Draft circular economy strategy: Consumer Duty assessment

Stage 2 – Evidence Gathering:

3. What is the proposal trying to achieve?

Draft Circular Economy Strategy Vision

By 2045 Scotland will be a net zero and nature positive nation helped directly by the significant progress in transitioning towards a circular economy.

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

Outcomes

The draft strategy aims to improve the wellbeing of everyone in Scotland, including children and young people. The Strategy aims to ensure that everyone can enjoy the life-supporting benefits the environment provides. This includes improving people’s health and wellbeing, tackling poverty and inequalities, and supporting green jobs and businesses in the transition to net zero by 2045.

The priorities set out in the draft strategy aim to support the achievement of our net-zero ambitions, the restoration of nature and a thriving economy that meets societal needs. It will aim to help reduce the negative global impact of our production and consumption and help people and businesses gain the skills and knowledge to benefit from a shift to a more circular economy.

The Circular Economy Strategy builds on Scotland’s Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030. While the Route Map focuses on sustainable resource use and reducing the carbon impact of our waste, the Strategy sets out the strategic direction for the future and how circularity will be embedded across the economy by looking at sectors, systems and products. Future interventions that relate to the Strategy’s priorities may include policy proposals, potential legislative measures, and supporting activity to drive systemic change across production, consumption and disposal of materials and products in Scotland.

4. What are the impacts on consumers?

The Strategy is likely to result in a positive impact for consumers in Scotland by empowering them to adopt circular behaviours, not only reducing environmental impacts but saving consumers money by reducing the current “take, make and dispose” model.

The Strategy’s priorities are designed to make sustainable choices the easier ones for consumers, and benefit consumers who will see positive impacts for the climate, environment, economy and public services.

Following the publication of the final Strategy the actions set out will be assessed for their impact on consumers, and further impact assessments, including the Consumer Duty Impact Assessment, will be carried out where appropriate.

5. Is it likely that harm will be experienced by consumers as a result of this proposal?

While the overall direction of the Circular Economy Strategy is designed to benefit consumers, the Strategy’s other impact assessments identify that there is potential for some additional costs for consumers, or risks of unintended negative consequences.

For example there may be initial cost implications for consumers when pursuing reusable product options.

Further assessment of these potential impacts will be important in the development and implementation of actions to ensure any negative impacts on consumers are identified and mitigated.

6. What alternative proposals are there that can improve outcomes for consumers and/or reduce harm to consumers?

In preparing the draft Circular Economy Strategy for consultation, we considered the possibility of “doing more and sooner”, where the Circular Economy Strategy would seek to meet its aims much sooner than those set out in the draft strategy. However, systemic change to overarching economic systems requires careful consideration and requires engagement with all parts of society, including consumers, to avoid unintended consequences. We have not considered a ‘do nothing’ scenario, as the strategy was placed on a statutory basis by the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024.

7. How do these alternative proposals compare to the original proposal?

It was decided that the “doing more and sooner” option would be discounted as the strategy vision must take account of the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan and our target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 The option taken forward in this draft Circular Economy Strategy to align with the 2045 target ensures consistency with other Scottish Government net zero commitments.