Nordic Programme to Reduce Plastic Pollution

Enriched Nordic · Found: 2026-03-11 10:47

Overarching policy framework (2025-2027) by the Nordic Council of Ministers for knowledge generation, policy development, and inter-Nordic collaboration on combating plastic pollution.

Source: https://norden.org/en/information/nordic-programme-reduce-plastic-pollution

Funding Details

Funder

Nordic Council of Ministers

Funding Goal

Enable Nordic countries to collaborate in generating high-quality knowledge on plastic pollution, catalyse exchange of experiences, and develop effective measures to combat plastic pollution at national, regional, and international levels. Focus areas include sustainable production and consumption of plastics, policy reports and guidelines for circular plastic value chains, targeting emissions and release of plastics including microplastics, and addressing plastic waste and existing pollution.

Funding Amount

Not publicly specified; programme funds inter-Nordic projects and knowledge work under the Nordic Council of Ministers budget

Deadline

Ongoing 2025-2027 (periodic)

How to Apply

Contact: Hans Jakob Eriksen, haneri@norden.org, +45 27 10 94 51. Funding opportunities may be listed at norden.org/en/funding-opportunities

Target Region

Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Aland); international engagement through global plastic treaty negotiations

Contact

Hans Jakob Eriksen, haneri@norden.org, +45 27 10 94 51

Last Checked

2026-05-07 03:35

Application Checklist

Eligibility

• Applicants are primarily Nordic government bodies or institutions mandated by Nordic Council of Ministers
• NGOs and civil society organisations are not direct grant recipients under this programme

Project Scope

• Projects must relate to one of four focus areas: sustainable consumption/production, circular value chains, emission reduction, or existing pollution
• Activities must support joint Nordic positions or inter-Nordic knowledge exchange

Constraints

• Programme duration is 2025-2027; no fixed annual call deadline publicly specified
• Projects exclusively addressing climate change mitigation (greenhouse gas reduction) without a plastics angle are out of scope

Summary

The Nordic Programme to Reduce Plastic Pollution is a policy and knowledge programme of the Nordic Council of Ministers, running from 2025 to 2027. Its overarching objective is to enable the Nordic countries to act collectively in generating knowledge, exchanging experiences, and developing effective policy measures to combat plastic pollution at national, regional, and international levels. Thematically, the programme covers four main focus areas: (1) promoting sustainable production and consumption of plastics through a lifecycle approach; (2) developing policy reports, proposals, guidelines, and resources to foster circular value chains for plastics; (3) targeting emissions and releases of plastics including microplastics; and (4) addressing existing plastic waste and environmental contamination. The programme also advocates joint Nordic positions in global negotiations, particularly the ongoing international treaty process on plastic pollution. Eligible activities include collaborative research and knowledge generation, policy analysis and report publication, inter-Nordic working groups, and participation in international fora. The programme is primarily implemented through Nordic government ministries, research agencies, and Nordic Council of Ministers institutions; it is not structured as an open competitive grant call for NGOs or civil society. Geographically, the programme is focused on the five Nordic countries and their territories (including Greenland, Faroe Islands, and Aland), with an international dimension through treaty negotiations and global policy advocacy. Eligible applicants are primarily Nordic public institutions and Nordic Council of Ministers bodies. External organisations (NGOs, research institutes) may participate as commissioned experts or partners in specific activities, but direct project funding for NGOs is not the primary mechanism. The programme does not publish a fixed total budget for direct grants. Knowledge products from the programme are publicly available, including reports on global policy interventions, criteria for problematic plastic products, sustainability criteria, statistics on plastic material flows, and plastic pollution indicators.

Historical Context

The Nordic countries have led in advocating for an ambitious international plastic pollution agreement. The programme builds on a series of Nordic reports and policy recommendations feeding into ongoing global negotiations for a plastic treaty. Programme runs 2025-2027.

Why it was added

Nordic CE/plastic program for OPF

Sources

• https://norden.org/en/information/nordic-programme-reduce-plastic-pollution

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