Horizon Europe BIODIV-05: Up to €8 Million to Integrate Biodiversity into Business

The European Commission, under Horizon Europe Cluster 6, is launching a call to support research and innovation that accelerates the transition to a nature positive economy. Specifically, this call focuses on integrating biodiversity considerations into private sector strategies and decision-making — from startups and SMEs to large corporations and financial institutions.

This is one of the largest and most interdisciplinary Horizon Europe calls of 2027 in the field of sustainability and environmental economics. If your organisation or consortium works on sustainable finance, corporate sustainability, ecosystem services, or nature-based solutions, this grant represents a major opportunity. Furthermore, for guidance on structuring budgets at this scale, we recommend our article “Grant Budgeting Made Simple: A Financial Guide for 2026”.

Why Is the EU Funding This Area?

Current economic systems prioritise short-term profits over the long-term health of ecosystems. Moreover, they fail to account for environmental externalities, making nature positive solutions appear less affordable than they truly are. As a result, natural resource exploitation, habitat destruction, and biodiversity loss continue to accelerate — with severe consequences for both the environment and human prosperity.

The consequences are increasingly clear: climate change, soil degradation, water scarcity, pollution, and species extinction all undermine the foundations of human society and economic stability. In contrast, a nature positive economy focuses on restoring and enhancing the natural systems that sustain all life. Consequently, the BIODIV-05 call aims to make this transition measurable, scalable, and economically compelling.

Expected Project Outcomes

Selected projects must drive transformative change in biodiversity and nature positive economic practices. Specifically, the call targets four overarching outcomes:

• Strengthening the economic case for biodiversity protection, restoration, and sustainable use — including robust assessments of the cost of inaction.
• Helping businesses mainstream biodiversity into decision-making, fostering transformative models that benefit SMEs, startups, and nature-based enterprises.
• Improving knowledge for transformative policy — notably fiscal reforms, elimination of harmful subsidies, and scalable biodiversity finance mechanisms such as nature credits, green bonds, and ecosystem service markets.
• Developing clear evaluation frameworks for measuring and reporting on business and economic impacts on biodiversity.

What Must the BIODIV-05 Proposal Include?

Proposals must address several key activity areas. Specifically:

Proposals must also address knowledge gaps identified by relevant IPBES assessments and, where appropriate, provide recommendations to policymakers. Crucially, projects must create synergies with other EU-funded biodiversity and finance projects and ensure cooperation with the European partnership Biodiversa+.

Who Can Apply?

The call requires a multi-actor approach — engaging researchers, businesses, financial institutions, public authorities, policymakers, and civil society to co-develop and apply solutions. Consequently, proposals should bring together diverse partners from across sectors. Eligible organisations include:

• Higher education institutions (universities and academic organisations)
• Research and innovation organisations
• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups
• Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
• Government bodies and public authorities
• Financial institutions and investment funds
• Media organisations and professional associations
• Museums, healthcare facilities, colleges, and secondary schools

As Horizon Europe requires international consortia, we strongly recommend starting to build your partnership network well in advance. Our guide “International Grant Partnerships: Where to Find Partners and How to Formalise Agreements” walks through the full process.

Complexity and Preparation Timeline BIODIV-05

The call carries a High complexity rating. Consequently, preparing a competitive application requires substantial resources and lead time:

• Applications proceed as a single-stage call — the full proposal is submitted directly by the 22 September 2027 deadline.
• We recommend beginning consortium formation and concept development 12–18 months before the deadline.
• The project must align with multiple EU policy frameworks and include an interdisciplinary team.
• Financial institutions and business actors must participate alongside researchers.

For an overview of similar large-scale Horizon Europe programmes open to researchers and institutions, see our “Grant Guide 2026: 46 Programmes for Researchers, Businesses, IT Startups, and Agriculture”.