Environment
FOAM: how Guanajuato funds its municipalities' environmental projects
Since 2000, part of what drivers pay for their emissions-test sticker in Guanajuato has funded garbage trucks, emissions inventories and municipal solar panels. This is how FOAM works.
Bajío Ventures · January 2026 · Bajío environmental funds, 1 of 5
Every time a car passes its emissions test in Guanajuato, part of what the owner pays for the sticker ends up funding a garbage truck, an emissions inventory or solar panels on a municipal building. The mechanism is called FOAM, and it has been running for over 25 years.
What FOAM is
The Fondo para el Mejoramiento y Descentralización Ambiental del Estado de Guanajuato (FOAM) is a public state trust set up in July 2000. It is now coordinated by the state Water and Environment Secretariat (SAMA). Its purpose is to provide non-repayable grants for environmental projects approved by its Technical Committee.
Its money comes from vehicle emissions testing. The Secretariat collects the sticker fees, pays for the stickers, and transfers the difference to the trust every month. In other words, it is a fund with recurring, earmarked income rather than a budget line renegotiated each year.
Who can apply, and how
FOAM works with municipalities. Each year it sends the call by official letter to every mayor, stating the amount the municipality can access. The municipality submits one or more projects; FOAM’s General Coordination validates them and the Technical Committee approves them.
Projects are classified by type:
- Physical works
- Environmental studies and/or training
- Purchase of goods and/or services
And by subject: natural resources; air quality and pollution; integrated waste management; climate change; land-use planning and green infrastructure; and institutional development.
A real case: Celaya, 2025
The agreement between FOAM and the municipality of Celaya, published on the state transparency portal, shows how it works in practice:
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Project | One 21 yd³ refuse collection truck for the city’s north-east |
| Total cost | MXN 3,152,300 incl. VAT |
| Co-funding | 50 % municipality, 50 % FOAM |
| Approval | Technical Committee, 3 June 2025 |
| Condition | Draft the municipal waste programme (PMPGIRSU) and file it for official publication |
| Term | 16 June to 16 December 2025 |
Three details matter. First, the municipality spends its share before FOAM releases its own. Second, procurement follows the state public procurement law. Third, FOAM can tie the grant to a planning instrument; here, the waste programme.
The same file lists Celaya’s history with the fund: solar water heaters in rural communities, LED street lighting, an update of the municipal climate action plan, emissions inventories and two phases of rooftop PV on municipal buildings. The co-funding ratio varies by project; recent ones are 50/50.
Obligations not to underestimate
- A dedicated bank account for the project.
- Quarterly physical-financial progress reports (form FOAM 03) within five working days after each quarter.
- A final report (FOAM 04) within 15 working days after the agreement ends.
- FOAM logos and wording on the assets; leaving them out triggers repayment.
- Unspent funds returned with interest within 20 working days.
A municipality that fails to comply loses access to the next funding round, and the fund can ask for the amount to be deducted from its federal revenue transfers.
Why it matters
FOAM is the most mature model in the region: recurring income, known rules and a long project record. For a municipality, the key is not just asking for money but arriving with a well-formulated project, aligned with its planning instruments, and the administrative capacity to account for it.
Next: Jalisco’s FEPAJ, a younger trust that opened the door to civil society and the private sector.
Sources: SAMA/SMAOT — Fondo Ambiental (FOAM) · Agreement SAMA/FOAM/CELAYA/05/2025
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