circular business models;

  • take-back schemes or reverse logistics;

  • industrial symbiosis or closed-loop production;

  • novel material substitution;

  • circular procurement;

  • recycling or material recovery, where higher-value circular strategies are not feasible and the approach is justified within a broader circular economy model.

• Prove how the solution is enabled by multiple system-level interventions, such as business model innovation, production systems, technology, market structures, customer behaviour, skills development, financing mechanisms, supply-chain collaboration, or data and traceability system.

 

Priority will be given to ventures that apply higher-value circular strategies and demonstrate systemic change, rather than stand-alone end-of-pipe solutions. Recycling and recovery-focused ventures must show why higher-value interventions are not viable and how their approach maximises circular value creation and resource retention.

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Impact Potential

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• Potential to scale across sectors and regionally in the island of Ireland, and beyond.

• Ability to deliver measurable impact, with potential in one or more of the following areas:

  • Material innovations reducing waste and improving resource efficiency.

  • Process innovations which lower GHG emissions, energy, or water use.

  • Technological innovations which enhance material recovery and support circular systems.

  • Product innovations extending lifespan, improving repairability, or enabling recycling.

  • Business model innovations which create jobs, upskill workforces, and incentivise circular behaviour.

  • System innovations which influence policies or market structures to accelerate circular transitions.
     

Priority will be given to ventures that deliver system-level change and support higher-value circular strategies that keep products, components, and materials in use at their highest value for as long as possible. Ventures focused primarily on recycling, recovery, or other end-of-pipe interventions should demonstrate why higher-value circular approaches are not feasible and how their solution contributes to wider circular economy outcomes.

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Additionally, applicants must demonstrate circularity thinking in their venture’s evolution, showing a test, learn, and adapt ethos. This includes self-awareness of where their model can become more circular in the future, and consideration of the waste, outcomes, and potential unintended consequences of their products or services.​

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Team & Capacity 

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• Dedicated team with relevant expertise.  

• At least one company representative must be available to pitch in person at Awards Day on 19th November 2026 (Aviva Stadium Lansdowne Road Ballsbridge Dublin 4 D04 K5F9).   

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Legal & Ethical Standing 

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• Fully compliant with all environmental, business, and data regulations relevant to their operations and jurisdiction.   

• Free from ongoing legal disputes or ethical violations.  

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The deadline for applications is Tuesday 13th October 2026 at 23.59 (Irish time).