Draft circular economy strategy: equality impact assessment

Background

17. The development of the Strategy will align, as far as practicable, with key Scottish Government commitments, as set out below. The Strategy also reflects international commitments such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals^[5], the EU Circular Economy Action Plan^[6], and the Paris Agreement^[7].

18. The Scottish Government will also develop proposals for the introduction of circular economy targets following the publication of the Strategy and associated monitoring and indicator framework. This is also a requirement of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024.

19. The Strategy is already supported by, and will be connected to, a wide range of existing and planned circular economy policies, interventions and activities. These include investment in reuse and recycling infrastructure resulting from our Recycling Improvement Fund, or product stewardship initiatives such as the packaging extended producer responsibility scheme, the Deposit Return Scheme, or measures on other product types. The Strategy builds on existing and planned activities to set a clear direction for Scotland for the systemic change required to transition to a circular economy.