Europe Aid for Promoting Sustainable Consumption and Production

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Deadline: 9 February 2015

Grant: Requests can be made in between EUR 800,000 and EUR 2,500,000 for projects with a minimum of 36 months to a maximum of 48 months

Countries: Europe: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom. Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Chinese Taipei), India (Please note that the FCRA registration proof of entities and their partners receiving funds is currently needed.), Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, DPR Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Note: Organizations from Malaysia can participate as affiliated partners; however the activities should be primarily performed in the Asian countries enumerated above. For project proposals with an action focus in China and/or India, preference will be given to those where the implementation takes place in the less developed regions of the country.

Description: SWITCH-Asia II (EU Contribution of EUR 120 million of 2014-2020) is the action response of the European Commission to the priorities set in the Strategy Paper for Asia (2014-2020) to tackle Sustainable Consumption and Production. Promotion of a Green Economy is one of the three priorities of the EU Multi-Annual Indicative Program for Asia (2014-2020). To address the priority goals, SWITCH-Asia II calls non-governmental organizations, governmental institutions, intermediary (business) organizations and networks like chambers of commerce and industry associations to implement projects that apply sustainable consumption and production approaches. The projects should be based on local demand–driven actions aiming to promote sustainable consumption and production in Asia and encourage EUAsian partnerships.

The major objective of the grant program is to promote sustainable production (development of less polluting and more resource efficient products, processes and services) and sustainable consumption patterns and behaviours in Asia.

The grant support will be 50-80% of the total eligible costs of the action. It can raise up to 90% if the action takes place in least developed countries (LDCs). A maximum of two grant proposals may be awarded each to China (less developed areas only) and India respectively. Applicants are particularly encouraged to implement projects in LDCs.

Key Principles
• Integrated Approach
• Replication approach and engaging with policy makers
• Building on existing competence
• Cooperation with the SWITCH-Asia Network Facility

Funding Lots
Priority 1: Support the switch to sustainable consumption patterns and behavior amongst consumer groups, civil society stakeholders and the public sector.
Types of Activities
• Design for Sustainability
• Stimulating Sustainable Consumption
• Sustainable Usage

Priority 2: Micro, small and medium enterprises support for SCP uptake and access to finance.
Types of Activities
• Cleaner Production
• Greening the supply chain

Projects in Lot II should provide

1. A clear analysis of the types of constraints in terms of access to finance encountered by firms and other productive actors involved in SCP-related activities.
2. The distinction between:
3. Constraints that are to be dealt with at systemic level, and for which broader interventions of financial sector development would be needed (e.g. legal regulatory and supervisory issues; financial infrastructure gaps).
4. Constraints that can be dealt with by working with stakeholders at the meso and micro levels of the financial sector [e.g. banking training institutes/associations, technical providers in the financial sector, individual financial institutions (banks, leasing companies, in some cases also MFIs)].
5. Concrete solutions and activities to facilitate the access to finance to support SCP, e.g. in terms of awareness raising on opportunities and challenges of green finance and capacity building of relevant stakeholders (e.g. at policy and industry levels).

Activities and Expected Results of SWITCH Asia II Grant Program
Projects will work closely with the SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component in order to maximize policy impact and sustainability. They will have to actively disseminate their results and facilitate exchange of good practices, and to cooperate with the SWITCH-Asia Network Facility on documenting the results of the overall program. The projects should envisage development and actual application of replication mechanisms (e.g. voluntary agreements, product and service standards, public-private partnerships, sustainable supply chain management, reinforcement of SCP service providers, and engagement of financial institutions) for effective outreach towards a large number of SMEs and/or consumer groups.

Activities should focus to address one or several of the following programs
1. Consumer information
2. Sustainable lifestyles
3. Sustainable public procurement
4. Sustainable buildings
5. Sustainable tourism and food production
6. Distribution
7. Waste disposal

In their proposals, depending on the degree of relevance, applicants should include (and subsequently monitor) one or more of the following indicators established at the program level
• Number of SMEs applying Sustainable Consumption and Production practices with EU support;
• Proportion of consumers showing preference for greener consumption (based on national surveys where available)
• Number of governments applying i) green public procurement policies; ii) life-cycle approach policies implemented (from design, packaging, retail, maintenance, end-of-life)
• Level of GHG-emissions;
• Level of energy consumption
• Percentage of renewable energy consumed
• Number of voluntary agreements established, e.g. industrial codes of conduct, product eco-labels at country level, etc.

Ineligible Actions
1. Actions concerned only or mainly with individual sponsorships for participation in workshops, seminars, conferences, congresses.
2. Actions concerned only or mainly with individual scholarships for studies or training courses.

