CivTech, the Scottish Government’s technology accelerator, has opened a challenge worth up to £650,000 to develop a digital tool that helps circular businesses demonstrate their commercial value to investors. Sponsored by Zero Waste Scotland, the initiative is part of CivTech Round 12 and is open to companies and individuals worldwide. The proposed solution is intended to make the financial case for circular practices clearer, supporting investment, resource security and business resilience across Scotland. Applications close at noon on Tuesday 20 October, with the Exploration Stage scheduled to begin in January 2027 and the Accelerator in March 2027.
A Clearer Case For Circularity
Circular business models can provide practical advantages, from stronger customer retention to reduced exposure to market shocks. Yet the value of those models can be difficult to quantify and communicate in terms that resonate with lenders, investors and other decision makers.
The new CivTech challenge seeks an intuitive, evidence-based digital solution that can bring together the commercial evidence behind circular economy practices. Its stated purpose is to build confidence in circular models and help businesses access investment needed to expand them.
The work is being supported through CivTech Round 12, which has £5.7 million of investment behind six new challenges. CivTech has operated since 2016, bringing public sector organisations together with private sector innovators to address defined challenges and improve public services. Companies participating in the programme have created more than 400 jobs, while every £1 of public investment has leveraged around £5 in private funding.
Business Evidence In Focus
The challenge comes at a useful point for companies building commercial models around reused materials, efficient resource use and longer product lifecycles. Although these practices can improve resilience and reduce reliance on virgin inputs, businesses may need to make a case that looks beyond short-term returns.
Kenoteq, a climate technology company based just outside Edinburgh, provides one example of a business seeking to translate circular credentials into market value. The company developed the K-BRIQ®, an ultra-low carbon alternative to traditional brick, and has positioned its products for architects, designers and contractors with sustainability objectives.
Sam Chapman, Director at Kenoteq, said:
“For us, being circular has opened doors to leading architects, designers and contractors who are serious about sustainability, and it gives us a strong point of difference in the market. The challenge is that the commercial benefits are not always straightforward to demonstrate, particularly when you are asking people to look beyond the short term. You often have to explain a completely different business case and help investors understand why the longer-term value matters.
“A digital tool which brought that evidence together in a clear and credible way would be hugely valuable. It could help reduce perceptions of risk, provide independent validation and take some of the burden away from individual businesses having to prove the case themselves. Making that information easier to access and understand would help companies like ours and others trying to grow circular business models.”
Technology Challenge Opens Globally
Zero Waste Scotland is inviting applicants from around the world to propose technologies capable of accelerating the adoption of circular practices. The selected solution will need to address the communication gap between a company’s operational circularity and the financial evidence required by those considering investment.
The initiative places commercial confidence at the centre of the circular economy discussion. Rather than focusing only on the environmental rationale, it is asking innovators to create a practical route for businesses to evidence market resilience, resource security and customer value.
Helen Lavery, Business Support Manager at Zero Waste Scotland, said:
“The shift to a more circular economy presents a huge opportunity for Scottish businesses to create value, strengthen resilience, and stay competitive. Zero Waste Scotland’s aim is to make the commercial benefits clearer to help businesses and investors turn this potential into action.
“Through this Challenge, we’re seeking innovative technologies that can accelerate the pace of circularity for people, planet, and prosperity.”
A Route To Investment
Alongside the circular economy challenge, the remaining Round 12 challenges cover issues including NHS transport efficiency and patient experience. Successful applicants will progress through CivTech’s selection process before entering the next stages of development in 2027.
For circular enterprises, the opportunity is especially notable because it recognises a persistent barrier to scale: the need to make a robust, credible commercial case alongside environmental credentials. A well-designed tool could give businesses a more consistent way to present that evidence, while offering investors clearer information on the financial proposition behind circular models.
By inviting global innovators to address the issue, CivTech and Zero Waste Scotland are creating a focused procurement opportunity around a challenge relevant to businesses working across materials, construction, reuse and resource management. The outcome sought is straightforward: a more accessible route from circular practice to investable growth.
