A Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland

Executive Summary

The Scottish Government is committed to moving from a linear “take, make and dispose” economic model to a circular economy where materials and goods are valued and kept in use for as long as possible.

In line with the First Minister’s priorities of growing the economy and tackling climate change, there is increasing evidence that transitioning to a more circular economy can drive sustainable growth, increase supply-chain resilience, create jobs and encourage innovation while tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.^[1]

To be successful in driving that change we need to embrace the opportunities that embedding circular thinking can bring. A circular economy does not stand apart from the wider economy: we need to work with businesses, charities, the public sector and a broad coalition of stakeholders to make our whole economy circular and bring jobs and opportunities for the people of Scotland.

Scotland’s economy is part of the global system of trade and industry. Working with the other nations of the UK and drawing on developments from the EU and globally will also be vital to ensure Scotland is best placed to take advantage of the benefits a more circular economy can bring.

The strategy takes a sector-led not material-led approach. By focusing on sectors and products we can best address the impacts of individual materials, such as plastics, critical materials and chemicals, across the supply chain as a whole.

Vision and Outcomes

This circular economy strategy sets out the rationale and benefits of a more circular economy within the wider economic framework and describes our overall vision to 2045 (below) and the outcomes that we are working towards.

“By 2045 Scotland will be a net zero and nature positive nation helped directly by the significant progress in transitioning towards a circular economy with sustainable levels of material use.

Scotland will have a thriving economy that meets societal needs and is based on circular economy principles, and we will have reduced the negative global impact of our production and consumption.

People, businesses and the public sector will have the skills and knowledge to benefit from opportunities arising from a circular economy and these will be fairly distributed across society.”

The outcomes are based around four themes:

• economy - maximising economic value, security of supply chains and innovation;
• environment - sustainable resource use and environmental impacts;
• international – environmental and social costs on global communities of consumption in Scotland;
• social – benefits to communities, fairness and behaviour change.

Policy Mechanisms

Delivering change across policy areas is fundamental to the transition to a more circular economy. Building on our recent Circular Economy and Waste Route Map, the policy levers we are using to create a circular economy are:

• Business support
• Behaviour and systems change
• Place-based approaches
• Procurement
• Due diligence
• Skills and education
• Circular economy data
• Policy alignment

Priority Sectors

We have identified five priority sectors for action based on their potential contribution to reaching net zero, to reduce consumption and whole-life carbon, to maximise value and on their wider environmental impacts. These are:

• The Built Environment
• Energy Infrastructure
• Textiles
• Transport
• The Food System

Product Stewardship

Alongside these sectors, we also want to focus on tackling specific products based on their environmental and economic impact. Working with the other nations in the UK we will continue to prioritise packaging, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), batteries, end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) and end-of-life fishing gear. In addition, we will prioritise textiles (clothing), mattresses and furniture. The products selected so far have been chosen due to their high carbon impact, associated local authority management costs, and their potential social benefit if reused.

Monitoring and Indicator Framework

This strategy sets out our first national-level monitoring and indicator framework specifically for the circular economy. It sets out how we will measure high level progress, taking into account a wide range of factors and influences.