A Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland – Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA)

Section 2: Engagement and information gathering

Engagement approach

Internal SG engagement/ engagement with wider Public Sector

Internal SG engagement

In the development of the Strategy a series of engagement sessions were completed with colleagues across the Scottish Government to summarise key existing policies while also identifying proposals and priorities to guide future policy development across the breadth of government.

A wide range of teams within the Scottish Government, along with other key agencies and organisations such as Zero Waste Scotland, SEPA, and Transport Scotland were engaged with and have contributed to the development of the Strategy.

UK/ Devolved Administrations

There is regular contact between the Scottish Government, the UK Government and other Devolved Governments on many of the policy areas covered by the Strategy. This includes dedicated working groups on the circular economy and engagement with DEFRA’s Circular Economy Taskforce, which has been involved in developing an English Circular Economy Growth Plan. This covers policy coordination in many areas where cross border flows or impacts are important, consideration of the interaction of reserved and devolved powers, and learning from policy approaches that have been effective.

Wider Public Sector

To assist the development of the Strategy, Scottish Government policy leads worked closely with public bodies, including Zero Waste Scotland, NatureScot, NHS and SEPA, as well as local authorities through our relationship with COSLA and the Scottish Government-Local Government Strategic Steering Group on circular economy and waste. Public authorities and local authorities will help play a key role in the implementation of the Strategy and monitoring and reviewing its delivery.

International

Through our research, the Scottish Government has been able to learn from the experience of effective policy approaches in other countries. Three engagement sessions with international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) took place between July and December 2025. These sessions were used to gather views from international stakeholders, particularly those from the Global South, to inform development of the Strategy.

Business / Third Sector engagement

Engagement with businesses and business groups regarding the Strategy was undertaken during the development of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 and both Circular Economy and Waste Route Map (CEWRM) public consultations. Engagement on the Strategy has also taken place with the Regulatory Review Group and the Waste and Resources Sector Forum, and the circular economy was included as part of discussions on the draft Environment Strategy with wider business representatives. The information provided helped inform the development of the Strategy.

Full impact assessments will be produced when appropriate as interventions related to the Strategy priorities are developed in future. Potential impacts on key business stakeholders will be assessed as part of the process, and the Scottish Government will continue to take forward engagement and collaboration in line with business engagement principles.^[18]

Public consultation

The Strategy, alongside an earlier draft of this BRIA and other associated Impact Assessments, was subject to public consultation which ran from 21^st October 2025 to 13^th January 2026.

The Scottish Government requested feedback on the BRIA during the consultation, particularly where there are impacts, either positive or negative, which have not yet been identified. Where appropriate, feedback provided during the consultation was incorporated into this final version of the BRIA. In addition, feedback received during the consultation was considered in the final publication of the Strategy.

Other stakeholders

In addition to those stakeholders mentioned above, discussions took place with a range of environmental NGOs, academics and charities while developing the Strategy and associated monitoring and indicator framework.