IFC Harmonized Circular Economy Finance Guidelines

Enriched UN / Multilateral · Found: 2026-03-11 11:10

Guidelines launched in May 2025 providing a framework for investors, financial institutions, and private companies to identify, quantify, and channel financing into commercially viable circular economy activities.

Source: https://ifc.org/content/dam/ifc/doc/2025/harmonized-circular-economy-finance-guidelines-en.pdf

Funding Details

Deadline

Not applicable — guidelines/framework document, not a grant or funding call (Unknown)

Contact

International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group. Available through IFC's website in English and Portuguese.

Last Checked

2026-03-15 11:52

Application Checklist

Eligibility

• Projects must align with one of four circular economy categories: Circular Design & Production, Circular Use, Value Recovery, or Circularity Enablers
• Primarily targeted at financial institutions, investors, and corporations — not directly at NGOs or project implementers

Project Scope

• Activities must go beyond traditional recycling to qualify under the framework's circular economy definition
• Organizations may use these guidelines to structure proposals when seeking circular economy financing from IFC or aligned financial institutions

Constraints

• This is a framework/guidelines document, not a direct funding program — organizations cannot apply directly to IFC through these guidelines
• Projects should demonstrate alignment with established sustainable finance taxonomies (EU taxonomy, ICMA Green Bond Principles)

Historical Context

Published May 15, 2025 as a first edition. Developed to address a recognized gap in standardized circular economy finance classification. Aligns with and builds upon existing frameworks including the EU Categorization System and ICMA Green Bond Principles.

Why it was added

World Bank/dev bank waste management program

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