Expected Results of the Program
1. Adoption of sustainable production and consumption practices, particularly among MSMEs
    • Increased use of environmentally-friendly technologies and practices by SMEs
    • Increased development/diversification/production and consumption of “green” products
    • Improved overall resource efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
2. Move SCP practices from demonstration to replication, including:
    • Improved capacity of business intermediaries
    • Increased partnerships between SMEs and organizations with SCP “pull” potential (such as financial institutions or SMEs business partners)
    • Increased capacity of SMEs as regards “green” finance issues and the preparation of credible “green” business proposals
    • Increased relative share of environmentally-friendly products and technologies in the EU-Asia and intra-Asia trade.
3. Implementation of policy instruments by Asian governments and local authorities
    • Strengthened SCP-related regulatory framework, and business-related environmental on environmental/SCP issues;
    • Demonstrate effective policy instruments

Eligibility: Below are the eligibility criteria for applicants to SWITCH Asia II Call

• Applicant must be a legal person in a non-profit-making organization.
• Applicant must be a specific type of organization such as non-governmental organization, public sector operator, local authority, international (inter-governmental) organization as defined by Article 43 of the Rules of application of the EU Financial Regulation.

Applicant must be established in:
◦ a Member State of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom), OR
◦ a Member State of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway) or
◦ Countries from the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II), OR
◦ One of the following Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Democratic Republic of Korea, Indonesia, India, Lao PDR, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, or be established in member countries of the OECD, in case of contracts implemented in a Least Developed Country or a Highly Indebted Country as included in the list of ODA recipients.
• Applicants must be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
• The applicant must act with co-applicant(s).

Partnership Criteria
Applicants for SWITCH Asia II must work in cooperation with at least one co-applicant. Co-applicant(s) participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the applicant. The co-applicant(s) must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the applicant. Co-applicant(s) must sign the Mandate in Part B section 4 of the grant application form.
Partnership Criteria

• The partnerships (applicant + co-applicant/s) will include at least one organization from a Member State of the European Union/European Economic Area or international organization and at least one organization from an eligible Asian country.
• Each member of a partnership must have a precise and clearly identified role in the implementation of the project. There is no upper limit on the number of members in a partnership. A partnership should be composed in such a way as to allow for the achievement of project objectives in the most effective and cost-efficient manner.
• The role of each partnership member organization must be clearly explained in the proposal. Even though the contracting authority concludes a contract with the Coordinator-beneficiary only (i.e. the applicant), the co-applicant/s should be shown to actively contribute to the implementation of the project.
• The applicant and its co-applicant/s draw up an agreement defining the technical and financial rights and obligations of each partnership member.
• European applicant or the main European co-applicant should commit to spend the majority of their time in field activities in Asia. This should be clearly reflected in the project description and budget.

Affiliated Entity(ies) Eligibility Criteria
The applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies). Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):

• Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the beneficiary (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the beneficiary (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control.
• Entities directly or indirectly controlling the beneficiary (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the beneficiary.
• Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the beneficiary (sister companies).
• Involvement of Other Organizations as Associates and Contractors in SWITCH Asia II Grant Program
• Associates: Other organizations may be involved in the action. Such associates play a real role in the action but may not receive funding from the grant, with the exception of per diem or travel costs. Associates do not have to meet the eligibility criteria of applicant, co-applicant or affiliate entities.
• Contractors : The grant beneficiaries and their affiliated entities are permitted to award contracts. Associates or affiliated entity(ies) cannot be also contractors in the project. Contractors are subject to the procurement rules.

How to apply
To be selected for SWITCH Asia Grants, applicants should go through two phases of application
1. First Phase – Concept Note Submission
2. Second Phase – Full Proposal Submission

Total completed Concept Notes submitted from eligible organizations will be evaluated and shortlisted. The short listed applicants will be invited to submit full proposal within an allocated deadline. Grant contract is signed with selected organizations to implement the grant program.
PADOR Registration.

At the Concept Note submission stage, registration in PADOR is obligatory for all applicants, optional for co-applicants and affiliated entities. If invited for full proposal, all  three must register to PADOR. Read the ‘Quick guide’ on the website to learn about registration process.

Please register in PADOR when you start drafting your proposal because the registration process takes time and on the paper version of the proposal, you must give your EuropeAid ID (EID). You can get this ID only by registering to PADOR, saving and signing certain obligatory data.

If it is impossible for the organization to register in PADOR, it must submit a justification proving that this impossibility is general and beyond the control of the applicant and/or its affiliated entity(ies). The applicants will be sent instructions on further process.

You are required to complete the Concept Note. Form available in the SWITCH Asia II Call to be eligible for the grants. The concept note requires an estimate of the amount of contribution requested from the Contracting Authority and an indicative percentage of that contribution in relation to the total amount of the Action. If selected, you will have to provide complete estimated budget sheet. The EU contribution may not vary from the initial estimate by more than 20%.

Please Note:

• Applicants are free to adapt the percentage of co-financing required within the minimum and maximum amount and percentages of co-financing. Own contributions by the applicants can be replaced by other donors’ contributions at any time.
• Any error or major discrepancy related to the points listed in the Concept Note instructions may lead to the rejection of the Concept Note.
• Clarifications will only be requested when information provided is not sufficient to conduct an objective assessment.
• Hand-written Concept Notes will not be accepted.
• Only the Concept Note form will be evaluated. This is why the applicant must provide all relevant information concerning the action in the form. No additional annexes should be sent.